Men's Basketball Faces UMass at Basketball Hall of Fame Classic

Arizona State takes on the Minutemen at MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts at 2 PM MST.

Men's Basketball team gathered during a game against Cal Poly

December 20, 2024

TEMPE - Sun Devil Men's Basketball heads back East to take on UMass on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 PM MST.

Arizona State (8-2) will play in their sixth neutral site game of the season as part of the 2024 MGM Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. Head Coach Bobby Hurley's team is 4-1 in neutral site games, previously defeating 2024 NCAA Tournament teams Santa Clara, Grand Canyon, New Mexico, and Saint Mary's. This is the first meeting between the Sun Devils and the Minutemen.

The Matchup
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will participate in the Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 21 when they take on UMass in Springfield. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the field of teams for the 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, highlighted by Arizona State University.

"Arizona State is honored to play in the 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame Classic," Sun Devil Men's Basketball Head Coach Bobby Hurley remarked. "We are excited to be featured in one of the premiere events in college basketball. Our staff is always looking for ways to challenge our team in the non-conference and competing in this tournament is a perfect way to do that. This trip will not only be a tremendous opportunity to educate our players about the history of the game, it will also present a chance for us to bond and become closer as a unit. We thank the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for the invitation."

The 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame Classic will feature four teams that will take part in a doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 21. Arizona State will face UMass and will also be joined by Rhode Island and Temple at the event.

How to Follow
Arizona State will make their debut on CBS Sports Network when they take on UMass, scheduled for a 2:00 PM MST tip-off with John Sadak (play-by-play) and Pete Gillen (analyst) on the call. Make sure to listen to Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (KMVP).

Neutralizing the Opponent
Arizona State looks to continue their success under Bobby Hurley at neutral sites. The Sun Devils have defeated four teams that won 20+ games in neutral settings already in 2024-25 (Saint Mary's, Grand Canyon, Santa Clara, New Mexico). Three were 2024 NCAA Tournament participants. ASU has now won 17 games overall under Hurley in neutral games. That includes past wins over NC State, Kansas State, St. John's, Mississippi State, Xavier, Michigan, Utah State, New Mexico, Saint Mary's, and Creighton.

2024-25 (4-1)
Florida 83, ASU 66 (Dec. 14, 2024) - Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena (Atlanta, GA)
ASU 68, Saint Mary's 64 (Nov. 29, 2024) - Acrisure Series (Palm Desert, CA)
ASU 85, New Mexico (Nov. 28, 2024) - Acrisure Series (Palm Desert, CA)
ASU 87 vs. Grand Canyon 76 (Nov. 14, 2024) - Hall off Fame Series at Footprint Center (Phoenix, AZ)
ASU 81, Santa Clara 74 (Nov. 8, 2024) - Hoopfest at Lee's Family Forum (Las Vegas, NV)

The Sun Devils are one of only ten teams that has at least four wins at neutral sites.

8-2 Start
Arizona State has won eight or more of their first ten games for the fifth time under the Bobby Hurley era (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2022-23, 2024-25).

Season Metrics (As of 12/19)
NET: 51
Ken Pom: 61
ESPN Strength of Record: 25
RPI (Warren Nolan): 14

NET Positive
The first edition of the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) ranking is used in determining NCAA Tournament selections. Arizona State is 50th in the current edition. Coach Hurley's team is 1-1 in Quad 1 games, with their win coming over NET #46 Saint Mary's on a neutral site. Their lone losses are to NET #4 Gonzaga on the road and #6 Florida in Atlanta. ASU has a favorable average opponent NET ranking of 17, an indication of a challenging schedule.

Block Party
Freshman Jayden Quaintance added five more rejections and has recorded 34 blocks thus far in the 2024-2025 season, second-most of any player in the nation (As of 12/19). He has already surpassed Pac-12 career blocks leader Jordan Bachynski on the ASU freshman single-season blocks list. Quaintance has the second-most blocks in a single season by a freshman in program history and has done it in only ten games. He has two or more blocks in all ten games this year, including five 4+ block performances.

Sun Devil Freshman Blocks Record (1978-79-present)
55, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
34, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
33, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
31, Ike Diogu, 2002-03

Hitting the Glass
Not only has Quaintance solidified his status as a premier shot blocker nationally, he has also been outstanding on the glass. He is on pace to become the program's all-time leader in rebounds per game by a freshman, set by Ike Diogu back in 2002-03. He is tied for fifth in the Big 12 with 80 total rebounds.

