Arizona State basketball takes on Grand Canyon in the Jerry Colangelo Hall of Fame Series.
Fans will be treated to an intra-city contest on Thursday at Footprint Center as the Sun Devils (2-1) take on the Lopes (2-0). It will be the third all-time meeting between the two sides, with Arizona State taking the first two meetings. Both games were close, as the Maroon and Gold won by at most five points. It will also be the first meeting between the two sides at a neutral site.
The matchup will be a part of a doubleheader, with the women’s basketball teams from both schools facing off before the game.
General Information:
Teams: Arizona State (2-1) and Grand Canyon (2-0)
Tip Time: 7 p.m. MST (9 p.m. EST)
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (KMVP)
What to know about Grand Canyon
The Lopes are coming off one of their best seasons in program history, going 30-5 and 17-3 in conference, winning the WAC for the third time in four years. As a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament, they upset No. 5 Saint Mary’s before falling to eventual Final Four participant No. 4 Alabama.
Bryce Drew and the coaching staff return many starters from last year’s run. This includes graduate guard Tyon Grant-Foster, the reigning WAC Player of the Year. He is also on the Naismith Award Watch List. After working his way back from NBA Draft early entry, the swingman will make his season debut on Thursday against the Sun Devils.
“I feel like I’ll be good,” Grant-Foster told reporters earlier this week. “I’m going to be a little winded, but that means I’ve just got to trust in my teammates.”
“It changes a little bit with Tyon coming back,” Drew added. “But I think it changed for the better. We’re a much better team with Tyon. The biggest thing is going to be everybody getting used to playing together and the rhythm.”
Grant-Foster will join a lineup that has four players averaging double-digit point totals. Senior forward JaKobe Coles, who transferred from TCU, has averaged a double-double, with 21 points and 12 rebounds per game. Senior guards Collin Moore and Ray Harrison average 16 and 14 points per game respectfully, and sophomore guard Makaih Williams averages 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
“What carries over is the familiarity with the players knowing each other and their experience together in games,” Drew said before the season. “With some of that stuff, you have to go through the fire together. Our core group has done it before.”
What to know about Arizona State basketball
The Sun Devils come back to the Valley fresh off their first loss to the season, an 88-80 defeat at No. 6 Gonzaga. Senior forward Basheer Jihad had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The performance comes after rough showings against Idaho State and Santa Clara to start the season.
Senior guard Alston Mason scored 19 points and senior guard/forward BJ Freeman had 12. Freeman has put up double-digit point totals in every game this season.
It was Arizona State’s best result against a Top 10 opponent since beating then-No. 7 Arizona 89-88 on February 26, 2023 down in Tucson. Sun Devil fans will remember that game for Desmond Cambridge Jr.’s buzzer-beater.
“They showed a lot of guts,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters after the game. “(It was) a tough environment. I think we probably lost four or five offensive possessions of offense just because we could not hear anything. We couldn’t get everybody on the same page. I think in opportunities like this, there are opportunities to grow from it.”