You can add another 2015 NCAA Tourmament team to the Sun Devil men's basketball schedule as Stephen F. Austin, coming an impressive 29-5 season, will come to ASU on Dec. 22.
The Sun Devils will ring in the Bobby Hurley era with a bang, slating one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation.
ASU will have at least 10 non-conference matchups against teams in the top 150 of last year's RPI with Kentucky (1), Stephen F. Austin (35), NC State (40), LSU (54) or Marquette (142), Texas A&M (68), UCSB (88), Belmont (105), UNLV (104), Creighton (146) and Sacramento State (148), five of which (Kentucky, Stephen F. Austin, LSU, NC State, and Belmont) made appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Strength of schedule and opponent RPI often play a vital role in gaining an at large-bid into the NCAA Tournament. While at Buffalo Coach Hurley played at top-programs such as Kentucky and Wisconsin.
“We knew those teams would be really strong in terms of RPI and we were hoping to put ourselves in position to be considered as an at large team if we had a good enough season, and also for seeding in the NCAA Tournament”, said Hurley.
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Coach Hurley approached the scheduling process understanding the value of slating a competitive non-conference schedule in terms of gaining national exposure. Traveling to Rupp Arena Dec. 12 (average attendance 23,572) to play Kentucky and to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for the ESPN televised Legends Classic Nov. 23-24, the program aims to gain recognition while playing the best-of-the-best on national T.V.? ??
"We want to be aggressive in our scheduling," says Hurley, the 1992 Final Four Most Outstanding Player who won 42 games in his two years at Buffalo. "Each year we will have different goals in trying to put our non-conference schedule together, but this year we had some unique opportunities that were presented to us after we arrived. Combined with games already scheduled, November and December will see us on national television against great competition. Our players know they need to be ready with those road trips happening very fast. We will be able to experience some of the best atmospheres in college basketball before the holidays and play against top programs and coaches. We figured this was as good of a time as any to show our fans we hope to play the best prior to the Pac-12 season."
SACRAMENTO ST. (21-12)/FRI., NOV. 13
The Sun Devils will kick off the 2015-16 campaign in Tempe hosting Sacramento State for the second time in three years. The Hornets are coming off one of their best seasons in program history posting a 21-12 record while making it to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. 2015-16 marked the first season in the programs Div. I tenure ('91-present) in which they posted a record above the .500 mark resulting in the team's first postseason appearance since 1988. Led by the Big Sky Conference co-Coach of the Year Brian Katz, Sacramento State returns three starters including rising senior guard Cody Demps (9.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg).
LEGENDS CLASSIC ? BELMONT (22-11)/MON., NOV. 16
Men's Hoops will kick off the regional round of the Legends Classic playing host to the Belmont Bruins. Under the tutelage of four-time Ohio Valley/Atlantic Sun Coach of the year Rick Byrd, the Bruins finished the 2014-15 season 22-11 winning the OVC Championship, while making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 years. Only Gonzaga has matched Belmont's seven automatic bids in the last decade and only Gonzaga and Kansas have won more league titles than the 14 by Belmont since 2006. Coach Byrd welcomes back four starters in 2015-16, led by first-team All-OVC senior guard Craig Bradshaw (18.3 ppg, 94 assists) and second-team All-OVC junior swingman Evan Bradds (14.2 ppg, team-high 7.2 rpg). ?
LEGENDS CLASSIC ? KENNESAW STATE (10-22)/WED., NOV. 18
Atlantic Sun member Kennesaw State is slated to visit Tempe for the second game of the regional round. Former national coach of the year and two-time Big East Coach of the Year Al Skinner is set to lead an Owls team in his first-year at the helm, who posted a 10-22 record in 2014-15. Three starters are set to return for the Owls.
LEGENDS CLASSIC ? NC STATE (22-14)/MON., NOV. 23
The Sun Devils will play NC State in the first of two slated matchups at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The Wolfpack checked in at 22-14 for the 2014-15 season notching impressive victories against the eventual National Champion Duke Blue Devils and Louisville. The program made its fourth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, amounting a run to the Sweet 16 before falling to Louisville. The Wolfpack are set to return four starters in 2015-16.
LEGENDS CLASSIC ? MARQUETTE (13-19) OR LSU (22-11)/TUE., NOV. 24
Men's hoops will face either Marquette or LSU in the Final round of the Legends Classic. Marquette finished the 2014-15 season 13-19. LSU posted a 22-11 record this past season, losing to NC State in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament. A highly touted recruiting class including top 2015 hoops recruit Ben Simmons bolsters an already impressive roster for the Tigers.
