Men's Basketball Welcomes San Diego to DFA

Arizona State will take on the Torreros in their lone home game in the month of December.

Head Coach Bobby Hurley

December 2, 2024

TEMPE - Sun Devil Men's Basketball returns to Desert Financial Arena for a matchup with San Diego on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 7 PM MST.

Arizona State (7-1) is coming off a win in the Acrisure Classic Championship game, which extended their winning streak to five games. Head Coach Bobby Hurley's team is back in Tempe to take on San Diego for the third straight year. The Sun Devils are already 3-0 at home this season, previously defeating Idaho State, St. Thomas, and Cal Poly. Fans are encouraged to bring stuffed animals for the annual "Teddy Bear Toss", with donations going towards Hushabye Nursery.

The Matchup
The final home game of the non-conference slate features a rematch from last year, as San Diego returns the trip to Tempe. This will be the third consecutive year that the Sun Devils and Torreros have faced off, with the two sides splitting the previous two matchups. ASU holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 3-0 record at home. In the 2022 meeting at Desert Financial Arena, the Maroon & Gold cruised to a 91-67 victory.

How to Follow
Arizona State is back on ESPN+ when they take on San Diego, scheduled for a 7 PM MST tip-off with Braiden Bell (play-by-play) and former Sun Devil Track & Field student-athlete Kelly Burke (analyst) on the call. Make sure to listen to Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on ESPN 620 AM (KTAR).

Last Time Out
Sun Devil Men's Basketball won the Acrisure Classic Championship by defeating Saint Mary's on Friday night at Acrisure Arena. For the second consecutive night, Head Coach Bobby Hurley's team came through in a close game and proved to be a different team after halftime. Arizona State (7-1) trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but showed resiliency throughout the night to secure a 68-64 victory over the previously undefeated Gaels (7-1).

A key to the win was the Sun Devils limiting Saint Mary's to just 17-of-43 (39.5%) shooting from inside the arc for the game and a 11-of-30 (36.7%) overall mark from the field in the second half. An intense and strategic effort after the break proved to be the difference, as the Maroon & Gold surged past a Saint Mary's squad that has won 26 or more games in three straight seasons.

Freshman guard Joson Sanon was named the 2024 Acrisure Classic MVP following the game. He led all scorers with 19 points in the win over the Gaels, making 8-of-16 shots from the field and 3-of-4 from deep. Sanon averaged 19 points in the two-game stretch and continues to emerge as one of the best freshman in the nation. Fellow freshman Jayden Quaintance made his impact felt in many ways, putting forth an all-around effort of 10 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks. Veterans BJ Freeman (11 points) and Adam Miller (11 points) provided timely buckets down the stretch, allowing the Sun Devils to capture one of the program's biggest non-conference victories.

Acrisure Classic Championship Game
Sun Devil Men's Basketball captures their fourth non-conference tournament championship in the Bobby Hurley era. ASU also won the 2022 Legends Classic, 2018 MGM Resorts Title, and the 2017 Continental Tire Invitational.

2024 Acrisure Classic Champions
ASU 68, Saint Mary's 64 (Nov. 29, 2024) -- Palm Springs
ASU 85, New Mexico 82 (Nov. 28, 2024) -- Palm Springs

2022 Legends Classic
ASU 87, #20 Michigan 62 (Nov. 17, 2022) -- Barclays Center, Brooklyn
ASU 63, VCU 59 (Nov. 16, 2022) -- Barclays Center, Brooklyn

2018 MGM Resorts Title
ASU 87, Utah State 82 (Nov. 21, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas)
ASU 72, #15 Mississippi State 67 (Nov. 20, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas)

2017 Continental Tire Invitational
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 (Nov. 24, 2017 at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas)
ASU 92, Kansas State 90 (Nov. 23, 2017 at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas)

Acrisure Classic MVP
Freshman guard Joson Sanon was named the 2024 Acrisure Classic Tournament MVP. He was fantastic in helping Arizona State defeat New Mexico and Saint Mary's. Sanon averaged 19.0 points in only 30 minutes per game on 14-of-25 (56%) shooting and 5-of-9 (56%) from deep. He was the Sun Devils' leading scorer in their victory over Saint Mary's in the Championship game, scoring 19 points and making three of his four three pointers.

7-1 Start
Arizona State starts 7-1 for the first time since the 2022-2023 season and the fourth time under the Bobby Hurley era (2017-18, 2018-19, 2022-23, 2024-25).

Season Metrics (As of 12/1)
NET: 33
Ken Pom: 57
ESPN Strength of Record: 13
RPI (Warren Nolan): 11

NET Positive
The first edition of the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) ranking came out on Monday. Arizona State is 33rd in the initial release, the highest they have ever debut in the NET rankings. Coach Hurley's team is 1-1 in Quad 1 games, with their win coming over NET #25 Saint Mary's on a neutral site. Their lone loss is to NET #3 Gonzaga on the road. ASU is one of only 16 schools that have not played a Quad 4 game yet. They are the lone Power 4 + Big East school that can make that claim. The Sun Devils are ninth in average opponent NET ranking and are one of the few teams in the Top-10 with a winning record.

