BACK HOME:The Arizona State Sun Devils (12-5; 3-2) -- who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 last year and just the fourth time in 24 seasons -- plays host to the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m PT with Ted Robinson and Bill Walton on the Pac-12 Network call, while Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd are on the Sun Devil Radio Network (98.7 FM). ASU has outrebounded 15 opponents this year after doing so just 14 times in 32 games last year.
 
13 QUICK SPARKY NOTES (13 FOR 2018 NBA MVP JAMES HARDEN)
v 5-2 in two-possession games this year after going 4-7 last year/12-16 previous 3 seasons
v 10 straight wins vs. Oregon State in Tempe after Thursday's 70-67 win
v Rob Edwards is averaging 12.8 points in the past eight games, including 21-of-45 from three (.467)
v 18 halftime-deficit comebacks under Bobby Hurley (12 previous 5 seasons)
v Kansas was sixth top-10 OOC opponent Coach Hurley played, ASU faced one in previous 17 seasons
v Best approach vertical on team is Zylan Cheatham at 41.5 inches, Remy Martin not far behind at 40
v Six Sun Devils have led the team in scoring this year
v Zylan Cheatham is averaging 11.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game
v De'Quon Lake has made 126-of-173 (.728) from the field in his two-year career
v Kimani Lawrence is 49-of-64 (.766) from the free throw line in his career
v Ranks eighth in the nation at 42.47 rebounds per game
v Has outrebounded 15 of 17 opponents this year
v Has held eight opponents under 40 percent shooting (3 Pac-12 teams)
 
ROB OVER 1,000: Junior Rob Edwards dropped buckets at Cleveland State from 2015-17, as he entered ASU with 909 points in 63 games (14.4 per game). He now has 1,025 career points (13.9 career average). Included in that is 23-of-26 (.884) from the free throw line this year and .769 (226-of-294) in his career along with 135 three pointers. After missing six games early and only scoring 18 points in the first nine games (14 in opener and then the six DNPs due to a back injury), he is averaging 12.8 points -- second on the team -- in the past eight games, including 21-of-45 from three (.467).
 
GAME 17: ASU 70, OREGON STATE 67/JAN. 17, 2019: ASU led by as many as 18, but Oregon State cut it to three with a chance to tie but its three-pointer at the buzzer missed as ASU won its tenth straight over the Beavers in Tempe. Rob Edwards led ASU with 13 points, while Zylan Cheatham added 10 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Romello While added 11 and Remy Martin and Lou Dort added 10 each. ASU held OSU to 7-of-27 (.259) from the field in the first half. 
 
NOTES: ASU topped then No. 1 Kansas 80-76 on Dec. 22 in Bobby Hurley's 17th halftime-deficit win at ASU behind 15 off-the-bench points from getting healthier Rob Edwards (13 in the second half). He became the fourth Sun Devil to earn Pac-12 Player of the Week this season. Zylan Cheatham, the Dec. 3 Pac-12 Player of the Week, registered ASU's second triple double in the Dec. 1 win over Texas Southern, Nov. 23 Pac-12 POTW Luguentz Dort has four 20-point games and Remy Martin also took home a Pac-12 POTW (Dec. 17).
 
2018-19 SUN DEVIL PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Dec. 24: Rob Edwards
Dec. 17: Remy Martin
Dec. 3: Zylan Cheatham
Nov. 26: Luguentz Dort
 
FREE THROWS: ASU has made some crucial free throws late to seal wins...Rob Edwards hit two with 12 second left in the 70-67 win over Oregon State to give ASU the three-point lead on Jan. 19...in the come-from behind win at Cal, it was 13-of-16 in the second half...made 6-of-8 in final five minutes against Kansas, including two by Rob Edwards with six seconds left to make it a two-possession game…made nine of final 11 in second half at Georgia…10-14 in final 4:03 vs. Utah State, including six straight in two-minute stretch after USU buckets…Remy Martin made two with 10 seconds left to make it five-point lead over Mississippi State as ASU made all six in second half...made 8-of-10 in second OT against Cal State Fullerton.ASU is 5-2 in two-possession games this year, after going 12-16 previous three seasons.
 
FLIPS: ASU had started Pac-12 play with five of its first seven on the road six times in the previous 10 seasons (only Pac-12 team to have that decade of awkwardness) including last year, but things flipped this year as ASU has four of first six at home. This year marks only the fourth time in past 11 seasons ASU opened Pac-12 play at home. 
 
WINGSPAN: ASU has five players with wingspan of at least 6-11: De'Quon Lake (7-2),  Zylan Cheatham (7-0.5), Romello White (7-0.25), Vitaliy Shibel (6-11.75) and Kimani Lawrence (6-11.5).
 
