Sun Devil MBB Hosts Cal Poly

GAME NOTES (PDF)

TEMPE - Sun Devil Men's Basketball remains at Desert Financial Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20 for a 7 PM MST matchup with Cal Poly.

Arizona State (4-1) will seek a 3-0 home start when they take on the Mustangs tomorrow. Head Coach Bobby Hurley is only one win shy of becoming the second-winningest coach in program history (currently at 159 ASU wins). The Sun Devils have scored 80+ points in four straight games and look to build off the momentum gained from consecutive double-digit wins over teams that won 20 games a season ago. 

The Matchup
A rare non-conference homestand gives Sun Devil fans an opportunity to see their Men's Basketball team in action in consecutive games. Arizona State will host Cal Poly in what will be the fourth meeting between the two programs since the Mustangs made the jump to Division I. The Sun Devils hold a 3-0 advantage in the series, including a 96-74 home win in Bobby Hurley's second season in Tempe.

How to Follow
Arizona State is on ESPN+ when they take on Cal Poly, scheduled for a 7 PM MST tip-off with Cronkite alums Braiden Bell and Alex Coil on the call. Make sure to listen to Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on ESPN 620 AM (KTAR).

Quotable
Freshman forward Jayden Quaintance on adjusting to college basketball during the first few games of his career:
"I've just been playing with more confidence, I feel like that's been the biggest part. I am trying to play with a bit more patience, I feel like that's kind of been the main focus for me. I've been playing 100 mph trying to make an impact, so slowing down a little bit has helped me a lot. That's been the biggest adjustment for sure."
 
Last Time Out
Arizona State continued the winning ways of Sun Devil Athletics on the weekend, securing a 81-66 victory of their own over St. Thomas (3-2) in the first meeting between the two sides on Sunday night. A pair of second half spurts paved the way for the Sun Devils to take the victory, as an 11-3 scoring run with five minutes remaining and a 9-0 scoring run coming out of the final media timeout sealed the deal.
 
Four Sun Devils reached double figures - led by senior forward Basheer Jihad - who put up another 20-point effort while also grabbing six boards. Freshman forward Jayden Quaintance put together arguably his best collegiate performance, accounting for 13 points and 14 rebounds on his way to recording his first career double-double. Fellow freshman Joson Sanon shot lights out once again, finishing with 18 points and nine boards while nailing 3-of-5 three pointers. Freshman guard/forward Amier Ali contributed 10 points and two rebounds, meaning 41 of the 81 Sun Devil points and 25 of 44 rebounds came courtesy of the highly-touted freshman class.

Joson Sanon - Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week
In arguably the most talented league in the nation, Joson Sanon is proving to be one of the most impactful newcomers. He shares Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors with BYU's Egor Demin after putting together an impressive two-game stretch. The freshman guard showed why he was a coveted five-star prospect in the 2024 class. He was spectacular this week in helping Arizona State go 2-0 and is a big reason why they are off to a 4-1 start. In two games, Sanon averaged 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 30.5 minutes, providing a critical spark off the bench. He shot an extremely efficient 14-for-23 (61%) from the field including an incredible 8-of-12 (67%) from three-point range over the two-game span.

Sanon is the first Sun Devil to win a Big 12 Player of the Week award since ASU's transition to the new league. His accomplishment is even more impressive when you consider there are 16 teams in the Big 12 vying for two weekly conference awards. He is also the first Sun Devil to be recognized by a conference since Desmond Cambridge Jr. captured his third Pac-12 Player of the Week honor after he hit the game-winning shot from beyond half court that resulted in a dramatic 89-88 victory for Arizona State over No. 7 Arizona back in February of 2023.

It is the 15th time a Sun Devil has won a Conference Player of the Week award under Bobby Hurley. Sanon is the second Sun Devil with a conference newcomer of the week on their ASU resume, as Austin Nunez won Pac-12 Newcomer of the Week during his freshman campaign back in the 2022-23 season.

4-1 Start
Arizona State starts 4-1 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).

Not Shy with the Schedule
Four of Arizona State's first five opponents won 20+ games a season ago. The Sun Devils are one of only six teams in the country that can say that and are in some exclusive company.

Arizona State
Alabama
Kansas
Purdue
Washington
St. Mary's

ASU went 3-1 in those games, picking up wins over Grand Canyon (30 wins in 23-24), Santa Clara (20 wins in 23-24), and St. Thomas (20 wins in 23-24). 

Defending without Fouling
The Sun Devils only committed seven personal fouls tonight, marking the fewest personal fouls by ASU in a game since being called for seven personal fouls in a 68-52 win over Coppin State on Dec. 29, 2012. The five free throws by the Tommies were their lowest since they shot 4-of-5 against North Dakota on December 29, 2023. The last time they made three free throws or less dates back to November 6, 2023 when they shot 2-of-3 against Cal.

Owning the Glass
The Sun Devils out rebounded the Tommies 44-29, marking the largest rebound margin difference since ASU out rebounded Tarleton State 54-39 in the 2022 season opener (Nov. 7).

Taming the Tommies
St. Thomas came into the game averaging 89.8 points per game while shooting 50.6% overall and 43.2% from deep. Arizona State held the Tommies to only 66 points on 39.4% overall shooting and 29.7% from three.

Aggressiveness Rewarded
Arizona State shot 26 free throws compared to only 5 for St. Thomas. It is the largest free throw attempt difference since a 22 free-throw difference (43-19) in a 73-72 win over SMU on December 6, 2023. 

