Men's Basketball Opens Season with Idaho State

GAME NOTES (PDF) /// OPENING GAME NOTES/HISTORY

GET TICKETS /// WATCH ON ESPN+

TEMPE, Ariz. - The 2024-25 Sun Devil Men's Basketball season tips-off Tuesday at 7 PM MST when Arizona State takes on Idaho State at Desert Financial Arena.

Bobby Hurley enters his tenth year at the helm in Tempe with another talented and deep roster. The Sun Devils begin the Big 12 era with a game against the Bengals at home. Arizona State looks to extend their win streak in home openers to nine games.

The matchup
Arizona State will open their home schedule and regular season on Nov. 5 by taking on Idaho State. This will be the first opportunity for Sun Devil fans to check out their team at Desert Financial Arena. The two sides have matched up five times since 1957, with ASU holding a 4-1 advantage in the series. It is the first meeting between the two programs since the 2017-18 season, when Hurley led Arizona State to a 94-74 victory. It was also the season opening game of that campaign.

How to follow
The broadcast of Sun Devil Men's Basketball's game on Tuesday will air on ESPN+ ($) when they take on Idaho State at Desert Financial Arena, scheduled for a 7 PM MST tip-off with Braiden Bell and Eliav Gabay on the call. Make sure to listen to Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (KMVP). The action can also be tracked via live stats available here.

Quotable
"This group is excited to get the season started," Coach Hurley mentioned. "They have been working extremely hard to be ready for Tuesday. We look forward to getting to play in front of our fans and re-connect with Sun Devil Nation in person."
Click here for full pre-game comments 

Last time out
Forwards Jayden Quaintance and Basheer Jihad provided bright spots in the Exhibition matchup with Duke last month. Both big men accepted the challenge presented by Duke's front line, each finishing with 11 points. Quaintance added six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal, stuffing the stat sheet. Jihad scored his 11 in only 19 minutes and showed his ability to get to the free throw line, going 6-of-7 from the stripe

Season opening notes
Arizona State is 7-2 in season openers against non-conference opponents in the Bobby Hurley era, having won seven of their last eight. In five of those games, the Sun Devils have scored 88+ points. Overall since 2000, the Maroon & Gold are 20-6 in season openers dating back to the 1998-99 season.

Home opener notes
The Sun Devils have won their past eight home openers under Bobby Hurley. They are averaging 84.4 points in those games while giving up only 66.9. ASU is 10-1 in their last 11 home openers.

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.

Ace up our sleeve
Since gaining eligibility midway through last season due to his status as a two-time transfer, redshirt senior guard Adam Miller emerged for the Sun Devils. He scored at least 12 points in nine of his last ten games, averaging 13.9 points during that span. He shot an efficient 49-for-103 (47.6%) from the field and 24-for-30 (80%) from the free throw line. Miller is the leading returning scorer for Arizona State.

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. Sunday's matchup features three of the five youngest players in college basketball.

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.

Solidifying his staff
Head Coach Bobby Hurley added Greg Howell and Ty Larson to his staff this offseason. Howell is the Director of Recruiting and Player Personnel while Larson will serve as the Special Advisor to the Head Coach. They bolster an already decorated group of coaches that Coach Hurley has assembled in Tempe. The duo is joining a program that just secured its best recruiting class in program history and is generating buzz nationally. Howell and Larson will each play an integral role in the day-to-day operations and direction of the program.

Career notes
- Adam Miller enters the season with 913 points, only 87 points shy of 1,000 in his career
- Alston Mason enters the season with 198 assists, only 2 assists shy of 200 in his career
- Basheer Jihad has played in 91 games in his career, the most of any Sun Devil. He is nine games played away from reaching 100 in his career

Career games played (total | @ ASU)
Sun Devils have a combined 613 games of experience at the Division I Level (Includes previous school). ASU has eight players with over 40 games of experience at the Division I level.

Brandon Gardner - 1 | 0
Alston Mason - 79 | 0
Austin Nunez  - 58 | 28
Joson Sanon - 0 | 0
Amier Ali - 0 | 0
Connor Braun - 75 | 0
Basheer Jihad - 91 | 0
Shawn Phillips Jr. - 44 | 24
BJ Freeman  - 59 | 0
Bobby Hurley - 21 | 21
Chianti Clay - 0 | 0
Jayden Quaintance - 0 | 0
Quentin McCoy - 0 | 0
Jordan Williams 8 | 8
Brycen Long - 90 | 6
Adam Miller - 87 | 23

Don't count us out
Arizona State has come back to win a game when trailing at halftime 44 times during the Bobby Hurley era and five times last season, three of which came on the road. Since 2015-16, the Sun Devils are Top-25 in the nation with their 44 halftime comeback victories.

The Hurley Era
Bobby Hurley has won 155 games at ASU and is only the third coach in program history to reach the mark.

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

About those Sun Devil wins
Coach Hurley has notched 155 wins at Arizona State and has done it while scheduling aggressively and not being afraid to play on the road. He has won 98 games in Arizona, but also has won at least five games in California (14), Nevada (12), 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 watch
Hurley has 197 wins in his career between Arizona State and Buffalo and sits just three wins shy of 200 as he gets ready to coach his 12th season at the Division I level.

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

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 a highly-anticipated Exhibition matchup with Duke prior to the season on Oct. 27. ASU will take on 2024 NCAA Tournament participants Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, New Mexico, and Florida with a showdown against St. Mary's possible as well.

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 six conference games scheduled against preseason Top-25 competition. Four of the preseason Top-10 teams (Iowa State, Houston, Baylor, Arizona) 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 Preseason AP Top-25
1. Kansas (Jan. 8 road game)
4. Houston (Feb. 18 home game)
5. Iowa State (Jan. 25 home game)
8. Baylor (Jan. 11 home game)
10. Arizona (Feb. 2 home game; March 4 road game)
20. Cincinnati (Jan. 18 road game)

Big 12 teams in Preseason USA Today Top-25
1. Kansas (Jan. 8 road game)
4. Houston (Feb. 18 home game)
6. Iowa State (Jan. 25 home game)
8. Baylor (Jan. 11 home game)
9. Arizona (Feb. 2 home game; March 4 road game)
20. 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.
Buy Season Tickets 
 
Mini plans
6-game mini plans are available starting at just $150. Fans can choose any 6 home games to include in their plan.
Buy Mini Plans 

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 and the Duke exhibition matchup, 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).