No shortage of quality opponents here
July 7, 2016
The 2016-17 Sun Devil men's basketball season will tip on Friday, Nov. 11 against Portland State and will include several great non-conference challenges, much like Bobby Hurley's first season in 2015-16 when its out-of-conference slate was 13th-best in the nation.
Some quick notes and numbers on the schedule...
v ASU will play three teams that won or shared regular season conference titles last year in Kentucky (SEC), New Mexico State (WAC) and San Diego State (Mountain West). ASU meets Kentucky in the Bahamas, hosts New Mexico State and travels to San Diego State.
v In a 24-day period between Nov. 17-Dec. 10, the Sun Devils will play three games in Puerto Rico and one game each in Nassau (vs. Kentucky), New York City (vs. Purdue) and San Diego (at San Diego State).
v Want some air miles numbers? ASU's round-trip flights in that time are 6,070 miles (San Juan), followed by 4,334 miles (Nassau), another 4,332 miles (New York City) and then 600 miles (San Diego).
v It would be hard for anyone to have a tougher six-game non-conference stretch than ASU in the 23 days between Nov. 28-Dec. 20. Check it out below:
SUPER TOUGH SIX IN A ROW
Monday, Nov. 28 vs. Kentucky at Bahamas (8-time NCAA champion)
Saturday, Dec. 3 vs. UNLV (six NCAA Tournaments in the past 10 seasons)
Tuesday, Dec. 6 vs. Purdue at New York City (eight NCAA Tournaments in past 10 seasons)
Saturday, Dec. 10 at San Diego State (seven NCAA Tournaments in past 11 seasons)
Saturday, Dec. 17 vs. New Mexico State (four NCAA Tournaments in past five seasons)
Tuesday, Dec. 20 vs. Creighton (10 NCAA Tournaments in the past 18 seasons)
v ASU will play seven home games in the non-conference season at Wells Fargo Arena/Ned Wulk Court, where it has gone 58-14 (.806) in past four seasons, including two wins over ranked teams last year as it beat No. 23 USC 74-67 on Feb. 12, 2016 and #18 Texas A&M 67-54 on Dec. 5, 2015. ASU has five wins vs. ranked teams at home in the past three season, tied for the most in the Pac-12 at that time.
@SunDevilHoops WINS OVER RANKED TEAMS PAST THREE SEASONS
ASU 74, #23 USC 67 (Feb. 12, 2016)
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54 (Dec. 5, 2015)
ASU 81, #6 Arizona 78 (Feb. 7, 2015)
ASU 69, #2 Arizona 66 (Feb. 14, 2014)
ASU 79, #25 Marquette 77 (Nov. 25, 2013)
v ASU notched eight top-100 RPI wins in 2015-16. In non-conference action ASU beat SEC co-champion Texas A&M (RPI 18), Southland Conference champions Stephen Austin (61), OVC top seed Belmont (95), UCSB (98), and Creighton (100), while in conference play it won vs. Oregon State (33), USC (51), and Stanford (87).
v ASU finished 23rd for its strength of schedule in 2015-16 (its best since 2000-01 when it also was 23rd), including a No. 13 ranking for its out-of-conference schedule (best since 2002-03 was fifth-best). ASU faced six top-100 teams in its non-conference schedule and only three teams ranked lower than 150. Ten of its 13 non-conference foes posted a top-150 RPI.
@SunDevilHoops 2016-17 SCHEDULE (TIMES AND TELEVISION DETERMINED BY PAC-12 IN SEPTEMBER)
FRIDAY, NOV. 11 VS. PORTLAND STATE
ASU opens on Veterans Day against Portland State, who it has played five times in its history, most recently during the 2006-07 season. ASU leads the series 3-2. A note for Sun Devil fans is that the night prior (Thursday, Nov. 10) is the final home football game of the weekend vs. Utah.
SUNDAY, NOV. 13 VS. CAL POLY
After playing Friday, ASU will tip Sunday vs. Cal Poly. Since the team has to leave on Tuesday (Nov. 15) for Puerto Rico and will be gone for six nights, playing two games in the first three games was necessary.