Sun Devil Freshman Rebounds per Game Record (1978-79-present)
8.0, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
7.8, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
7.1, Romello White, 2017-18
6.8, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
6.2, Marcus Bagley, 2020-21
6.2, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
6.1, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-06
5.8, Johnny Nash, 1976-77
5.4, Kyle Cain, 2010-11
5.3, James Harden, 2007-08

Don't Count Us Out
Arizona State has come back to win a game when trailing at halftime 46 times during the Bobby Hurley era, including two of the past four games. Since 2015-16, the Sun Devils are Top-25 in the nation with their 46 halftime comeback victories.

2024-25 (2)
(-2) Saint Mary's 34, ASU 32/Nov. 29, 2024/ASU 68, New Mexico 64
(-3) New Mexico 37, ASU 34/Nov. 28, 2024/ASU 85, New Mexico 82

2023-24 (5)
(-2) @Utah 42, ASU 40/Feb. 10, 2024/ASU 85, @Utah 77
(-10) @Cal 35, ASU 25/Dec. 31, 2023/ASU 71, @Cal 69
(-9) @Stanford 37, ASU 28/Dec. 29, 2023/ASU 76, @Stanford 73
(-3) SMU 40, ASU 36/Dec. 6, 2023/ASU 76, SMU 74
(-9) UMass Lowell 31, ASU 22/Nov. 16, 2023/ASU 71, UMass Lowell 69

Comfortable when it is Close
Sun Devils is 19-8 in two-possession games over the past three seasons. Arizona State is 61-42 (59.2%) in close games in the Bobby Hurley era and 3-0 this season. All three wins have come in the past five games.

Sun Devils in Games of Six Points or Less
2024-25 (3-0)
ASU 68, Saint Mary's 64 (Nov. 29, 2024)
ASU 85, New Mexico 82 (Nov. 28, 2024)
ASU 93, Cal Poly 89 (Nov. 20, 2024)

2023-24 (5-3)
Washington 84, ASU 82 OT (Feb. 22, 2024)
UCLA 68, ASU 66 (Jan. 17, 2024)
ASU 76, Colorado 73 (Jan. 6, 2024)
ASU 71, @ Cal 69 (Dec. 31, 2023)
ASU 76, @Stanford 73 (Dec. 29, 2023)
@San Diego 89, ASU 84 (Dec. 9, 2023)
ASU 76, SMU 74 (Dec. 6, 2023)
ASU 71, UMass Lowell 69 (Nov. 16, 2023)

2022-23 (11-5)
TCU 72, ASU 70 (Mar. 17, 2023 at NCAA Tournament/Ball Arena in Denver)
ASU 77, USC 72 (Mar. 9, 2023 at Pac-12 Tournament/T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas)
ASU 63, Oregon State 57 (Mar. 8, 2023 at Pac-12 Tournament/T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas)
ASU 65, @USC 68 (Mar. 4, 2023)
ASU 89, @Arizona 88 (Feb. 25, 2023)
ASU 69, @Stanford 65 (Feb. 9, 2023)
Oregon 75, ASU 70 (Feb. 4, 2023)
@Washington 69, ASU 66 (Jan. 26, 2023)
ASU 74, @Oregon State 69 (Jan. 14, 2023)
ASU 77, Washington State 71 (Jan. 5, 2023)
ASU 73, Creighton 71 (Dec. 12, 2022 at Jack Jones Hoopfest in Las Vegas)
ASU 68, Stanford 64 (Dec. 4, 2022)
ASU 60, @Colorado 59 (Dec. 1, 2022)
ASU 63, VCU 59 (Nov. 16, 2022/Barclays Center)
@Texas Southern 67, ASU 66 (Nov. 13, 2022)
ASU 62, Tarleton 59 (Nov. 7, 2022)

Last Time Out
The Arizona State men's basketball team (8-2) had its eight-game win streak snapped by the No. 9 Florida Gators (10-0) Saturday afternoon, 83-66, in Atlanta. Adam Miller led ASU with a season-high 18 points, but Florida out-rebounded the Sun Devils 47-27 and held ASU to just 23-of-62 (.371) from the field. The Gators had a 9-0 run in just over 1:25 midway through the second half to put the game out of reach, as ASU found itself down by only nine at halftime, but could not keep pace with a red-hot Florida team.