Holding their Star in Check
St. Thomas forward Carter Bjerke shot 47-of-101 (45.6%) from deep in 33 games last year and came into the game shooting 9-of-20 (45%) on three-pointers. Arizona State held him to just 2-of-8 (25%) from beyond the arc.

Ba-Sheer Force
In his first two games, Basheer Jihad combined for five points on 1-of-10 shooting. Over his past three games, Jihad has accumulated 57 points on 16-of-30 (.53%) shooting . He is also 23-for-28 (82.1%) from the free throw line during that span.  

80-point Streak
For the first time since the 2017-18 season, Arizona State has reached the 80-point mark in four straight games. That season, Arizona State did it in six straight games, including a win over No. 15 Xavier. That 2017-18 team went on to make the NCAA Tournament. 

2024-25 (4 Games)
Arizona State 81, Santa Clara 74
Arizona State 80, Gonzaga 88
Arizona State 87, GCU 76
Arizona State 81, St. Thomas 66

2017-18 (6 Games)
Arizona State 94, Idaho State 74
Arizona State 90, San Diego State 68
Arizona State 97, NAU 62
Arizona State 99, UC Irvine 78
Arizona State 92, Kansas State 90
Arizona State 102, #15 Xavier 86
 
Hit the Mark
The Sun Devils shot 50% (27/54) from the field tonight. ASU is now 49-4 (.924) when it shoots 50 percent or better from the field under Bobby Hurley
2024-25: 2-0
2023-24: 4-1
2022-23: 6-0
2021-22: 2-1
2020-21: 5-1
2019-20: 4-0
2018-19: 9-0
2017-18: 10-0
2016-17: 4-0
2015-16: 3-0

Block Party
Jayden Quaintance is second in the NCAA in total blocks (18) and leads the Big 12 in blocks. He has at least two blocks in all five of his games so far. He 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. As a team, ASU ranks Top-40 nationally in blocks per game (5.6). Quaintance's 18 blocks are already the 11th-most ever by a Sun Devil freshman. He needs two blocks to pass James Harden on the list and only three to surpass the program's all-time leader in career blocks, Jordan Bachynski.

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
24, Shawn Redhage, 1999-2000
23, Romello White, 2017-18
23, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-06
21, Tommy Smith, 1999-2000
20, Jordan Bachynski, 2010-11
19, James Harden, 2007-08
18, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
 
Get Acquainted
Freshman Jayden Quaintance stuffed the stat sheet in Arizona State's win over St. Thomas. He finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks, four assists, and a steal while shooting 6-of-9 from the field. The 14 boards are the most by a Sun Devil since Warren Washington had 14 against Texas Southern on 11/13/22. It is tied for the fifth-most rebounds by a freshman in program history. He joins Basheer Jihad (at Gonzaga) as the only Sun Devils to record a double-double this season. It is his second 4+ block performance of the season.

Sun Devil Freshman Rebound Single-Game Record
18, Ike Diogu vs. Oregon (Pac-10 Tournament), Mar. 13, 2003
17, Kyle Cain vs. Houston Baptist (Alaska Shootout), Nov. 25, 2010
17, Mario Bennett vs. Oregon, Feb. 1, 1992
16, Kyle Cain vs. Long Beach State, Dec. 21, 2010
14, Jayden Quaintance vs. St. Thomas, Nov. 17, 2024
14, Ike Diogu vs. Oregon Mar. 6, 2003
14, Ike Diogu vs. Stanford, Feb. 1, 2003
14, Mario Bennett vs. Lamar, Nov. 26, 1991

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.

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 657 games of experience at the Division I Level (Includes previous school). ASU has eight players with over 49 games of experience at the Division I level.

Basheer Jihad - 96 | 5
Adam Miller - 92 | 28
Brycen Long - 90 | 6
Alston Mason - 84 | 5
Connor Braun - 75 | 0
BJ Freeman  - 64 | 5
Austin Nunez  - 62 | 32
Shawn Phillips Jr. - 49 | 29
Bobby Hurley - 21 | 21
Jordan Williams 8 | 8
Jayden Quaintance - 5 | 5
Joson Sanon - 5 | 5
Amier Ali - 5 | 5
Brandon Gardner - 1 | 0
Chianti Clay - 0 | 0
Quentin McCoy - 0 | 0

The Hurley Era
Bobby Hurley has won 159 games at ASU and is only the third coach in program history to reach the mark. He is now tied with Herb Sendek for the second-most in program history.

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

About those Sun Devil Wins
Coach Hurley has notched 159 wins at Arizona State and has done it while scheduling aggressively and not being afraid to play on the road. He has won 101 games in Arizona, but also has won at least five games in California (14), 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. 159 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.

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 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. 

Season Metrics
Ken Pom: 55
Strength of Record: 28
RPI (Warren Nolan): 18
NET: Available beginning in December

AP Top-13 (ASU game)
1. Kansas (Jan. 8 road game)
2. Connecticut
3. Gonzaga (Nov. 10 road game)
4. Auburn
5. Iowa State (Jan. 25 home game)
6. Purdue
7. Houston (Feb. 18 home game)
8. Alabama
9. Kentucky
10. North Carolina
11. Tennessee
12. Duke (Oct. 27 road game; Exhibition)
13. Baylor (Jan. 11 home game)
Arizona State plays six AP Top-13 teams.

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)
5. Iowa State (Jan. 25 home game)
7. Houston (Feb. 18 home game)
13. Baylor (Jan. 11 home game)
17. Arizona (Feb. 2 home game; March 4 road game)
18. 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)

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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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