Men's Hoops Heads to Pacific Northwest for a Pair

TIME TO HIT THE ROAD: The Sun Devil men's basketball squad (7-14; 3-8) hits the road for an old-school Thursday-Saturday Apple Cup trip as it takes on Washington on Thursday (Feb. 10) at 8 p.m. PT on FS1 and then travels to Pullman for a 7 p.m. PT tip on ESPNU on Saturday (Feb. 12).
 
WHAT JUST HAPPENED WASN'T NORMAL: ASU just competed a five-game stretch where it played at #16 USC, at #3 Arizona and then at home vs. #19 USC, vs. #3 UCLA and vs. #4 Arizona in 15 days. It marked the first time a Pac-12 team had played five straight ranked teams since the 2001-02 Sun Devil squad played six straight.
 
ABOUT LAST SATURDAY: The Sun Devils topped No. 3 UCLA 87-84 in triple overtime on Feb. 5 and now have eight wins over Associated Press top three teams in their history, four in the past 41 years (1981-92 to present). Two of them were by a Bobby Hurley-coached squad over Kansas and then the UCLA win on Saturday. Random note: Bill Walton was the color commentaor for all four of them in past 41 years.

ASU WINS OVER ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP THREE TEAMS
ASU 87, #3 UCLA 84 3 OT (Feb. 5, 2022)
#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)
#16 ASU 95, at #2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)
ASU 69, #2 Arizona 66 (2 OT) (Feb. 14, 2014)
#5 ASU 87, #1 Oregon State 67 (Mar. 7, 1981)
ASU 95, #3 USC 78 (Dec. 1, 1971)
ASU 68, @#2 USC (Dec.12, 1970)
ASU 89, #3 Michigan 87 (Dec. 27, 1965 at Portland/Far West Classic)
 
DEFENSE NOTE: ASU is holding opponents to .406 shooting (503-1239) from the field, its best defensive effort since the 2009-10 team held opponents to .402 (678-of-1687) and fifth best in school history. ASU has held 11 opponents under 40 percent shooting.
TOP FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE IN SUN DEVIL HISTORY
.391/1962-63 (791-2024)
.399/1971-72 (797-of-1997)
.401/1967-68 (834-2078)
.402/2009-10 (678-1687)
.406/2021-22 (503-1239)
.410/2012-13 (861-2098)
.410/2007-08 (718-1752)
 
ASU 87, #3 UCLA 84 (3 OT/FEB. 5): In one of the best games Desert Financial Arena has ever hosted since it opened in 1974-75, ASU and No. 3 UCLA traded buckets for 55 minutes before ASU put the game away with a 13-point third overtime and won 87-84. ASU held the Bruins to .372 from the floor (29-of-78) and put six players in double digits, led by Marreon Jackson scoring 24 off the bench while Jalen Graham posted his seventh straight solid game with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. ASU's bench outscored UCLA 27-8 in a game where there were 16 ties and 10 lead changes. UCLA's biggest lead was seven, while ASU led by 11 just four minutes into the second half. The teams only committed 20 turnovers (UCLA 9, ASU 11).
 
JALEN SOLID: One good thing that came out of the Colorado Jan. 15 loss was the play of Jalen Graham, who had a then career-high 16 points in just over 19 minutes, including 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He then had 12 points in just 14:23 (foul trouble) in the Jan. 17 win over Utah including the game-winner with four seconds left. On Jan. 22 at Stanford he was 8-of-13 from the floor and again had 16 points and tied the game at 76 with under seven seconds left. After averaging 4.8 points in his first 11 games this year (and 5.2 points in first 60 games of career) he is averaging 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in the past eight games. The USC (19 points at home and 15 points on road), UCLA (16 points and career-best six assists), Stanford (16 points) and Colorado (16 points) are the top five scoring games of his caeer. In the first 60 games of his career, he averaged 5.2 points, but in the past eight he is at 13.9. After starting season 7-of-23 from the foul line, he has made 15-of-22 (.682) in those eight games.
 
CRAZY NOTE FROM USC GAME FEB. 3: ASU lost a tough one to #19 USC on Feb. 3 58-53 despite holding the Trojans to 30 percent shooting (18-of-60), the first time since 1996-97 it had held an opponent to 30 percent or less shooting and lost (27 times). ASU fell behind 14-2 but led 40-32 with under 12 minutes but USC outscored ASU 26-13 to close the game.
 