NOV. 17-18, 20 AT PUERTO RICO CLASSIC
ASU will visit Puerto Rico for the second time, as it plays in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan. Oklahoma (29-8), who advanced to the 2016 Final Four, and three other 2016 PRTO participants who competed in the postseason are in the field, with Northern Iowa (23-13) and Xavier (28-6) being NCAA entrants and Davidson (20-13) a NIT team. Clemson (17-14), Missouri (10-21) and Tulane (12-22) complete the field. Northern Iowa won the Missouri Valley Tournament but lost to Texas A&M in NCAA West Regional action. Xavier defeated Weber State (71-53) and lost to Wisconsin (66-63) in their East Region games, and the Musketeers split a pair of games with NCAA champion Villanova. Davidson is led by the nation's fifth-leading scorer Jack Gibbs. Gibbs averaged 23.7 points a game and scored 30 or more points in 10 games last season. ASU's only other trip to Puerto Rico was in November of 1999 when it fell to Texas, beat American of Puerto Rico and lost to Virginia.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 23 VS. CITADEL
ASU will host the Citadel on the day prior to Thanksgiving, the first time the teams have met. It will mark ASU's only home game in a 19-day stretch.
MONDAY, NOV 28 VS. KENTUCKY IN THE BAHAMAS
Yes, the Bahamas against possible No. 1 Kentucky. The game will be played in the 3,800-seat Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis – Paradise Island resort on Nassau's Paradise Island, the site of the yearly Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Last year in at fifth-ranked Kentucky, the Sun Devils trailed 44-40 with just over 13 minutes remaining, but a bank shot three-pointer by the home team followed by an in-and-out three-pointer for ASU led to a Wildcat run that proved to be the difference. Arizona State fell to Kentucky, 72-58, in front of a sellout crowd (23,665) at Rupp Arena.
"We look forward to a great matchup with Kentucky in a place where Arizona State has never played," said Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley. "It is important for our program to play high-level competition early in the season while at the same time gaining exposure for our players. It will be another great learning experience for our team in a place that is becoming popular in the college basketball world with regards to early-season games. The list of teams playing in Atlantis increases every year, and we are glad to be part of it."
SATURDAY, DEC. 3 VS. UNLV
ASU leads the series 5-2 and has won all three games in the recent series, and each win has had some great Sun Devil moments. Jahii Carson dropped 40 on November 19, 2013, in an 86-80 Sun Devil win in Las Vegas. On Dec. 3, 2014 in Tempe, ASU fell behind fast (21-6 seven minutes into the game) but came back to top the Runnin' Rebels, 77-55. ASU outscored UNLV 40-18 in the second half, won the battle of the boards 46-32 and shot 11-of-22 (.500) from the three-point stripe. Kodi Justice had 13 points, six assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes. Last year on Dec. 16, 2015, after trailing by 12 at half and by as much as 14 early in the second period, ASU outscored outscored UNLV 41-19, to climb to a 66-56 victory. It marked the program's largest halftime deficit win (12), since ASU defeated IUPUI 59-58 after trailing by 16, Dec. 18, 2008.
TUESDAY, DEC. 6 VS. PURDUE AT NEW YORK CITY (JIMMY V CLASSIC)
ASU will play in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden against Purdue. It will mark ASU's first trip to the Garden since November of 2009 when it fell to Duke and beat LSU in the preseason NIT. Purdue went 26-9 last year and has been a consistent part of everyone's summer top-25. It has made the NCAA Tournament in eight of the past 10 seasons.
SATURDAY, DEC. 10 AT SAN DIEGO STATE
San Diego State, who has averaged just under 29 wins in the past three seasons, won the Mountain West Conference championship last season and has been a regular in the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs, who went 28-10 last year, will return to Tempe in 2017-18. It will be the first match-up between the schools since 2009-10. The Aztecs were edged in Tempe, 55-52, a season after falling in San Diego to the No. 15 Sun Devils, 59-52. ASU leads the series 16-10, but SDSU leads 8-5 in San Diego. SDSU enters 2016-17 having won an average of 26 games the last 11 seasons and are the three-time defending regular-season champions.
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SATURDAY, DEC. 17 VS. NEW MEXICO STATE
ASU will host WAC regular season champion New Mexico State, who has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five seasons and was 23-11 last year. The Aggies have won at least 23 games in the past five seasons.
TUESDAY, DEC. 20 VS. CREIGHTON
Creighton made its 18th postseason in the last 19 years with last season's trip to the NIT quarterfinals. The Bluejays return four starters from last year's team that finished 20-15, securing the program's 16th 20-win season in the past 18 years. CU has been picked as a preseason top-25 team in several early polls and boasts a proud program that features Kyle Korver, Doug McDermott and former Phoenix Suns forward Anthony Tolliver as recent alums in the NBA.
THURSDAY, DEC. 22 CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Former ASU assistant coach, radio analyst and Arizona interim head Coach Russ Pennell will come to campus as the Central Arkansas head coach in ASU's final non-conference game of the season.