UC SANTA BARBARA (19-14)/SUN., NOV. 29
UC Santa Barbara posted a 19-14 record during 2014-15, making an appearance in the College Basketball Invitational. ?The Gauchos lea by longtime head coach Bob Williams return three of its tops four scorers including sharpshooting senior Michael Bryson (13.9 ppg. 4.8 rpg, 68 3pm).
CREIGHTON (14-19)/WED., DEC. 2
The Sun Devils will become just the second Pac-12 team since 1979 to travel to Creighton. Despite having a down year in 2014-15 posting a 14-19 record, the Blue Jays are coming off the third-winningest four-year span in Creighton history. The Sun Devils last met-up with Creighton during the 2013-14 season in the Wooden Legacy with the Blue Jays winning 88-60. The two programs have split the all-time series at four wins a piece.
TEXAS A&M (21-12)/SAT., DEC.5
After losing 72-71 to Texas A&M in College Station this past season, the Sun Devils are slated to host the Aggies in 2015-16. In 2014-15 A&M posted their 14th all-time 20-win season (21-12), and eighth in the last 11 years. The Aggies advanced to the second round of the NIT before being eliminated by Louisiana Tech.
KENTUCKY (38-1)/SAT., DEC. 12, 3:15 p.m. ET/ESPN
Last year Bobby Hurley took his Buffalo squad into Lexington on Nov. 16 and led the Wildcats 38-33 at the half before falling 71-52. That trip remains in his mind for the type of games he wants to coach in, so when the opportunity to return to eight-time NCAA champion Kentucky was presented, he jumped at it. Since joining the Pac-10 in 1978-79, ASU has played eight top-10 teams in its non-conference slate outside of the NCAA Tournament and the Dec. 12 matchup the Sun Devils could be playing its highest-ranked non-conference team in school history. One other nugget on the game...it is the Saturday after college football season has ended (Heisman Saturday), so look for a great national TV afternoon window. Want more? Bobby Hurley was on the floor when Christian Laettner hit the shot vs. Kentucky. ASU is 0-3 vs. Kentucky with the last meeting an 82-64 2002 Maui Invitational tilt.
Kentucky posted a 38-1 record in 2014-15. The Sun Devils are set for a two-year series with the Wildcats, traveling to Rupp Arena this year, and then meeting Kentucky in the Nassau, Bahamas in November of 2016. Kentucky (23,572 average attendance) trailed only Syracuse (23,854) in average home attendance last year. ??
UNLV (18-15)/WED., DEC. 16, 7 p.m. PT/CBS SPORTS NETWORK
ASU has topped UNLV in each of the past two seasons as the convenient road trip for both teams will continue, but the "new" story for the series this year is the ASU head coach being catalyst on the 1991 team that ended UNLV's drive for perfection. Bobby Hurley had 12 points and seven assists in the 79-77 Final Four win on March 30, 1991. The victory by the Blue Devils ended a perfect season for the Runnin' Rebels, who had won their first 34 games and 45 straight overall. Coach Hurley hit a three-point shot, cutting UNLV's lead to 76-74 with 2:14 to play, and the Blue Devils allowed just one more point the rest of the way. ASU leads the series 4-2 after last year's Dec. 3 win as Eric Jacobsen led the Sun Devils with 16 points and 12 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. Freshman Kodi Justice had 13 points in his first career-start at Wells Fargo Arena. UNLV, the 1990 NCAA champion, has played in six of the past nine NCAA Tournaments and 20 overall. UNLV posted a 18-15 record in 2014-15.
HOUSTON BAPTIST (12-16)/SAT., DEC. 19
ASU returns home for just its fourth home game of the year (and one of just three December home games) on Saturday, Dec. 19 vs. Southland Conference member Houston Baptist. ASU is 2-0 vs. Houston Baptist, the last meeting a 73-55 win on Nov. 25, 2010 in Alaska.
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (29-5)/TUE., DEC. 22
Stephen F. Austin is coming off a 29-5 season in 2014-15, capturing its third-straight Southland Conference regular season title with a 17-1 conference mark. The Lumberjacks also claimed their second-straight SLC tournament title, earning a return trip to the NCAA tournament were the 12th-seeded ?Jacks dropped a 57-50 decision to Pac-12 foe Utah in the second round. SFA is one of just 10 teams in the nation to have won 25 or more games in each of the last three seasons as the Lumberjacks' 88 wins during that span is tied with Kentucky for the seventh-most in Division I. Head coach Brad Underwood is 61-8 during his two seasons in Nacogdoches, making him the winningest second year head coach in NCAA Division I history, while the ?Jacks return four of their five starters from 2014-15, including reigning SLC Player of the Year Thomas Walkup (15.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg).