Sansational Start
Joson Sanon continues to emerge as one of the premier freshman in the country. Despite struggling in the past game, he has still put up insane numbers since moving to the bench. Over the last seven games, Sanon has scored a total of 122 points (17.4 ppg) and grabbed 28 rebounds (4.0 rpg). During that span, he is shooting 43-83 (51.8%) from the field and 21-38 (55.3%) from beyond the arc. He is averaging a team-best 14.8 points per game this season. He is tied for 17th nationally among freshman in points per game and is top among Big 12 freshman. Sanon is currently averaging the sixth-most points of any freshmen in program history.

Points per Game at Arizona State (Freshman Season)
19.0, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
18.5, Jahii Carson, 2012-13
17.8, James Harden, 2007-08
16.1, Luguentz Dort, 2018-19
15.4, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
14.8, Joson Sanon, 2024-25
14.3, Josh Christopher, 2020-21
13.6, Byron Scott, 1979-80

Ba-Sheer Force
In his first two games, Basheer Jihad combined for five points on 1-of-10 shooting. Over his past eight games, Jihad has accumulated 128 points (16.0 ppg) on 35-of-68 (51.5%) shooting . He is also 50-for-68 (73.5%) from the free throw line during that span. Jihad leads the Big 12 with 52 made AND 70 total free throw attempts this season.

Career Games Played (total | @ ASU)
Sun Devils have a combined 701 games of experience at the Division I Level (Includes previous school). ASU has eight players with over 50 games of experience at the Division I level.

Rim Protection
Arizona State is second in the Big 12 and 15th nationally averaging 5.5 blocks per game. Freshman Jayden Quaintance is a big reason why, contributing a league-best 3.4. Basheer Jihad, Shawn Phillips Jr., Alston Mason, and BJ Freeman each have four or more blocks this season.

Beyond the Arc
The Sun Devils are 32nd nationally shooting at a 38.4% clip from three-point range. That is the third-best mark in the Big 12 Conference. ASU's 9.4 three-pointers per game rank Top-60 nationally.

Mr. Reliable
Alston Mason has been a steady presence in the lineup for Head Coach Bobby Hurley at point guard. Mason has led the team in minutes in eight of the ten games. He averages 33.2 minutes per game, which is fourth in the Big 12 behind only UCF's Darius Johnson and West Virginia's duo of Javon Small/Tucker DeVries.

Double Doubles
Both Basheer Jihad and Jayden Quaintance have put together performances of double digit points and rebound this year. Jihad had 20 and 10 on the road against No. 6 Gonzaga, while Quaintance is one of only ten Big 12 players with two or more double doubles this year.

The Hurley Era
Bobby Hurley has won 163 games at ASU and he is only the second coach in program history to reach the mark. With the win over Cal Poly, he passed Herb Sendek for the second-most victories in program history.

Career Wins at ASU
406, Ned Wulk (1957-82)
163, Bobby Hurley (2015-present)
159, Herb Sendek (2006-15)

About those Sun Devil Wins
Coach Hurley has notched 163 wins at Arizona State and has done it while scheduling aggressively and not being afraid to play on the road. He has won 103 games in Arizona, but also has won at least five games in California (16), Nevada (13), Oregon (six) and Washington (five). Four wins have taken place in Utah, three in New York, and two in Colorado, Nebraska, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Single wins have taken place in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, New Jersey and Texas.

Milestone Complete
Hurley earned the 200th win in his head coaching career between Arizona State and Buffalo in his 12th season at the Division I level when ASU defeated Grand Canyon. 162 of those wins have come with Sun Devil Men's Basketball. Hurley also earned his 150th career win when ASU beat Grand Canyon back in 2021.

Constant Competition
Head Coach Bobby Hurley and his staff have once again constructed an extremely challenging slate that sees Arizona State hosting winning programs and taking on strong competition away from home. The 11-game schedule features seven contests away from home and four at Desert Financial Arena in addition to the exhibition matchup with Duke prior to the season on Oct. 27. ASU has already faced 2024 NCAA Tournament participants Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, New Mexico, Saint Mary's and Florida before Big 12 play has even started.

AP Top-15 (ASU game)
1. Tennessee
2. Auburn
3. Iowa State (Jan. 25 home game)
4. Kentucky
5. Duke (Oct. 27 road game; Exhibition)
6. Alabama
7. Florida (Dec. 14 neutral site game)
8. Kansas (Jan. 8 road game)
9. Marquette
10. Oregon
11. UConn
12. Texas A&M
13. OklahomaGonzaga (Nov. 10 road game)
14. Oklahoma
15. Houston (Feb. 18 home game)
Arizona State plays six AP Top-15 teams.