FT LINE STATS: ASU's backcourt of Marreon Jackson (43-of-51), DJ Horne (22-of-22), Jay Heath (33-of-38) Luther Muhammad (18-of-22) and Jamiya Neal (10-of-14) are a combined 126-of-147 (.857) at the free throw line. 
 
CLOSE: Coach Hurley's Sun Devils have done a good job of winning close games through the years. It got one on Dec. 5 at Oregon (69-67), followed it up with a 67-62 win over 2021 WAC Champion Grand Canyon on Dec. 9, added a 58-57 win at Creighton on Dec. 14 and then a 64-62 win over Utah on Jan. 17. ASU's first two losses were by three points total, losing on a 65-footer to UC Riverside (66-65 on Nov. 11) and a tough 65-63 game at San Diego State (Nov. 18) that had 10 lead changes and six ties. ASU is 16-8 in Pac-12 two-possession games the past three years and 22-12 overall.
 
TIMELINE ON LONG PAUSE: Here is how the one-game in 27 days happened prior to ASU losing to Colorado (Jan. 15) and then topping Utah (Jan. 17)...ASU fell to San Francisco 66-65 on Dec. 19 on three USF free throws in the final seconds...since then, ASU had played only one game prior to Jan. 15 Colorado game...on Dec. 21, ASU had its Florida A&M home game canceled due to campus power outage that affected Desert Financial Arena and other buildings...team broke for holiday break only to learn its Dec. 30 at USC and Jan. 1 at UCLA games were postponed due to protocols with both the Trojans and Bruins...so ASU scrambled and moved its Jan. 19  tilt California road game to Jan. 2...upon returning, ASU had to enter a pause due to COVID protocols, which meant it couldn't play a Jan. 5 game at UCLA (rescheduled from Jan. 1), its Jan. 8 Arizona game and its Jan. 13 Utah game (since played Jan. 17). How weird is one game from Dec. 20-Jan. 14? Using 2016-17 as an example, ASU played seven games in that time frame.
 
NOTES ON COACH HURLEY AT ASU: Posted third straight 20-win season in 2019-20 for just the third time in program history...top two average attendance marks in ASU history, including ASU-best 10,603 in 2017-18...2019-20 COVID-shortened season saw ASU (20-11) post its first seven-game Pac-12 win streak since the 1980-81 team won 11 straight...entered season with 28 halftime comebacks in his six years, tops in the Pac-12...11-7 in the Pac-12 in 2019-20 after going 12-6 in 2018-19, just the second time in the previous 25 seasons the Sun Devils posted back-to-back winning Pac-12 records...best two non-conference wins in school history vs. No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 22, 2018 and at No. 2 Kansas on Dec. 10, 2017...reached NCAA Tournament for just fourth time in 23 seasons in 2018 and then followed it with back-to-back appearances for the first time since 1980-81 in 2019...in November of 2017, defeated two eventual 2018 NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeds in a span of a two weeks (Kansas and Xavier)...matched the highest Associated Press ranking in school  history (third) in December of 2017...9-3 in out of conference regular season road games, second-best in nation.
 
WEIRD NOTES: ASU had 12 more made field goals at Stanford on Jan. 22, but lost the game. How freakin' weird is that? That is the first time that has happened since April 1, 2016, when Morehead State had 14 more made field goals in an 85-82 loss at Nevada in overtime. The last time it happened in a regulation game was when East Tennessee State had 12 more made field goals than Tennessee Tech on Dec. 2, 2015. ASU also held USC to 18-of-60 (.300) on Feb. 3 and lost, the first time that has happened in 27 Sun Devil games dating to 1996-97.
 
JAY HEATH: After missing the first two games due to COVID, Jay Heath averaged six points and was 5-of-20 from the field in his first three games. Since that time in his past 12 games he is averaging 11.6 points with season-high 16 points vs. Loyola, USF and No. 4 Arizona. He has made 15-of-34 (.441) threes in the past seven games.
 
SCHEDULE: By playing Baylor, Syracuse and Loyola in the Battle 4 Atlantis, ASU had a nine-game stretch where it faced seven 2021 NCAA Tournament teams (Washington State and San Francisco the others). In that stretch ASU played at last year's MWC champion (San Diego State), defending NCAA champ (Baylor), Syracuse (Sweet 16), Loyola (Sweet 16), at Pac-12 champion (Oregon), WAC champion (GCU) and at Creighton (Sweet 16) in 32 days.
 
DJ: DJ Horne hit a career-high six threes on Nov. 24 vs. Baylor. He averaged 15.1 ppg. last year at Illinois State and is a .859 career free throw shooter (79-of-92). He sent the Dec. 5 Oregon game into overtime with a three with under four seconds left, as he had season-high 23 points, six rebounds and three assists.
 