FLIPS: ASU had started Pac-12 play with five of its first seven on the road six times in the previous 10 seasons (only Pac-12 team to have that decade of awkwardness) including last year, but things flipped this year as ASU has four of first six at home. This year marks only the fourth time in past 11 seasons ASU opened Pac-12 play at home. 
 
QUICK LU NOTES: Luguentz Dort earned Nov. 26 Pac-12 Player of the Week and Andy Katz's National Player of the Week after averaging 25 points and eight rebounds as ASU won the MGM Resorts Main Event in Las Vegas (Nov. 19-21). Dort is the first  ASU freshman to garner the league's weekly award since James Harden in January of 2008.
 
TOP SCORING GAMES FOR LUGUENTZ DORT
33 vs. Utah State @Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2018
28 vs. Cal State Fullerton, Nov. 6, 2018
25 vs. McNeese State, Nov. 9, 2018
24 vs. #6 Nevada, Dec. 7, 2018
 
REFRESH: ASU's top three scorers are gone, but ASU returned six lettermen, a pair of high-level transfers and notched a top-20 recruiting class. Last year third-year coach Bobby Hurley (two-time NCAA champion, 1992 Final Four MOP and NCAA career assist leader) and the Sun Devils were the final undefeated team (12-0), beat No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas and went 5-2 against NCAA Tournament teams.  ASU averaged 10,603 fans, topping the school-record 9,514 set in 1995-96.
 
RUN AND JUMP: Best approach vertical on the team is Zylan Cheatham at 41.5 inches, with Remy Martin not far behind at 40 inches.
 
JUMP: Best standing verticals on the team: De'Quon Lake and Luguentz Dort both did 34 inches, while Zylan Cheatham is at 33.5 inches.
 
PLAYING FOLKS: Bobby Hurley has made the attempt to play some folks. In his first year after looking at an inherited schedule that included tilts vs. NC State/Marquette in Brooklyn, at Creighton, at UNLV and No. 18 Texas A&M, he put the wheels in motion to make it even better by playing at Kentucky and filled a holiday break hole that could have been a yawner with Stephen F. Austin. In 2016-17, ASU played No. 1 Kentucky in the Bahamas, Purdue in NYC, at San Diego State and vs. No. 9 Creighton. Last year besides Kansas ASU played Xavier and hosted 2017 NCAA Tournament product Vanderbilt. Kansas was the sixth top-10 non-conference opponent Coach Hurley played in his four years, ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons.
 
ASU REGULAR SEASON OOC GAMES VS. TOP-10 TEAMSUNDER BOBBY HURLEY
#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)
#6 Nevada 72, ASU 66 at STAPLES Center (Dec. 7, 2018)
ASU 95 @#2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)
#9 Creighton 96, ASU 85 (Dec. 20, 2016)
#1 Kentucky 115, ASU 69 (Nov. 28, 2016 at Bahamas)
@#5 Kentucky 72, ASU 58 (Dec. 12, 2015)
 
VS. RANKED TEAMS: ASU has defeated six ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's tenure, including five out of conference and three of them away from home. The Nov. 24, 2017, Xavier win was the highest ranked OOC team ASU had topped since it beat No. 7 Maryland in the 1994 Maui Invitational...until it won at #2 Kansas on Dec. 10. ASU followed that up with a Nov. 19 win over No. 15 Mississippi State this year and its second win over No. 1 in school history on Dec. 22.
 
ASU WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
#18 ASU 80, Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)
ASU 72, #15 Mississippi State 67 (Nov. 19, 2018/Las Vegas)
#16 ASU 95, at #2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 (Nov. 24, 2017/Las Vegas)
ASU 74, #23 USC 67 (Feb. 12, 2016)
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54 (Dec. 5, 2015)
 
KIMANI: Kimani Lawrence's freshman season gets an asterisk. Last year he started in all three exhibition games and had 15 points and nine boards vs. Northern State and 18 points and five boards vs. Arizona Christian. The night before the season opener he suffered a stress fracture in left foot that kept him out until Pac-12 play. In the opener vs. Cal State Fullerton he posted 16 points (previous best was nine) and minutes (36). He had 22 points including the game-winning three-pointer in the Nov. 19 win over No. 15 Mississippi State.
 
KIMANI LAWRENCE QUICK NOTES
v Double-figures in first seven games
v 23 threes this year/3-15 last year
v 49-64 (.766) from FT line in career
v 6-11 1/2 wingspan
 
REMY!!!: The Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year officially returned in 30+ seasons in 2017-18 and freshman Remy Martin shared the award with CU's Devon Collier. The previous Pac-10 Sixth Man of the Year was awarded from 1984-87. Martin – with zero starts -- averaged 9.6 points, had 94 assists and was 71-of-94 (.755) from the free throw line in 23.8 minutes per game. He had 20 double-figure scoring games (15 of final 21) and had a season-best 21 at No. 2 Kansas on Dec. 10. At WSU on Feb. 4, he had all 10 points in the final 6:20 as ASU outscored WSU 19-9 in final seven minutes. He injured his ankle on Oct. 10 and reinjured it on Nov. 21 vs. Utah State, as he missed the Omaha and Texas Southern games. Five of his top seven career scoring games have been away from home.
 