TEAMS THAT POSTED 29+ WINS IN 2014-15
?Kentucky, 38-1
?Gonzaga, 35-3
?Villanova, 33-3
?Wisconsin, 36-4
?Duke, 35-4
?Arizona, 34-4
?Northern Iowa, 34-4
?Virginia, 30-4
?Wichita State, 30-5
?Stephen F. Austin, 29-5
?Notre Dame, 32-6
?Murray State, 29-6
CSU BAKERSFIELD (14-19)/MON., DEC. 28
The last game prior to Pac-12 opening will be against Cal-State Bakersfield on Monday, Dec. 28. Coached by former Ole Miss head coach Rod Barnes, Cal State Bakersfield won at California on Dec. 28 last year, and the Roadrunners have made improvements since joining the WAC in the summer of 2013.
SUN DEVIL PAC-12 "PAIRINGS" SET
DEC. 30-JAN. 3: For the second straight season, ASU will open its Pac-12 season vs. Arizona, but this one will be in Tempe, where ASU has topped the Wildcats in three of the past four meetings. ASU is 9-8 vs. Arizona in the past eight seasons, and the game will mark just the fourth time ASU has opened the Pac-12 season against Arizona in Tempe, and will be just the third time ASU has opened the league schedule at home in the past eight seasons.
PAC-12 OPENERS VS. ARIZONA IN TEMPE
?#4 Arizona 93, ASU 74 (Jan. 3, 2004)
?#15 ASU 53, #9 Arizona 52 (Jan. 5, 1995)
?Arizona 61, ASU 60 (Jan. 5, 1985)
JAN. 6-10: ASU returns to Los Angeles, as it missed the USC/UCLA road swing in 2014-15. ASU last won at USC 62-53 on Jan. 5, 2012, and last won at UCLA on 61-58 in overtime over the ninth-ranked Bruins on Jan. 17, 2009 in a CBS broadcast with Derek Glasser and James Harden leading the way.
JAN. 13-17: ASU plays host to WSU and Washington for the first time since 2012-13. ASU holds a 39-36 series lead over WSU and has won three of the past four and seven of the past 10 overall and five straight in Tempe. ASU beat WSU 66-47 in the last Tempe meeting on Jan. 5, 2014.
JAN. 20-24: The Sun Devils will travel to the Bay Area, as it has won the past two at Haas Pavilion and five straight overall vs. the Golden Bears. ASU's 35-point 79-44 win Jan. 22 at Cal is its biggest Pac-12 win since it beat Washington State by 41 (96-55) on Jan. 11, 2003, and the second-largest Pac-12 road win in school history, as it dealt the Golden Bears their second-largest home loss.
JAN. 27-JAN. 31: The Oregon schools are set to visit Tempe. ASU is 7-1 vs. the Beavers in the past eight years and 25-12 against Oregon State in Tempe since it joined the Pac-10 in 1978-79, its most wins in Tempe against any team since joining the loop.
FEB. 3-7: Pullman and Seattle were bad and good for ASU last year. ASU lost a tough one in Pullman but bounced back with a Sunday win in Seattle with Gerry Blakes leading the way.
FEB. 10-14: USC and UCLA come to Tempe in mid-February. ASU sent the eventual Pac-12 champion Bruins home with a 78-60 loss on Jan. 26, 2013. Last year ASU topped the Sweet Sixteen-bound Bruins on James Harden night (Feb. 18).
FEB. 17-21: Somewhere in these five days, the Sun Devils head to Tucson.
FEB. 24-FEB. 28: ASU makes the trip to Colorado and Utah for its final road trip of the year for the second straight season.
MAR. 2-5: ASU hosts the Bay Area schools in the final weekend of the year for the second straight season. It swept the Bay Area home stand for the first time since 1994-95 in 2013-14 and did the same last season. With the Pac-12 Tournament starting Wednesday (March 9), the league does not schedule Sunday games the final weekend. ASU has swept Cal the past two seasons (after not sweeping them since 1999-2000). ASU has topped Stanford in each of the past two seasons at home.