RESET: The Sun Devils have many new faces and a trio of returners -- like a lot of college basketball teams. Bobby Hurley is in his seventh year and returned "super" senior Kimani Lawrence for a fifth year, junior Jalen Graham and sophomore Marcus Bagley. Luther Muhammad sat last year to get a shoulder healthy after transferring from Ohio State. The Sun Devils added graduate transfer Marreon Jackson from Toledo (2020-21 MAC Player of the Year now in his fifth year of college hoops), along with DI transfers DJ Horne (Illinois State) and Jay Heath (Boston College) and added junior college transfer Alonzo Gaffney, who started his career at Ohio State. Add in freshman Jamiya Neal and Enoch Boakye and ASU started the season with a 10-man rotation. 
 
GOOD EARLY: Coach Hurley's Sun Devils have been good in November. The program captured Las Vegas titles at the 2017 Continental Tire Invitational and at the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event. It has posted wins vs. Rhode Island and St. John's in Connecticut, Utah State, Mississippi State, Xavier and Kansas State in Las Vegas, Tulane in Orlando and North Carolina State in Brooklyn.
 
THREE DOTS: Kimani Lawrence is averaging 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds with six double-doubles...Jay Heath and Jalen Graham each missed the first two games -- and many practices -- because of COVID protocols...Alonzo Gaffney leads team with 32 blocks...Marreon Jackson's 80 assists is team best and he has played in 148 games and is 389-of-471 (.826) at the free throw line and has scored 2,010 career points (13.6 ppg.)...Luther Muhammad started 54 games in his first two years at Ohio State before sitting last year at ASU with a shoulder injury.
 
PEEPS IN SEATS: Everyone knows 2019-20 and 2020-21 hit the Sun Devil program hard in terms of momentum. In addition to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance getting canceled in 2020 -- which would have been a first for the program since the early 1960s -- ASU had turned the corner on attendance. Desert Financial Arena averaged 10,140 fans in the three years starting with 2017-18, with 496,872 fans attending 49 Sun Devil games, as ASU racked up a 39-10 record. In the three previous seasons in 51 games ASU averaged 6,087 fans (310,459).
 
MARREON (SAY IT MAR (LIKE CAR) - REON): Toledo graduate transfer Marreon Jackson entered 2021-22 with 1,817 career points (14.3 ppg.) and 573 career assists. The 2020-21 MAC Player of the Year posted two triple doubles last season and made a school record 41 straight free throws to open the 2020-21 season. He posted five 30-point games at Toledo and in the final 10 games of 2020-21 averaged 19.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists. He shot .904 from the free throw line in 2020-21, eighth-best in the nation as he was 103-of-114 and entering this year a career .824 free throw shooter (346-of-420).
 
20: One can't take for granted what ASU did from 2017-20. Coming off records in of 23-11 (2018-19) and 20-12 in 2017-18, ASU notched its third straight 20-win season in the COVID cut 2019-20, something it had done just twice. In James Harden's two seasons ASU went 21-13 (2007-08) and 25-10 (2008-09) and then went 22-11 in 2009-10. You have to go back to 1960-63 for the only other time in ASU history for it to happen. ASU went 23-6 in 1960-61, 23-4 in 1961-62 and 26-3 in 1962-63, led by another Olympic gold medalist, Jumpin' Joe Caldwell.
 
KIMANI: Kimani Lawrence had 21 points and 20 rebounds on Feb. 25, 2021, vs. Washington which was the first 20/20 outing by a Sun Devil since Nov. 19, 1997 (Mike Batiste gave Wagner 36/20) and the only 20/20 by a Sun Devil in a Pac-12 game. The 21 rebounds is second-most by a Sun Devil in a Pac-12 game. He also matched a career highs in points (22) in the Feb. 23 win over Washington. He posted double digits in 14 games in 2018-19 and his best game was 22-point effort vs. Mississippi State in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, 2018, including the game-winning three-pointer with the scored tied and 29 seconds left.
 
