Lookie here, a game versus St. John's...when is the last time that happened? 
Those that thought Coach Bobby Hurley might cut back on team travel this year since the schedule already includes a trip to China to tip off the season, well that isn't happening.
Arizona State will travel to Connecticut to play St. John's -- for the third time in three seasons (716 days at time of game) -- next year (Nov. 23) and could meet defending NCAA champion Virginia or UMASS the next day as the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the field of teams and brackets for the 2018 Tip-Off Tournament presented by Citi.
The annual NCAA men's exempt tournament sponsored by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will take place Saturday, November 23 and Sunday, November 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. ASU is one of eight schools who will compete in two four-team brackets with campus round games leading up to the Mohegan Sun Arena contests. ASU will host Central Connecticut State on Friday, Nov. 14 and then host Rider on Sunday, Nov. 17, as part of the tournament.
The games will also allow junior Kimani Lawrence to get back near home, as he is from about an hour from the arena.
Times and TV options will be set at a later date.
STATES PLAYED NOTE: Bobby Hurley in non-conference action has played outside Arizona in nine states and the Bahamas in his first four seasons. It has played multiple games in Nevada (five), New York (three), Florida (three) and California (three) and has played single games in Kentucky, Nebraska, Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas and the Bahamas. His ASU teams have played 28 non-conference games in Tempe and 20 outside the Arizona state lines. Connecticut will mark the tenth state where the Sun Devils have played non-conference games in Coach Hurley's fifth season in 2019-20.
NOVEMBER HAS BEEN AWESOME: There has been no one better early than the Sun Devils in the past two seasons, as they are 20-5 in November under Coach Hurley in his four years including 12-0 the past two seasons.
ASU 12-GAME NOVEMBER WIN STREAK
ASU 89, Omaha 71 (Nov. 28, 2018)
ASU 87, Utah State 82 at Las Vegas (Nov. 21, 2018)
ASU 72, #16 Mississippi State 67 at Las Vegas (Nov. 19, 2018)
ASU 90, Long Beach State 58 (Nov. 12, 2018)
ASU 80, McNeese State 52 (Nov. 9, 2018)
ASU 102, Cal State Fullerton 94, 2 OT (Nov. 6, 2018)
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 at Las Vegas (Nov. 24, 2017)
ASU 92, Kansas State 90 at Las Vegas (Nov. 23, 2017)
ASU 99, UC Irvine 78 (Nov. 19, 2017)
ASU 97, NAU 62 (Nov. 17, 2017)
ASU 90, San Diego State 68 (Nov. 14, 2017)
ASU 94, Idaho State 74 (Nov. 10, 2017)
CHINA GAME: The Pac-12 announced last November that Arizona State and Colorado will meet in November in the fifth edition of the Pac-12 China Game presented by Alibaba Group. The matchup is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9 for the national broadcast in both the U.S. and China, but it will not count as a conference contest. The teams are slated to meet only once during the 2019-20 Pac-12 regular season as part of the league's annual 18-game rotation model, as ASU will not make the Utah/Colorado trip this season.
VS. THE FIELD: ASU has won all three meeting vs. St. John's, including last year's 74-65 win in Dayton in the NCAA Tournament. ASU held the Red Storm to just .319 shooting, tied for the fifth-best defensive performance in the four years under Bobby Hurley...ASU has yet play UMASS and is 0-1 vs. Virginia, losing a 70-64 tilt on Nov. 27, 1999, in Puerto Rico...No. 16 ASU led 44-26 with 3:07 left in the first half but St. John's cut it to 71-70 before the Sun Devils outscored Saint John's 11-0 for the win at STAPLES Center on Dec. 8, 2017, in another Hall of Fame Classic. Romello White posted 22 points and nine rebounds while ASU made 23-of-27 (.852) free throws and lled for more than 38 minutes...the only other ASU-SJU meeting was on Nov. 27, 2010, in the Great Alaska Shootout when Steve Lavin's squad came back from a 30-20 halftime deficit to win 67-58.
WORST OPPONENT SHOOTING NIGHTS VS. ASU IN BOBBY HURLEY ERA
.274/17-62 by Long Beach State (Nov. 12, 2018)
.286/18-63 by San Francisco (Dec. 2, 2017)
.311/19-61 by Texas A&M (Dec. 5, 2015)
.317/19-60 by Northern Arizona (Nov. 11, 2017)
.319/22-69 by St. John's (Mar. 20, 2019)
THANKSGIVING WEEK HAS BEEN GOOD TO SPARKY: Thanksgiving week -- in Las Vegas the past two seasons -- 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 last season.
PLAYING FOLKS: Bobby Hurley promised to upgrade the Sun Devil schedule when he got the job in April of 2015. He has played road games at Creighton, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, San Diego State, UNLV and Vanderbilt.