July 7, 2016
The 2016-17 Sun Devil men's basketball season will tip on Friday, Nov. 11 against Portland State and will include several great non-conference challenges, much like Bobby Hurley's first season in 2015-16 when its out-of-conference slate was 13th-best in the nation.
Some quick notes and numbers on the schedule...
v ASU will play three teams that won or shared regular season conference titles last year in Kentucky (SEC), New Mexico State (WAC) and San Diego State (Mountain West). ASU meets Kentucky in the Bahamas, hosts New Mexico State and travels to San Diego State.
v In a 24-day period between Nov. 17-Dec. 10, the Sun Devils will play three games in Puerto Rico and one game each in Nassau (vs. Kentucky), New York City (vs. Purdue) and San Diego (at San Diego State).
v Want some air miles numbers? ASU's round-trip flights in that time are 6,070 miles (San Juan), followed by 4,334 miles (Nassau), another 4,332 miles (New York City) and then 600 miles (San Diego).
v It would be hard for anyone to have a tougher six-game non-conference stretch than ASU in the 23 days between Nov. 28-Dec. 20. Check it out below:
SUPER TOUGH SIX IN A ROW
Monday, Nov. 28 vs. Kentucky at Bahamas (8-time NCAA champion)
Saturday, Dec. 3 vs. UNLV (six NCAA Tournaments in the past 10 seasons)
Tuesday, Dec. 6 vs. Purdue at New York City (eight NCAA Tournaments in past 10 seasons)
Saturday, Dec. 10 at San Diego State (seven NCAA Tournaments in past 11 seasons)
Saturday, Dec. 17 vs. New Mexico State (four NCAA Tournaments in past five seasons)
Tuesday, Dec. 20 vs. Creighton (10 NCAA Tournaments in the past 18 seasons)
v ASU will play seven home games in the non-conference season at Wells Fargo Arena/Ned Wulk Court, where it has gone 58-14 (.806) in past four seasons, including two wins over ranked teams last year as it beat No. 23 USC 74-67 on Feb. 12, 2016 and #18 Texas A&M 67-54 on Dec. 5, 2015. ASU has five wins vs. ranked teams at home in the past three season, tied for the most in the Pac-12 at that time.
@SunDevilHoops WINS OVER RANKED TEAMS PAST THREE SEASONS
ASU 74, #23 USC 67 (Feb. 12, 2016)
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54 (Dec. 5, 2015)
ASU 81, #6 Arizona 78 (Feb. 7, 2015)
ASU 69, #2 Arizona 66 (Feb. 14, 2014)
ASU 79, #25 Marquette 77 (Nov. 25, 2013)
v ASU notched eight top-100 RPI wins in 2015-16. In non-conference action ASU beat SEC co-champion Texas A&M (RPI 18), Southland Conference champions Stephen Austin (61), OVC top seed Belmont (95), UCSB (98), and Creighton (100), while in conference play it won vs. Oregon State (33), USC (51), and Stanford (87).
v ASU finished 23rd for its strength of schedule in 2015-16 (its best since 2000-01 when it also was 23rd), including a No. 13 ranking for its out-of-conference schedule (best since 2002-03 was fifth-best). ASU faced six top-100 teams in its non-conference schedule and only three teams ranked lower than 150. Ten of its 13 non-conference foes posted a top-150 RPI.
@SunDevilHoops 2016-17 SCHEDULE (TIMES AND TELEVISION DETERMINED BY PAC-12 IN SEPTEMBER)
FRIDAY, NOV. 11 VS. PORTLAND STATE
ASU opens on Veterans Day against Portland State, who it has played five times in its history, most recently during the 2006-07 season. ASU leads the series 3-2. A note for Sun Devil fans is that the night prior (Thursday, Nov. 10) is the final home football game of the weekend vs. Utah.
SUNDAY, NOV. 13 VS. CAL POLY
After playing Friday, ASU will tip Sunday vs. Cal Poly. Since the team has to leave on Tuesday (Nov. 15) for Puerto Rico and will be gone for six nights, playing two games in the first three games was necessary.