REMY MARTIN TOP SCORING TILTS
24 at California (1/9/19)
22 vs. Utah (1/3/19)
21 at Georgia (12/15/18)
21 at #2 Kansas (12/10/17)
20 vs. Colorado at Las Vegas (3/7/18)
19 vs. Princeton (12/29/18)
16 vs. #15 Mississippi State at Las Vegas (11/19/18)
 
REMY PAC-12 POTW (DEC. 17): Remy Martin matched a career-high with 21 points, grabbed a career-best eight rebounds, and added five assists and three steals to spark the Sun Devils back from an 18-point deficit to a 76-74 victory at Georgia on Dec. 15, leading to his Dec. 17 Pac-12 Player of the Week Award. The 6-0 guard from Chatsworth, Calif., totaled 12 points, five boards, two assists and two steals in the second half, including back-to-back baskets inside the final 3:11 which gave ASU its first lead of the game at 71-70.
 
TALENT UPGRADE: From 2002-16, ASU signed six top-85 players according to 247Sports/Scout.com. At times ASU has had a five-man lineup on the floor this year alone with top-85 recruits in Remy Martin (77) Lugentz Dort (33) and Kimani Lawrence (58) in the backcourt and Taeshon Cherry (29) and Romello White (81) underneath.
 
TOP-85 247SPORTS/SCOUT.COM ASU SIGNEES (2002-2018)
23. James Harden, 2007
29. Taeshon Cherry, 2018
33. Luguentz Dort, 2018
34. Jahii Carson, 2011
41, Sam Cunliffe, 2016
55. Ike Diogu, 2002
58. Kimani Lawrence, 2017
77. Remy Martin, 2017
79. Keala King, 2010
81. Romello White, 2016
 
WHAT HAS CHANGED: The 2017-18 season saw a lot of upgrades for Sun Devil basketball beyond the NCAA Tournament appearance as attendance records were busted and it won a dozen straight for just the second time in school history. Below is a list of what was truth last year at this time and what ASU can flash the fork about now.
 
LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME / #FORKSUP NOW
5,807 attendance in BH first year / 10,603 in third year (school record)
11-game win streak in 1980-81 was awesome / 12-0 start last year was better
8-22 in road OOC games prior to CBH / 5-2 under Bobby Hurley
12 wins trail at half previous 5 seasons / 16 under BH in 4 seasons
Averaged 80+ points twice in Pac-12 history / 82.7 last year led Pac-12
 
SAME CITY/TIME/RESULT AS LAST YEAR: Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas has been really good to ASU. ASU won the 2017 Continental Tire Invitational at Orleans Arena on Nov. 23-24 with wins over 2018 Elite Eight member Kansas State (92-90) and then dropped 102 on No. 15 Xavier for a 16-point win. Those wins vaulted ASU into the rankings for the first time since James Harden was in uniform (2008-09), gave it a 6-0 start for just the second time in 32 seasons and was its first exempt tournament title since Bill Frieder's gang won the 1994 Maui Invitational. ASU then beat No. 15 Mississippi State on Nov. 19 and Utah State on Nov. 21 to win the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event at T-Mobile Arena.
 
#DUNK-KWON: De'Quon Lake is 126-of-173 (.728) from the field with 50 dunks in his 49-game career. He has 92 offensive rebounds and posted five dunks against both Idaho State and San Diego State in December of 2017. He also had seven blocks vs. Pacific. ASU is 11-2 when he scores in double digits and 9-2 when he gets at least seven boards.
 
DORT QUICK NOTES: Luguentz Dort's 53 points in first two games (28 vs. CSF and 25 vs. McNeese State) were the third-most by a Pac-12 freshman in his first two career games since 1996-97. Only Washington's Markelle Fulz (65 in 2016-17) and Oregon's Tajuan Porter (55 in 2006-07) had better point production in their first two games than Dort in the past 23 seasons.
 
FWIW LUGUENTZ DORT PHYSICAL STUFF
HT:6-4 -- WT:215 -- WINGSPAN:6-8.75 -- BORN:April of 1999 
STANDING VERTICAL:34" (tied for best on team with De'Quon Lake)
APPROACH VERTICAL:39" (third on team behind Zylan at 41.5 and Remy at 40)
 
MOST POINTS BY A SUN DEVIL FRESHMAN
35, Mario Bennett vs. #5 Arizona, Feb. 20, 1992
34, Jahii Carson vs. Stanford @Pac-12 Tournament (Las Vegas), Mar. 13, 2013
33, Luguentz Dort vs. Utah State @Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2018