SUN DEVIL MAJOR CONFERENCE TEAMS PLAYED OR TO BE PLAYED SINCE HIRING OF BOBBY HURLEY
Creighton (Big East) -- won at Creighton in 2015-16, lost to top-10 Creighton in 2016-17
Georgia (SEC) -- won at Georgia last season, Bulldogs return trip this season
Kansas (Big 12) -- we all know what happened here.
Kansas State (Big 12) -- won at Orleans Arena in November of 2017.
Kentucky (SEC) -- lost to Wildcats in Lexington and in the Bahamas.
Marquette (Big East) -- lost at Barclays Center in Coach Hurley's first year
Mississippi State (SEC) -- beat ranked Bulldog squad in Las Vegas in November of 2018.
NC State (ACC) -- Lost to NC State at Barclays Center in November of 2015.
Nevada (MWC) -- Lost to undefeated Nevada in December of 2018 at STAPLES Center.
Purdue (Big 10) -- Lost at MSG in Jimmy V. Classic in December of 2016
San Diego State (MWC) -- swept SDSU, winning at SDSU (2016-17) and in Tempe (2017-18).
St. John's (Big East) -- beat SJU in Los Angeles in December of 2017 will play them November 23.
Texas A&M (SEC) -- beat ranked Aggies soundly in Tempe in December of 2015.
UMASS (A10) -- potential opponent this November in Connecticut.
UNLV (MWC) -- won at UNLV and in Tempe in Coach Hurley's first two seasons.
Vanderbilt (SEC) -- teams split games with each winning at home past two seasons.
Virginia (ACC) -- potential opponent this November in Connecticut.
Xavier (Big East) -- beat Musketters 102-86 in November of 2017.
MOHEGAN SUN: Mohegan Sun Arena is now ranked consistently among the top venues in the world according to Billboard Magazine, Pollstar and Venues Today. It has won "Casino of The Year" at the Country Music Awards in 2008 & 2010 and in 2013, was voted "Arena Of The Year" at the G2E Global Gaming Conference in Las Vegas. Mohegan Sun Arena was also ranked among the top 10 arena venues in the nation for 2014, regardless of size. In 2015, Mohegan Sun took home the IEBA award for "Casino of the Year." Mohegan Sun also won "Casino of the Year" in 2 categories at the 2013 & 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards. For more information on concerts and other great events, visit Mohegan Sun. For information on this week's schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1-888.226-7711, ext. 27163.
Those that thought Coach Bobby Hurley might cut back on team travel this year since the schedule already includes a trip to China to tip off the season, well that isn't happening.
Arizona State will travel to Connecticut to play St. John's -- for the third time in three seasons (716 days at time of game) -- next year (Nov. 23) and could meet defending NCAA champion Virginia or UMASS the next day as the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the field of teams and brackets for the 2018 Tip-Off Tournament presented by Citi.
The annual NCAA men's exempt tournament sponsored by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will take place Saturday, November 23 and Sunday, November 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. ASU is one of eight schools who will compete in two four-team brackets with campus round games leading up to the Mohegan Sun Arena contests. ASU will host Central Connecticut State on Friday, Nov. 14 and then host Rider on Sunday, Nov. 17, as part of the tournament.
The games will also allow junior Kimani Lawrence to get back near home, as he is from about an hour from the arena.
Times and TV options will be set at a later date.
STATES PLAYED NOTE: Bobby Hurley in non-conference action has played outside Arizona in nine states and the Bahamas in his first four seasons. It has played multiple games in Nevada (five), New York (three), Florida (three) and California (three) and has played single games in Kentucky, Nebraska, Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas and the Bahamas. His ASU teams have played 28 non-conference games in Tempe and 20 outside the Arizona state lines. Connecticut will mark the tenth state where the Sun Devils have played non-conference games in Coach Hurley's fifth season in 2019-20.
NOVEMBER HAS BEEN AWESOME: There has been no one better early than the Sun Devils in the past two seasons, as they are 20-5 in November under Coach Hurley in his four years including 12-0 the past two seasons.
ASU 12-GAME NOVEMBER WIN STREAK
ASU 89, Omaha 71 (Nov. 28, 2018)
ASU 87, Utah State 82 at Las Vegas (Nov. 21, 2018)
ASU 72, #16 Mississippi State 67 at Las Vegas (Nov. 19, 2018)
ASU 90, Long Beach State 58 (Nov. 12, 2018)
ASU 80, McNeese State 52 (Nov. 9, 2018)
ASU 102, Cal State Fullerton 94, 2 OT (Nov. 6, 2018)
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 at Las Vegas (Nov. 24, 2017)
ASU 92, Kansas State 90 at Las Vegas (Nov. 23, 2017)
ASU 99, UC Irvine 78 (Nov. 19, 2017)
ASU 97, NAU 62 (Nov. 17, 2017)
ASU 90, San Diego State 68 (Nov. 14, 2017)
ASU 94, Idaho State 74 (Nov. 10, 2017)
CHINA GAME: The Pac-12 announced last November that Arizona State and Colorado will meet in November in the fifth edition of the Pac-12 China Game presented by Alibaba Group. The matchup is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9 for the national broadcast in both the U.S. and China, but it will not count as a conference contest. The teams are slated to meet only once during the 2019-20 Pac-12 regular season as part of the league's annual 18-game rotation model, as ASU will not make the Utah/Colorado trip this season.