NOV. 17-18, 20 AT PUERTO RICO CLASSIC
ASU will visit Puerto Rico for the second time, as it plays in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan. Oklahoma (29-8), who advanced to the 2016 Final Four, and three other 2016 PRTO participants who competed in the postseason are in the field, with Northern Iowa (23-13) and Xavier (28-6) being NCAA entrants and Davidson (20-13) a NIT team. Clemson (17-14), Missouri (10-21) and Tulane (12-22) complete the field. Northern Iowa won the Missouri Valley Tournament but lost to Texas A&M in NCAA West Regional action. Xavier defeated Weber State (71-53) and lost to Wisconsin (66-63) in their East Region games, and the Musketeers split a pair of games with NCAA champion Villanova. Davidson is led by the nation's fifth-leading scorer Jack Gibbs. Gibbs averaged 23.7 points a game and scored 30 or more points in 10 games last season. ASU's only other trip to Puerto Rico was in November of 1999 when it fell to Texas, beat American of Puerto Rico and lost to Virginia.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 23 VS. CITADEL
ASU will host the Citadel on the day prior to Thanksgiving, the first time the teams have met. It will mark ASU's only home game in a 19-day stretch.
MONDAY, NOV 28 VS. KENTUCKY IN THE BAHAMAS
Yes, the Bahamas against possible No. 1 Kentucky. The game will be played in the 3,800-seat Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis – Paradise Island resort on Nassau's Paradise Island, the site of the yearly Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Last year in at fifth-ranked Kentucky, the Sun Devils trailed 44-40 with just over 13 minutes remaining, but a bank shot three-pointer by the home team followed by an in-and-out three-pointer for ASU led to a Wildcat run that proved to be the difference. Arizona State fell to Kentucky, 72-58, in front of a sellout crowd (23,665) at Rupp Arena.
"We look forward to a great matchup with Kentucky in a place where Arizona State has never played," said Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley. "It is important for our program to play high-level competition early in the season while at the same time gaining exposure for our players. It will be another great learning experience for our team in a place that is becoming popular in the college basketball world with regards to early-season games. The list of teams playing in Atlantis increases every year, and we are glad to be part of it."
SATURDAY, DEC. 3 VS. UNLV
ASU leads the series 5-2 and has won all three games in the recent series, and each win has had some great Sun Devil moments. Jahii Carson dropped 40 on November 19, 2013, in an 86-80 Sun Devil win in Las Vegas. On Dec. 3, 2014 in Tempe, ASU fell behind fast (21-6 seven minutes into the game) but came back to top the Runnin' Rebels, 77-55. ASU outscored UNLV 40-18 in the second half, won the battle of the boards 46-32 and shot 11-of-22 (.500) from the three-point stripe. Kodi Justice had 13 points, six assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes. Last year on Dec. 16, 2015, after trailing by 12 at half and by as much as 14 early in the second period, ASU outscored outscored UNLV 41-19, to climb to a 66-56 victory. It marked the program's largest halftime deficit win (12), since ASU defeated IUPUI 59-58 after trailing by 16, Dec. 18, 2008.
TUESDAY, DEC. 6 VS. PURDUE AT NEW YORK CITY (JIMMY V CLASSIC)
ASU will play in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden against Purdue. It will mark ASU's first trip to the Garden since November of 2009 when it fell to Duke and beat LSU in the preseason NIT. Purdue went 26-9 last year and has been a consistent part of everyone's summer top-25. It has made the NCAA Tournament in eight of the past 10 seasons.
SATURDAY, DEC. 10 AT SAN DIEGO STATE
San Diego State, who has averaged just under 29 wins in the past three seasons, won the Mountain West Conference championship last season and has been a regular in the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs, who went 28-10 last year, will return to Tempe in 2017-18. It will be the first match-up between the schools since 2009-10. The Aztecs were edged in Tempe, 55-52, a season after falling in San Diego to the No. 15 Sun Devils, 59-52. ASU leads the series 16-10, but SDSU leads 8-5 in San Diego. SDSU enters 2016-17 having won an average of 26 games the last 11 seasons and are the three-time defending regular-season champions.
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SATURDAY, DEC. 17 VS. NEW MEXICO STATE
ASU will host WAC regular season champion New Mexico State, who has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five seasons and was 23-11 last year. The Aggies have won at least 23 games in the past five seasons.
TUESDAY, DEC. 20 VS. CREIGHTON
Creighton made its 18th postseason in the last 19 years with last season's trip to the NIT quarterfinals. The Bluejays return four starters from last year's team that finished 20-15, securing the program's 16th 20-win season in the past 18 years. CU has been picked as a preseason top-25 team in several early polls and boasts a proud program that features Kyle Korver, Doug McDermott and former Phoenix Suns forward Anthony Tolliver as recent alums in the NBA.
THURSDAY, DEC. 22 CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Former ASU assistant coach, radio analyst and Arizona interim head Coach Russ Pennell will come to campus as the Central Arkansas head coach in ASU's final non-conference game of the season.
