Arizona State basketball is headed to Sin City on Friday to take on Santa Clara.
The Sun Devils (1-0) take on the Broncos (1-0) on Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. EST/6 p.m. MST. The matchup is part of a doubleheader at Lee’s Family Forum that will see UCLA and New Mexico facing off in the nightcap. It will be the eighth all-time meeting between Arizona State and Santa Clara, and the first since 2004.
General Information
Teams: Arizona State (1-0) and Santa Clara (1-0)
Tip Time: 6 p.m. MST (8 p.m. EST)
Watch: FloSports
Listen: ESPN 620 AM (KTAR)
What to know about Santa Clara
Santa Clara is expected to be one of the best mid-major teams in the nation. They were projected to finish third in the WCC behind Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga, who both made the NCAA tournament last season. The Broncos were 20-13 overall last year. They were the No. 4 seed in the 2024 WCC tournament, falling to the No. 1 seeded Gaels 79-65 in the semifinals.
The Broncos beat Saint Louis 85-78 in the Field of 68 Opening Day Showcase last Monday in Sioux Falls. Senior guard Adama-Alpha Bal led the team with 24 points. Bal led the team with 14.4 points per game last season after transferring from Arizona.
Senior forward Camaron Tongue followed with 18 points off the bench. Junior center Christoph Tilly had 17 points and led the team with 8 rebounds.
Former Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek has been in charge at Santa Clara since the 2016-17 season, leading the Broncos to seven winning seasons since his hiring. Additionally, he has led the Broncos to five consecutive 20+ win campaigns (not including the shortened 2020-21 season).
Sendek was in charge of the Sun Devils from 2006 to 2015, coaching a young James Harden towards the start of his time in Tempe.
Latest on Arizona State basketball
The Sun Devils are coming off a 55-48 win over Idaho State in their season opener. They held the Bengals to 25.4% shooting. The lowest by an opponent under head coach Bobby Hurley.
Senior guards Alston Mason and BJ Freeman led the team in points. Mason, whose father Alton played for the Maroon and Gold from 1998-2001, scored 14. Freeman scored 12 off the bench.
Nonetheless, it was a day to forget for Arizona State, who had to battle to victory against the 300th-ranked team in the country according to KenPom.
“I described it like an AAU game like how we approached it,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters after the game. “It was a game that had no meaning to it. Especially in the first game, you would imagine there’s a lot of juice…Myself and my staff got to do a better job to get them ready to play.”
Hurley and the Sun Devils have some recent success in Las Vegas, going 4-3 in Sin City over the past two seasons. This includes wins against Creighton, Vanderbilt, Oregon State, and USC. They went 1-1 in the 2023 Las Vegas Showdown last year, losing to then No. 20 BYU before beating Vanderbilt.