Quaintance, Jihad Power Men's Basketball to Win over UMass

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Sun Devil Men's Basketball defeated UMass, 78-62, at the 2024 MGM Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.

Arizona State (9-2) took down the Minutemen (5-8) thanks to a second half comeback fueled by the front court combination of Jayden Quaintance (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Basheer Jihad (20 points, 8 rebounds). Head Coach Bobby Hurley picks up yet another neutral site victory, the fifth of the season and 17th in his tenure with the Sun Devils. In the first meeting between the two programs, ASU erased a two point deficit at the break, giving Hurley his 47th halftime comeback win since arriving in Tempe.

The Sun Devils wrapped up non-conference play in impressive fashion at MassMutual Center in Springfield, winning by double digits at a venue only 25 miles from the campus of their opponent. Joining the front court duo in scoring double figures were guard Alston Mason (13 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) and guard/forward BJ Freeman (11 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds), who each contributed to the win in many facets. Adam Miller and Joson Sanon each hit a pair of threes to help lift the Sun Devils to their seventh win in their past eight games.

Second Half Surge
- The trio of of guard/forward BJ Freeman, guard Alston Mason, and forward Basheer Jihad combined for 34 points on 11-of-16 (68.8%) shooting in the second half after accounting for 10 points on 4-of-12 (33%) from the field in the first half.
- After going 3-of-12 from three in the first half, ASU went 5-of-8 after the break.
- ASU took 14 free throws in the second half after taking only 2 in the first.
- The Sun Devils shot 15-of-28 (53.6%) in the second half

Run Away
Arizona State sealed the win thanks to a 13-0 run in the second half. After UMass took a 46-41 lead with 12:58 left in the game, the Sun Devils took over from there. ASU went on a 13-0 run over the next 1:36 to turn a five-point deficit into an eight-point lead. During the final 13 minutes of the game, Arizona State outscored UMass 37-16. 

Shutting them Down
The Sun Devil defense turned it up a notch down the stretch, completely controlling the UMass offense. The Minutemen finished with making a field goal over the final 6:52 of the game. They went 0-for-5 and 1-for-7 from the field to end the contest. 

Neutralizing the Opponent
Arizona State continues their success under Bobby Hurley at neutral sites. ASU picks up their fifth neutral site win of the season already. 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 18 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 (5-1)
ASU 78, UMass 62 (Dec. 21, 2024) -  MGM Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame Classic (Springfield, MA)
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 in the country that has at least four wins at neutral sites.

9-2 Start
Arizona State has won nine or more of their first 11 games for the fourth time under the Bobby Hurley era (2017-18, 2018-19, 2022-23, 2024-25).  The 81.8% winning percentage is the seventh-best for the program in the non-conference since 1999-2000.

Best Non-Conference Winning % (1999-2000 to Present)
2017-18: 12-0 (1.000)
2008-09: 11-1 (.917)
2004-05: 11-1 (.917)
2013-14: 11-2 (.846)
2012-13: 11-2 (.846)
2007-08: 10-2 (.833)
2024-25: 9-2 (.818)
2022-23: 9-2 (.818)

Fantastic Front Line
The Sun Devil forward combination of Jayden Quaintance and Basheer Jihad were too much for UMass to handle.  The duo contributed in many ways to the victory. They accounted for 39 points, 19 rebounds, seven blocks, and four steals while shooting 16-of-26 (61.5%) from the field. 

Block Party
Freshman Jayden Quaintance added four more rejections and has recorded 38 blocks thus far in the 2024-2025 season, which was the second-most of any player in the nation coming into the game. 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 11 games this year, including six 4+ block performances. 
 
Sun Devil Freshman Blocks Record (1978-79-present)
55, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
38, 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. That was no different in the win over UMass. He finished with 11 rebounds, his fourth time reaching double digits this season. He is on pace to become the program's all-time leader in rebounds per game by a freshman, a record previously held by Ike Diogu back in 2002-03.

