Men's Hoops Takes on Santa Clara in Las Vegas

GAME NOTES (PDF) /// ASU RESULTS AT NEUTRAL SITES

SUN DEVIL BEST DEFENSIVE EFFORTS /// FLOSPORTS HOW TO WATCH

TEMPE, Ariz. - Sun Devil Men's Basketball heads to familiar territory when they face off with Santa Clara on Friday at 6 PM MST.

Arizona State (1-0) returns to Las Vegas where they will take on the Santa Clara Broncos in a neutral site contest. The showdown is part of a doubleheader at Lee's Family Forum, with the nightcap featuring UCLA and New Mexico. Head Coach Bobby Hurley's team looks to build off an impressive defensive effort in the season opener, as the Sun Devils held Idaho State to just 25.4% shooting, the lowest by an opponent in the Hurley era.

The matchup
A neutral site matchup with plenty of intrigue as the Sun Devils take on one of the nation's best mid majors, Santa Clara, in their first test away from home. Santa Clara is led by former ASU Head Coach Herb Sendek, who will take on his former team for the first time. This is the first meeting between the two sides since 2004, with Arizona State holding a 5-2 advantage in the series. The contest will take place in Las Vegas, a location familiar to the Sun Devils. The program has had several significant wins under Bobby Hurley in Las Vegas.

Sun Devils in Las Vegas
Head Coach Bobby Hurley and Sun Devil Men's Basketball are no stranger to competing in Las Vegas, as the program has had plenty of success in the city during his tenure. Arizona State is 4-3 in Las Vegas over the past two seasons, picking up victories over Creighton, Vanderbilt, Oregon State, and USC during that span. The Sun Devils participated in the 2023 Vegas Showdown last year, going 1-1 at Michelob ULTRA Arena (L vs. No. 20 BYU, W vs. Vanderbilt). In previous years, Coach Hurley has guided ASU to neutral site tournament championships at the 2017 Continental Tire Invitational and the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event. Here is a look back at some of the program's biggest triumphs in the Entertainment Capital of the World.  

2022 Jack Jones Hoopfest (Michelob ULTRA Arena)
ASU 73, Creighton 71 - Dec. 12
Facing adversity and resisting several significant momentum shifts in the second half, Arizona State overcame a 21-point swing and downed Creighton 73-71 in their last appearance at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Desmond Cambridge Jr. was lethal, dropping his game-high 19 points in only 18 minutes. With ASU taking body blows in the form of a 16-0 Creighton run early in the second half, he drilled two threes in less than 30 seconds to silence the Bluejays faithful. The Sun Devils clamped down defensively - forcing Creighton to miss seven of its final nine shots in the final five minutes - resulting in the massive win.

2018 MGM Resorts Main Event (T-Mobile Arena)
ASU 87, Utah State 82 - Nov. 21
Luguentz Dort earned MVP honors of the MGM Resorts Heavyweight Bracket with a 33-point outing to lift Arizona State to an 87-82 win over Utah State. Dort's tally still is the third-best in program history for by a freshman, behind Mario Bennett (35 in 1992) and Jahii Carson (34 in 2013).

Arizona State moved to 5-0 on the season for only the third time in the past 33 seasons with the victory. This was part of an incredible stretch under Hurley in which the program won 19 straight non-conference games during the regular season.

ASU 72, #15 Mississippi State 67 - Nov. 20
For the second consecutive season, the Sun Devils captured a statement November victory in Las Vegas, NV with the 72-67 win over No. 15 Mississippi State. The Sun Devils broke the Bulldogs full-court press in the final seconds, leading to a slam by Kimani Lawrence that capped off ASU's 4-0 start.

Lawrence drilled a game-winning three from the corner, giving Arizona State a three-point advantage with just 29 seconds to play.  Lawrence tallied a career-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting Monday and snagged five rebounds. With Sun Devil Men's Golf legend Phil Mickelson in attedance, the Maroon & Gold advance to the championship game of the event.

2017 Continental Tire Invitational (Orleans Arena)
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 - Nov. 24
Arizona State, elevated by a career-high 40-point performance from Invitational MVP Tra Holder, defeated No. 15 Xavier 102-86 to capture the Continental Tire Invitational Championship. The victory was the program's first win over an opponent ranked in the Top-15 since knocking off then No. 6 Arizona, 81-78, on Feb. 7, 2015. It also marked Arizona State's largest margin of victory (16) over a ranked opponent in the Bobby Hurley era. ASU improved to 6-0, eclipsing the 90+ point-mark in all six games. Collectively Arizona State capped the outing shooting at impressive clips of 56 percent (33-of-59) from the field, 48 percent (13-27) from beyond the arc and 92 percent from the charity stripe (23-of-25).

ASU 92, Kansas State 90 - Nov. 23
Kodi Justice scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half to lead Arizona State to a 92-90 victory over Kansas State on Thanksgiving in the Continental Tire Invitational. ASU reached 90 points for the fifth straight game for the first time since February of 1960, moving to 5-0 for only the second time in 32 years. Justice hit from all over in making 9-of-10 field goal and 6-of-8 free throws. He was perfect in four three-pointers and added three assists and just one turnover in 37 minutes.