VS. THE FIELD: ASU has won all three meeting vs. St. John's, including last year's 74-65 win in Dayton in the NCAA Tournament. ASU held the Red Storm to just .319 shooting, tied for the fifth-best defensive performance in the four years under Bobby Hurley...ASU has yet play UMASS and is 0-1 vs. Virginia, losing a 70-64 tilt on Nov. 27, 1999, in Puerto Rico...No. 16 ASU led 44-26 with 3:07 left in the first half but St. John's cut it to 71-70 before the Sun Devils outscored Saint John's 11-0 for the win at STAPLES Center on Dec. 8, 2017, in another Hall of Fame Classic. Romello White posted 22 points and nine rebounds while ASU made 23-of-27 (.852) free throws and lled for more than 38 minutes...the only other ASU-SJU meeting was on Nov. 27, 2010, in the Great Alaska Shootout when Steve Lavin's squad came back from a 30-20 halftime deficit to win 67-58.
WORST OPPONENT SHOOTING NIGHTS VS. ASU IN BOBBY HURLEY ERA
.274/17-62 by Long Beach State (Nov. 12, 2018)
.286/18-63 by San Francisco (Dec. 2, 2017)
.311/19-61 by Texas A&M (Dec. 5, 2015)
.317/19-60 by Northern Arizona (Nov. 11, 2017)
.319/22-69 by St. John's (Mar. 20, 2019)
THANKSGIVING WEEK HAS BEEN GOOD TO SPARKY: Thanksgiving week -- in Las Vegas the past two seasons -- 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 last season.
PLAYING FOLKS: Bobby Hurley promised to upgrade the Sun Devil schedule when he got the job in April of 2015. He has played road games at Creighton, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, San Diego State, UNLV and Vanderbilt.
SUN DEVIL MAJOR CONFERENCE TEAMS PLAYED OR TO BE PLAYED SINCE HIRING OF BOBBY HURLEY
Creighton (Big East) -- won at Creighton in 2015-16, lost to top-10 Creighton in 2016-17
Georgia (SEC) -- won at Georgia last season, Bulldogs return trip this season
Kansas (Big 12) -- we all know what happened here.
Kansas State (Big 12) -- won at Orleans Arena in November of 2017.
Kentucky (SEC) -- lost to Wildcats in Lexington and in the Bahamas.
Marquette (Big East) -- lost at Barclays Center in Coach Hurley's first year
Mississippi State (SEC) -- beat ranked Bulldog squad in Las Vegas in November of 2018.
NC State (ACC) -- Lost to NC State at Barclays Center in November of 2015.
Nevada (MWC) -- Lost to undefeated Nevada in December of 2018 at STAPLES Center.
Purdue (Big 10) -- Lost at MSG in Jimmy V. Classic in December of 2016
San Diego State (MWC) -- swept SDSU, winning at SDSU (2016-17) and in Tempe (2017-18).
St. John's (Big East) -- beat SJU in Los Angeles in December of 2017 will play them November 23.
Texas A&M (SEC) -- beat ranked Aggies soundly in Tempe in December of 2015.
UMASS (A10) -- potential opponent this November in Connecticut.
UNLV (MWC) -- won at UNLV and in Tempe in Coach Hurley's first two seasons.
Vanderbilt (SEC) -- teams split games with each winning at home past two seasons.
Virginia (ACC) -- potential opponent this November in Connecticut.
Xavier (Big East) -- beat Musketters 102-86 in November of 2017.
MOHEGAN SUN: Mohegan Sun Arena is now ranked consistently among the top venues in the world according to Billboard Magazine, Pollstar and Venues Today. It has won "Casino of The Year" at the Country Music Awards in 2008 & 2010 and in 2013, was voted "Arena Of The Year" at the G2E Global Gaming Conference in Las Vegas. Mohegan Sun Arena was also ranked among the top 10 arena venues in the nation for 2014, regardless of size. In 2015, Mohegan Sun took home the IEBA award for "Casino of the Year." Mohegan Sun also won "Casino of the Year" in 2 categories at the 2013 & 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards. For more information on concerts and other great events, visit Mohegan Sun. For information on this week's schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1-888.226-7711, ext. 27163.