Sun Devil Freshman Rebounds per Game Record (1978-79-present)
8.3 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

Double Doubles
Jayden Quaintance put together a monster performance, finishing with a season-best 19 points and 11 rebounds. It was his third double double of the season. Quaintance is one of only six Big 12 players with three or more double doubles this year. Quaintance is now averaging 11.7 points and 10.1 rebounds in past seven games.

Ba-Sheer Force
Basheer Jihad caused problems for the Minutemen all night, showing off his entire game in the victory. He finished with 20 points, his fourth 20+ point effort of the season. He shot 8-of-12 (67%) from the field and added eight rebounds. In his first two games, Jihad combined for five points on 1-of-10 shooting. Over his past nine games, Jihad has accumulated 148 points (16.4 ppg) on 43-of-80 (53.8%) shooting . He is also 53-for-71 (74.6%) from the free throw line during that span. The Big 12's leader in free throw makes and attempts was 3-for-3 from the line in the win.

Don't Count Us Out
Arizona State was down by two at halftime, but completely flipped the game in the second half. The Sun Devils have come back to win a game when trailing at halftime 47 times during the Bobby Hurley era, including three of the past five games. Since 2015-16, the Maroon and Gold are Top-25 in the nation in halftime comeback victories.

2024-25 (3)
(-2) UMass 33, ASU 31/Dec. 21, 2024/ASU 78, UMass 62
(-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

This is tied for the third biggest turnaoround from a halftime deficit among the 46 total comebacks. ASU was down two and won by 16, a +18 margin in the second half.

Largest Halftime Turnarounds
+28 (-6) SDSU 40, ASU 34/Nov. 14, 2017/ASU 90, SDSU 68
+23 (-5) @SMU 33, ASU 28/Dec. 7, 2022/ASU 75, @SMU 57
+18 (-2) UMass 33, ASU 31/Dec. 21, 2024/ASU 78, UMass 62
+18 (-2) #15 Xavier 46, ASU 44/Nov. 24, 2017/ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86/

Battle on the Boards
UMass came into game Top-50 nationally (46th) in rebounding, averaging over 39 per game. Arizona State outrebounded the Minutemen, 44-33, to move to 5-0 when they win the battle on the glass.

We Will Block You
Arizona State came into the game second in the Big 12 and 15th nationally averaging 5.5 blocks per game. They added to that mark, finishing wth eight blocks. Freshman Jayden Quaintance is a big reason why, contributing four. He came into the game best in the league at 3.4 blocks per game. Basheer Jihad had a season-best three blocks to form an intimidating front line.

Beyond the Arc
The Sun Devils came into the game 32nd nationally shooting at a 38.4% clip from three-point range. That is the third-best mark in the Big 12 Conference. The Sun Devil improved upon that total by shooting 40% (8-of-20), including a 5-of-8 mark in the second half.

Solid from the Stripe
Arizona State converted at the free throw line, a deciding factor in the victory over UMass. They went 14-of-16 (87.5%) from the line, compared to a 10-of-18 (56%) mark from the Minutemen. 

Empty the Notebook
- After UMass started the game 3-for-3 from three-point range, ASU held them to just 3-of-13 (23.1%) the rest of the game.
- UMass guard Rahsool Diggins had 24 points on 8-of-17 (47.1%) shooting. The rest of the Minutemen combined for 38 points on 15-of-43 (34.9%) shooting.
- UMass guard Jaylen Curry came into the game averaging 14.3 points per game, but was held to only 2 points on 1-of-6 shooting by the Sun Devils.
- No P5 played less home games (4) in OOC than Sun Devils (tied with Oklahoma State)

The Hurley Era
Bobby Hurley has won 164 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. This was his first win as a Sun Devil in the state of Massachusetts. 

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

About those Sun Devil Wins
Coach Hurley has notched 164 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, Texas, and Massachusetts.

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.

Up Next
Arizona State will begin the Big 12 era with a matchup at BYU on Dec. 31 at 2 PM MST. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN2. This will be the second straight year the two programs have met. The last time the Sun Devils traveled to Provo was back during the 2009 season. This is the first of two games with the Cougars, who come to Tempe later in February.

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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.

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