Top-10 Average Opponent NET Ranking

San Diego St, 3-2
Florida A&M, 0-5
Mississippi Valley, 0-7
Alabama, 6-2
Memphis, 6-1
Grambling St, 0-5
Seattle University, 1-5
Pittsburgh, 7-1
Arizona St, 7-1
North Carolina, 4-3

Block Party
Freshman Jayden Quaintance has recorded 27 blocks thus far in the 2024-2025 season, the most of any player in the nation. He has already surpassed Pac-12 career blocks leader Jordan Bachynski on the ASU freshman single-season blocks list. Quaintance has the fifth-most blocks by a freshman in program history through eight games. He has two or more blocks in all eight games this year, including four 4+ block performances.

Sun Devil Freshman Blocks Record (1978-79-present)
55, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
33, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
31, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
29, Jalen Graham, 2019-20
27, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25

The Jayden Quaintance Effect
Jayden Quaintance's presence could be felt in many ways in the last game, including when looking at Saint Mary's success inside the paint. Quaintance and the Sun Devil interior defense held the Gaels to a putrid 6-of-17 (35.2%) on layups and 17-of-43 (39.5%) overall from inside the arc. Earlier in the year, Grand Canyon finished a similarly low 13-for-28 (46%) on layups and 19-for-42 (45%) on shots inside the arc in large part due to Jayden Quaintance's presence down low.

The freshman did a little bit of everything in leading Arizona State to the Acrisure Classic Championship. Quaintance finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks in 32 minutes of action.

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 each of the past two 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

Second Half Shutdown
Arizona State turned up the defensive intensity when they came out of the break in the Acrisure Classic Championship. Saint Mary's failed to record a field goal until the 13:58 mark in the second half, going over six minutes without making a shot. The Gaels shot 11-of-30 (36.7%) from the field and 3-of-10 (30%) from three after the break.

Holding Saint Mary's star freshman Jordan Ross in check was a big factor in the comeback win. After scoring 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half, Ross scored only 5 points and was 1-of-6 from the field in the second despite playing all 20 minutes.

Hitting the Glass
Saint Mary's entered the game first nationally in rebounding margin, averaging 16 more rebounds than their opponents. ASU held their own in that area (41-34 SMC edge), including boasting a 20-19 rebounding advantage in the second half.

Comfortable when it is Close
Sun Devils moved to 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 three 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)

Free-d Up
Senior guard BJ Freeman had a major impact down the stretch. He not only scored several huge baskets on the offensive end, he also secured several important defensive rebounds. In the second half alone, Freeman had eight points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.

Ball Security
After finishing with more turnovers than their opponent in each of the first six games of the season, Arizona State now has less turnovers for the second straight game. Saint Mary's committed 13 compared to ASU's 10.

Why they Won
Head Coach Bobby Hurley's team did all the little things right and owned several important statistical categories in the win over Saint Mary's.

Fast Break Points: 14-4, Arizona State
Points in the Paint: 38-22, Arizona State
Bench Points: 21-8, Arizona State
Second Chance Points: 13-8, Arizona State

Sansational Start
Joson Sanon continues to emerge as one of the premier freshman in the country. He finished with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting off the bench. Over the last five games, Joson Sanon has scored a total of 99 points (19.8 ppg) and grabbed 20 rebounds (4.0 rpg). During that span, he is shooting 35-63 (55.5%) from the field and 15-26 (57.7%) from beyond the arc. He is now averaging a team-best 15.5 points per game this season.

Ba-Sheer Force
In his first two games, Basheer Jihad combined for five points on 1-of-10 shooting. Over his past six games, Jihad has accumulated 96 points (16.0 ppg) on 26-of-48 (54.2%) shooting . He is also 38-for-50 (76%) from the free throw line during that span.

Career Games Played (total | @ ASU)
Sun Devils have a combined 680 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.

The Hurley Era
Bobby Hurley has won 162 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)
162, Bobby Hurley (2015-present)
159, Herb Sendek (2006-15)

About those Sun Devil Wins
Coach Hurley has notched 162 wins at Arizona State and has done it while scheduling aggressively and not being afraid to play on the road. He has won 102 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. 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.

Home Court Advantage
Arizona State has won their past 13 non-conference home games dating back to a loss to San Francisco on Dec. 19, 2021. That includes a 3-0 record this season at Desert Financial Arena.

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 2024 NCAA Tournament participants Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, New Mexico, and Florida with a showdown against St. Mary's possible as well.

AP Top-14 (ASU game)
1. Kansas (Jan. 8 road game)
2. Auburn
3. Tennessee
4. Kentucky
5. Marquette
6. Iowa State (Jan. 25 home game)
7. Gonzaga (Nov. 10 road game)
8. Purdue
9. Duke (Oct. 27 road game; Exhibition)
10. Alabama
11. Wisconsin
12. Oregon
13. Florida (Dec. 14 neutral site game)
14. Cincinnati (Jan. 18 road game)
Arizona State plays six AP Top-14 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 six conference games scheduled against Top-25 competition. A pair of the Top-10 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
1. Kansas (Jan. 8 road game)
6. Iowa State (Jan. 25 home game)
14. Cincinnati (Jan. 18 road game)
15. Baylor (Jan. 11 home game)
17. Houston (Feb. 18 home 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, 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).

Read archived stories prior to 2024