Player of the Year Watch Lists
Freshman Jayden Quaintance is one of 20 initial candidates for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given out annually the nation's best center. Senior BJ Freeman is one of 20 players selected to the Julius Erving Award preseason watch list, which recognizes the top small forward in the country. The duo represent the first Sun Devils to land on a national award preseason watch list since 2021.

Phenomenal Freshman
Head Coach Bobby Hurley put together a Top-10 recruiting class, the highest in program history. It was ranked No. 9 by 247 Sports and No. 8 by Rivals and features a five-star recruit alongside two high four-star prospects.

F Jayden Quaintance

The highest-rated recruit to ever sign with Arizona State.
Ranked as the No. 9 overall prospect in the entire class of 2024 and the No. 2 center prospect by 247 Sports
Rivals tabbed him as the No. 8 overall prospect and No. 1 center in the 2024 class
Consensus five-star recruit and No. 1 prospect out of the state of North Carolina among all the major recruiting services
2024 McDonald's All-American

G Joson Sanon

Third-highest ranked recruit to ever sign with Arizona State according to 247 Sports, trailing only Jayden Quaintance and Josh Christopher
Ranked as the No. 24 overall prospect in the entire class of 2024 and the No. 5 shooting guard prospect by 247 Sports
Identified as the No. 26 overall player and No. 8 shooting guard in the nation by Rivals
ESPN lists him as the No. 23 overall prospect in their Top-100 and the No. 6 shooting guard in the class of 2024

G/F Amier Ali

11th-highest ranked recruit to ever sign with Arizona State according to 247 Sports
ESPN lists him at No. 54 in their Top-100 prospect rankings
- No. 15 small forward prospect in the nation
- No. 3 prospect in the state of Arizona
No. 98 overall prospect in the nation according to 247 Sports
- No. 21 small forward prospect in the country
- No. 5 prospect in the state of Arizona
Tabbed by Rivals as the No. 104 overall prospect and No. 27 small forward in the class of 2024

Impact Transfers
A five-man transfer class immediately bolstered the Sun Devil Men's Basketball roster. It is one of the premier transfer classes in program history. BJ Freeman, Alston Mason, and Basheer Jihad join the fold after leading their teams in scoring a season ago. Brandon Gardner and Austin Nunez return to Arizona State after making strong connections with the connections in their previous recruitment process.

F Brandon Gardner, USC
G/F BJ Freeman, UW Milwaukee
G Alston Mason, Missouri State
F Basheer Jihad, Ball State
G Austin Nunez, Ole Miss

Youth movement
Arizona State freshman forward Jayden Quaintance enters the 2024-25 season as the youngest player in college basketball. He is over six months younger than the second-youngest on the list, which is Duke's Cooper Flagg.

Name	School	Birthdate
Jayden Quaintance	Arizona State	07/2007
Cooper Flagg	Duke	12/2006
Colt Langdon	Butler	11/2006
Bryce Heard	NC State	10/2006
Khaman Maluach	Duke	09/2006

Family Ties
The Sun Devil Men's Basketball roster features several connections through bloodline. Head Coach Bobby Hurley's son, Bobby Hurley, is a senior guard on the team. Senior guard Alston Mason's father, Alton Mason, played at Arizona State from 1998-2001. Senior guard Jordan Williams cousin is legendary Sun Devil guard James Harden.

Roster Snapshot (numerical)
#0 Brandon Gardner (Redshirt Freshman/Forward/USC/Waynesboro, GA)
#1 Alston Mason (Senior/Guard/Missouri State/Phoenix, AZ)
#2 Austin Nunez (Junior/Guard/Ole Miss/Garden Ridge, TX)
#3 Joson Sanon (Freshman/Guard/Saxton Rivers, VT)
#5 Amier Ali (Freshman/Guard/Forward/Little Elm, TX)
#6 Connor Braun (Graduate/Forward/Northeastern/Tempe, AZ)
#8 Basheer Jihad (Senior/Forward/Ball State/Detroit, MI)
#9 Shawn Phillips Jr. (Junior/Center/Dayton, OH)
#10 BJ Freeman (Senior/Guard & Forward/UW Milwaukee/Selma, NC)
#11 Bobby Hurley (Senior/Guard/Scottsdale, AZ)
#14 Chianti Clay (Senior/Guard/University of Fort Lauderdale/Milwaukee, WI)
#21 Jayden Quaintance (Freshman/Forward/Raleigh, NC)
#22 Quentin McCoy (Freshman/Guard/Chicago, IL)
#25 Jordan Williams (Senior/Guard/Los Angeles, CA)
#33 Brycen Long (Graduate/Guard/Gilbert, AZ)
#44 Adam Miller (Redshirt Senior/Guard/Peoria, IL)
5 returners; 7 transfers; 4 incoming freshman

