Paulius Murauskas' career-high 33 leads ASU past Northern Colorado

Better Call Paul-ius
Murauskas entered the game with over 1,100 career points, the most of any Sun Devil. He added to that total tonight with his 4th career 30-point performance and 23rd career 20-point performance. Murauskas is one of only six Big 12 players to have 30-point game so far this season. He set a new career-high in scoring, breaking the previous mark of 32 he set with Saint Mary's at Pacific 02/14/26. He was 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the field, also setting a new career-high with 13 made field goals. That is tied for the most made by a Big 12 player in a single game this season (Dior Johnson, UCF).

Reynolds Wrapped
Northern Colorado features the Big Sky Preseason Player of the Year and 2024-25 First Team All-Big Sky selection Langston Reynolds. Last season at Minnesota playing in the Big Ten, he averaged 11.6 points per game and shot 53.8% from the field in 33 games. In 2024-25 before transfering, he averaged 16 points on 58.3% shooting in 34 games. In his career, he shoots 56.0% from the field.  The Sun Devil defense, led by Dillan Shaw, held him to just seven points on 3-of-11 (27.2%). They also forced Reynolds to commit three turnovers and he was a -14 in 33 minutes.

E-Man down, Bryce Ford up
Bryce Ford stepped up in the absence of starting wing senior Emmanuel Innocenti, who missed the game due to injury. Ford came off the bench and scored 17 points in 22 minutes. He was efficient in getting those points, shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 2-of-5 from behind the arc. It is his seventh double-digit scoring performance of his ASU career (6 in 27 games last year). Ford also grabbed a pair of rebounds and made all three of his free throws, ending the night a +19 in his 29th career game as a Sun Devil. Ford also eclipsed the 500-point mark tonight (currently at 505 career points).

Getting defensive
Arizona State has been extremely effective defensively through two games. They have yet to allow over 65 points after limiting the Bears to only 63 tonight. This is the first time since the 2014-15 campaign they have started a year by allowing 65 points or less in each of the first two games. Opponents averaged 78.3 points per game last year, but are only mustering 64.0 points per game through two contests this year. Coming into the matchup, Northern Colorado was one of the top scoring teams after a 117-point outburst in their season opener. ASU caused the Bears' offense fits, holding them to their lowest point total since scoring 49 at Cleveland State on March 24, 2024. UNC shot 56.3% in the first game and were limited to only 42.9% against the Sun Devils.

Ball security 
A strength of the Sun Devils through two games has been their ability to not turn the ball over. It was a beautiful display of discipline and execution tonight, as ASU committed only five turnovers. That matches their season-low from last year, which they set in a win over Utah on Feb. 28, 2026. It is only the fourth game in the past six seasons that the Maroon and Gold has turned the ball over five times or less. Through two games, Arizona State has combined for 15 turnovers. That is the fewest at this point to start a season since at least 2003.

Chasing 600
After winning 589 games at Saint Mary's, Randy Bennett now has two wins as the head coach at Arizona State. He is now only nine wins shy of 600 career wins at the Division I level. Bennett is looking to become just the 46th head coach in NCAA DI history to earn 600 wins in their career. With 591 wins, Bennett currently ranks 51st on the all-time coaching wins list, just two shy of passing Guy Lewis (592) to enter the Top-50.

What does the Fox say?
Joel Foxwell did not need to score to impact tonight's game. In fact, he had six assists before his first bucket came with 13:50 in the second half. He still managed to finish with 7 points and added eight assists, while adding three rebounds, two steals and a block. He now has five or more assists in 28 of his 36 career games. Foxwell was a +15 and did not commit a turnover despite a high workload.

Handcuffing Hammond
Northern Colorado freshman guard Jeremiah Hammond came into the game as the Bears leading scorer after a 17-point season opener. He struggled against the Sun Devils' defense, finishing with only two points and he was a -15 in 14 minutes of action. 

Empty the notebook

• The 27-point margin of victory is the highest by the Maroon and Gold 
  since taking down San Diego 90-53 (+37) on Dec. 3, 2024.
• Arizona State finished with 40 rebounds and had a +8 advantage on the glass. ASU collected 40 or more rebounds in only six of 33 games a season ago.
• Dillan Shaw finished with 12 rebounds, the fifth-time in his career he has had 10 or more rebounds. Shaw's 12 rebounds are the most by any Big 12 player in a game this season. He is averaging 9.0 rebounds through two games
• Filip Malesevic had an influnce on the game, coming through with his first double-digit rebounding effort in only his second career collegiate game (11 boards in 24 minutes). He is one of only five Big 12 players to have 11 or more rebounds in a game this year.
• ASU is the only Big 12 school to have two players register a 11-rebound game this season.
• 11 ASU offensive rebounds led to 16 second chance points. ASU had a 16-5 advantage in the category over Northern Colorado.
• For the second straight contest, the opponent did not block a single Sun Devil shot. Northern Colorado blocked seven shots in their season opener, but did not manage to get one against ASU. Arizona State is the only Big 12 team that has played twice and not had a shot blocked.
• The Sun Devils scored 90 points, a mark they only reached once last season in 33 games (100 vs Washington State in Maui). They have already matched their 90-point ouput through only two games. Northern Colorado allowed 90 or more points only four times in 33 games last year.
• Junior center Ben Defty enjoyed a bounce back performance. After an uncharacterisitc shooting display in the opener, Defty found his form in the second game. Boasting NCAA Division I third-highest field goal % among active player, Defty improved on that with a 3-of-4 effot from the field.
• Defty, junior guard Vijay Wallace, freshman guard Jokubas Rudaitis, and sophomore center Nate Garcia each recorded their first points as Sun Devils.
• Arizona State has led for 73.5 of a possible 80 minutes of game time though two contests. They have trailed for less than two minutes.
• Inside the arc, the Sun Devils were nearly unstoppable. ASU finished 28-of-43 (65.1%) from two-point range.
• Overall, ASU shot 53.8%, which would have been the fifth-best mark in 33 games a season ago. The Sun Devils shot 50+% only five times last year.
• After making only one trip to the line in the first half, Arizona State shot 18 times from the stripe in the second half.
• The Sun Devils maintained a huge advantage in fast break points (17-5).
• ASU had 12 "stocks" (8 steals + 4 blocks) compared to UNC's one (1 steal).
• Freshman guard JRob Croy got his first career start, replacing an injured Emmanuel Innocenti.
• The Curtain of Distraction had an impact, as Northern Colorado shot just 5-of-14 (35.7%) from the line in the second half.
• ASU has now started the season 2-0 in each of the past three seasons. They will look to go 3-0 for the first time since the 2023-24 campaign on Tuesday. 