How to follow
The broadcast of Sun Devil Men's Basketball's game on Friday will air on FloSports ($) when they take on Santa Clara at Lee's Family Forum, scheduled for a 6 PM MST tip-off with Dave Ryan and Dan Dickau on the call. Make sure to listen to Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on ESPN 620 AM (KTAR). 

Quotable
"It's good to be back in a familiar arena and it's good to have my family here," Senior guard Alston Mason reflected after the season-opening win. "It meant a lot more and you kind of just have to cherish these moments. This is my fourth season-opening game in college, but this one meant a little bit more. I had my family here and they were able to put on ASU jerseys."

Last time out
Arizona State pulled out a hard fought 55-48 win over Idaho State to kick off the 2024-2025 regular season on Tuesday. Guard Joson Sanon and forward Jayden Quaintance made their highly-anticipated collegiate debut in front of the home crowd, becoming the first freshman duo to start the first game of the year since 2020. ASU used a historic defensive effort to secure the ninth straight win in a home opener under Head Coach Bobby Hurley.

Three Sun Devils players reached double figures tonight, led by senior guard Alston Mason, who finished with 14 points while connecting on 2-of-4 shots from downtown. Senior forward BJ Freeman was productive off the bench and nearly reached double-double, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds. Joson Sanon looked comfortable in his first game as a Sun Devil, as he finished with 11 points, three rebounds, and three assists.

Getting defensive
The Sun Devils held Idaho State to 48 points in tonight's home-opener, tied for third-lowest points scored by an opponent since 2000. Arizona State also held Idaho State to a 25.4 FG%, marking the lowest FG% by ISU since Montana held them to 24.6 FG% on Feb. 6, 2012. The Bengals finished with the lowest FG% by an ASU opponent since Oregon State (24.6%) on Feb. 11, 2010. It is the lowest an opponent has shot against a Bobby Hurley-coached ASU team. The 14.3% shooting from beyond the arc by the Bengals was the lowest percentage by a Sun Devil opponent since Grambling shot 7.7% from deep on Nov. 22, 2022

Fewest points allowed by ASU in home opener (Since 2000)
35 – Western Illinois (Nov. 13, 2009)
41 – Cal Poly (Nov. 26, 2007)
48 – Idaho State (Nov. 5, 2024)
48 – Jackson State (Nov. 21, 2004)
49 – Central Connecticut State (Nov. 14, 2019)
50 – Chicago State (Nov. 14, 2014)

ASU best defensive FG% under Hurley (2015-PRESENT)
.254/17-67 by Idaho State (Nov. 5, 2024)
.266/17-64 by Grambling (Nov. 22, 2022)
.271/19-70 by Alcorn State (Nov. 27, 2022)
.274/17-62 by Long Beach State (Nov. 12, 2018)
.286/18-63 by San Francisco (Dec. 2, 2017)
.298/17-57 by Central Connecticut State (Nov. 14, 2019)

Block party
Jayden Quaintance was credited with six blocks in his collegiate debut, the most in a single game by a Sun Devil since De'Quon Lake had seven against Pacific on December 22, 2017. ASU finished with nine blocks, more than they had in any game last year and the most since recording nine blocks in a road win over Oregon State back on Jan. 14, 2022.

Season opening notes
Arizona State moved to 8-2 in season openers against non-conference opponents in the Bobby Hurley era, having won eight of their last nine. Overall since 2000, the Maroon & Gold are 21-6 in season openers dating back to the 1998-99 season.

Home opener notes
The Sun Devils have now won their past nine home openers under Bobby Hurley. They are averaging 79.3 points in home-opener games while giving up only 64.9. ASU is 11-1 in their last 12 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.

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.

Career games played (total | @ ASU)
Sun Devils have a combined 622 games of experience at the Division I Level (Includes previous school). ASU has eight players with over 45 games of experience at the Division I level.

Basheer Jihad - 92 | 1
Brycen Long - 90 | 6
Adam Miller - 88 | 24
Alston Mason - 80 | 1
Connor Braun - 75 | 0
BJ Freeman  - 60 | 1
Austin Nunez  - 59 | 29
Shawn Phillips Jr. - 45 | 25
Bobby Hurley - 21 | 21
Jordan Williams 8 | 8
Jayden Quaintance - 1 | 1
Joson Sanon - 1 | 1
Amier Ali - 1 | 1
Brandon Gardner - 1 | 0
Chianti Clay - 0 | 0
Quentin McCoy - 0 | 0

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 156 games at ASU and is only the third coach in program history to reach the mark. This game features two of the three winningest head coaches in program history.

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

About those Sun Devil wins
Coach Hurley has notched 156 wins at Arizona State and has done it while scheduling aggressively and not being afraid to play on the road. He has won 99 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 198 wins in his career between Arizona State and Buffalo and sits just two wins shy of 200 in 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.
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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 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).