2024-25 Arizona State Men's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
Oct. 27 - at Duke (Brotherhood Run Exhibition; Cameron Indoor Stadium)*
Nov. 5 - vs. Idaho State (Home/Regular Season Opener; Desert Financial Arena)
Nov. 8 - Santa Clara (Lee's Family Forum; Las Vegas, NV)
Nov. 10 - at Gonzaga (McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, WA)
Nov. 14 - Grand Canyon (Hall of Fame Series; Footprint Center in Phoenix)
Nov. 17 - vs. St. Thomas (Desert Financial Arena)
Nov. 20 - vs. Cal Poly (Desert Financial Arena)
Nov. 28 - New Mexico (Acrisure Classic; Palm Springs, CA)
Nov. 29 - St. Mary's or USC (Acrisure Classic; Palm Springs, CA)
Dec. 3 - vs. San Diego (Desert Financial Arena)
Dec. 14 - Florida (Holiday Hoopsgiving; Atlanta, GA)
Dec. 21 - UMass (Basketball Hall of Fame Classic; Springfield, MA)
*Exhibition contest

Arizona State makes the transition to the Big 12 Conference and have four conference games scheduled against Top-25 competition. A pair of the Top-15 teams (Iowa State & Houston) will all come to Desert Financial Arena. Of their 20 league games, 15 will come against opponents that made the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

2024-25 Sun Devil Men's Basketball Big 12 Schedule
Dec. 31 (Tues.) - at BYU
Jan. 4 (Sat.) - vs. Colorado
Jan. 8 (Wed.) - at Kansas
Jan. 11 (Sat.) - vs. Baylor
Jan. 14 (Tues.) - vs. UCF
Jan. 18 (Sat.) - at Cincinnati
Jan. 21 (Tues.) - at West Virginia
Jan. 25 (Sat.) - vs. Iowa State
Jan. 28 (Tues.) - at Colorado
Feb. 1 (Sat.) - vs. Arizona
Feb. 4 (Tues.) - vs. Kansas State
Feb. 9 (Sun.) - at Oklahoma State
Feb. 12 (Wed.) - at Texas Tech
Feb. 15 (Sat.) - vs. TCU
Feb. 18 (Tues.) - vs. Houston
Feb. 23 (Sat.) - at Kansas State
Feb. 26 (Wed.) - vs. BYU
March 1 (Sat.) - at Utah
March 4 (Tues.) - at Arizona
March 8 (Sat.) - vs. Texas Tech

Big 12 teams in AP Top 25
3. Iowa State (Jan. 25 home game)
8. Kansas (Jan. 8 road game)
15. Houston (Feb. 18 home game)
19. Cincinnati (Jan. 18 road game)

Big 12 Matchups
Arizona (1 road; 1 home game)
Baylor (1 home game)
BYU (1 road; 1 home game)
Cincinnati (1 road game)
Colorado (1 road; 1 home game)
Houston (1 home game)
Iowa State (1 home game)
Kansas (1 road game)
Kansas State (1 road; 1 home game)
Oklahoma State (1 road game)
TCU (1 home game)
Texas Tech (1 road; 1 home game)
UCF (1 home game)
Utah (1 road game)
West Virginia (1 road game)

Season Tickets
Season tickets are available starting at just $180. Season tickets include all regular season home games in Desert Financial Arena.
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Mini Plans
6-game mini plans are available starting at just $150. Fans can choose any 6 home games to include in their plan.
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Single-game Tickets
Single-game tickets are on sale now. Visit Sun Devil Tickets for more information on how to purchase. If you are interested in learning more about any of our tickets and experience options, please call or text 480-727-0000 or email grouptickets@asu.edu to contact a Sun Devil ticket sales representative.

Here to Stay
The Arizona State Board of Regents announced in March of 2023 that Sun Devil Men's Basketball Head Coach Bobby Hurley has agreed to an extension that will keep him with the program through the 2026 season.

Sun Devils on Social
For exclusive content, the latest updates, and more information on the Sun Devil Men's Basketball program, follow our X/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilHoops), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/SunDevilHoops/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Follow Coach Hurley on X (@BobbyHurley11).

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