Quotables
Head Coach Randy Bennett
On what he made of the energy and execution from the outset
“Yeah, it was nice. We did a good job defensively in the first half and half of the second half, maybe 12 minutes of the second half. Our guys at the end played good. But it's good to get separation. We got separation against New Mexico. We let them back in the game. So I think they're little steps we're making. One of them is learning how to do that if you get a lead, be able to stretch the lead and stretch the lead and just never have a run where they cut it and make it close. The other thing is we were able to play all of the 11 guys we had that could play and I thought they all made positive contributions. They have to get better, but for us to get better and our bench to get better, we have to get in situations where they get to play in games. You can only do so much in practice that you need game reps. And so I was happy about that. Guys got pretty good minutes. Most of them, and everybody scored. (F) Ajak (Nyuon) didn't get a shot, but the rest of them scored. So I felt really good about that.”

On what was working for Paulis Murauskus tonight
“Getting to the basket. They're playing him straight up, and he's a tough cover straight up. So, usually they've been bringing help on him. Tonight, they really didn't. They just let him straight up man, and he scored, he scored. But he's good enough that you can't do that with him because he'll score enough. Like 30s, you get a guy getting 30, he's doing damage to your team.”

On how he feels recruiting is going and what his philosophy is on that
“I think we're having success with recruiting, and so I feel good on what I think will happen in the early signing period this week. I think we'll get good players. There's too much to sell here and they want to be good here. We have a good fan base. All that stuff's going to get better as we develop our players and as we continue to add good players, and we continue to have retention of our players. I've said it. I'll say it again. Everything's here that we need. Administration, the whole deal. There's sharp people around here. Even I think this place is great. Like I think it's a cool place to play. I know everybody says, “yeah, but...” I don't say “yeah, but…” It's a good place to play. We just have to keep building. Keep winning the games we're supposed to win, and I think those seats will get more and more full.”

On if there are any difficult decisions with the philosophy of roster construction when being at a Big 12 school for the first time
“Yes, for 362 coaches in the country. The game's changed. It's a new card game. All of a sudden it made jacks wild. So I mean you just have to adjust, right? And that's why I always say that you have to adapt and make good decisions and that's what we have to do. Do you take fresh? Do you take kids out of high school anymore or do you just wait for the portal? So you have to think through that whole thing. I think for us we for sure do. We get the good young ones and they won't be like the good fifth year guys right away, but eventually, probably by the end of the year they will. And that's what I'm thinking, everybody's going to make their own decisions. People are in different positions, leagues, their job security, all of that stuff, but I think for Arizona State, I think it's a destination school. I think it's a program where you can get good ones. I think if it's reasonable, they'll stay. So we'll see maybe in four years I'm wrong, but I'm going with it.”

Senior G Bryce Ford
On feeling and playing 100% again
"It feels great. Just knowing that I'm back and my hip is 100%. No more nagging or none of that. It's great. I can go out there and do what I love to do, and that's play basketball.  I got back way earlier than they expected. I was supposed to get back around like a month and a half ago, two months, but I almost practiced the whole summer, so everything just went great.

On the biggest differences on the style of play and coaching
“Definitely the emphasis on defense and rebounding, as boxing out is a big key point of this program. And if you don't box out, you won't play. And then, yeah, just defense, plugging the gaps, and just doing the little things on defense is definitely one big emphasis that I'd say it's different from last year. It feels great just knowing that the coaches have our back and they want us to get better, and they pinpoint the little things in the game in your game, which will make you much better as a player. 

Senior F Paulis Murauskus
On the offensive performance improvement from the home opener
“I think we just played generally better, for longer minutes. We didn't start the second half good, but I think we just kept our composure, and we just wanted to all play good for 40 minutes. Rebounding was better today, especially in the beginning. Dillan (Shaw) did a really good job. He finished with 12 rebounds. Then Filip (Malesevic) did a really good job. I will step up with the boards, and they're going to be really good there as well.

On the major difference from home opener and the atmosphere
“The first game is always kind of anxiety and all that. New place, new teammates, everything is new, the new arena as well. We haven't really practiced here much, maybe four practices in DFA (Desert Financial Arena), around that.  Just everything is kind of new. I just want more people to come, more fans, and we're gonna flip this thing and make this place great again.”

 

 

 

 

 

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