PAC-12 20/20 GAMES (1996-97 TO PRESENT)
Kimani Lawrence, ASU vs. Washington (Feb. 25, 2021) -- 21/20
Deandre Ayton, Arizona vs. California (Mar. 3, 2018) – 26/20
Noah Dickerson, UW vs. E. Washington (Nov. 12, 2017) – 28/22
Josh Hawkinson, WSU vs. Washington (Jan. 6, 2016) -- 21/20
Matt Maryasz, Stanford vs. Oregon (Jan. 20, 2005) – 20/20
Mike Batiste, ASU vs. Wagner (Nov. 19, 1997) – 36/20
Tim Young, Stanford vs. Oregon (Jan. 16, 1997) – 20/21
Todd MacCullouch, UW vs. UCLA (Jan. 31, 1999) – 26/21
Todd MacCullouch, UW vs. ASU (Jan. 8, 1998) – 30/21
Curtis Borchardt, Stanford vs. Arizona (Feb. 2, 2002) – 25/21
 
FINAL FOUR: Coach Hurley is one of three current head coaches who earned Final Four MOP, one of 10 who won the NCAA title as a player, and is the only one to win it twice.
 
CURRENT HEAD COACHES TO WIN NCAA TITLE AS PLAYER
Steve Alford, Indiana (1987) — Nevada
Kenny Blakeney, Duke (1991) — Howard
Juan Dixon, Maryland (2002 MOP) — Coppin State
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown (1984 MOP) — Georgetown
Bobby Hurley, Duke (1991,1992 MOP) — Arizona State
Nate James, Duke (2001) — Austin Peay
Steve Masiello, Kentucky (1998) — Manhattan
Wes Miller, North Carolina (2005) — Cincinnati
Josh Pastner, Arizona (1997) — Georgia Tech
Mark Pope, Kentucky (1996) — BYU
 
GOOD NOTE: ASU has defeated nine ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's seven seasons, but it trailed at the half in five of the wins, including both wins over Kansas.
 
ASU WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS UNDER BOBBY HURLEY (ASU DEFICIT AT HALF)
ASU 87, #3 UCLA 84 3 OT (Feb. 5, 2022)
ASU 77, #14 Oregon 72 (Feb. 20, 2020)
ASU 66, #22 Arizona 65 (Jan. 25, 2020)--Arizona 43, ASU 30
#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)--Kansas 39, #18 ASU 31
ASU 72, #15 Mississippi State 67 (Nov. 19, 2018/Las Vegas)
#16 ASU 95, at #2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)--Kansas 40, #16 ASU 37
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 (Nov. 24, 2017/Las Vegas)-- Xavier 46, ASU 44
ASU 74, #23 USC 67 (Feb. 12, 2016)-- USC 30, ASU 27
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54 (Dec. 5, 2015) 
 
GSR: Sun Devil Athletics has earned a new all-time high of 92 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for its student-athletes, announced by the NCAA on Dec. 2. Sun Devil Athletics has either maintained or surpassed its all-time best GSR every year since 2008 and is tied for third in the Pac-12 Conference. The men's basketball team was one of 10 Sun Devil teams that posted GSR scores at 100 percent. Here are the Sun Devils who contributed to the perfect score.
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL DEGREES EARNED (2011-15 COHORT)
Zylan Cheatham, B.A., Liberal Studies (2019)
Tra Holder, B.S., Sociology (2018)
Shannon Evans II, B.S., Communication (2017)
Torian Graham, B.A., Liberal Studies (2017)
Kodi Justice, B.S., Sociology (2017)
Obinna Oleka, B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies (2017)
Maurice O'Field, B.S., Sociology (2017)
Eric Ja cobsen, B.S., Communication (2016)
Gerry Blakes, B.S., Communication (2016)
Willie Atwood, B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies (2016)
Jon Gilling, B.A., Communications (2015)
Savon Lloyd-Goodman, B.S., Sociology (2015)
Sai Tummala, B.S., Biological Sciences, Animal Physiology and Behavior/Honors College (2015)
 
GETTING BUCKETS: ASU has averaged 77.3 ppg. in the previous four seasons, the best mark in the Pac-12 in that time. In the four years prior to Bobby Hurley's arrival at ASU, the Sun Devils averaged 69.5 points per game, seventh in the Pac-12.
 
COVID SEASON CUT SHORT HURT: Prior to its past two NCAA appearances (2018 and 2019) under Bobby Hurley, ASU had made the NCAA Tournament three times in 22 seasons (1996-2017), but the Sun Devils were on their way for third straight for the first time since the early 1960s when the world stopped in March of 2020. It was 9-4 since Jan. 18, with two of the losses (75-72 at UCLA Feb. 27 and 67-65 at WSU on Jan. 29) decided by three-pointers in the final seconds. ASU had a seven-game Pac-12 win streak, a first since the 1980-81 team won 11 straight.