Arizona State basketball looks to remain perfect at home against Cal Poly on Wednesday night.
It has been a rigorous start to the season for the Sun Devils. But they have picked up good results, going 4-1 to start this season. The Maroon and Gold will look for win No. 5 against Cal Poly (3-2).
General Information:
Teams: Arizona State (4-1) and Cal Poly (3-2)
Tip Time: 7 p.m. MST (9 p.m. EST)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: ESPN 620 AM (KTAR)
What to know about Cal Poly:
The Mustangs have struggled over the past few years. They have not posted a double-digit win season since 2016-17. They come to Tempe ranked 292nd in the latest KenPom rankings.
After dropping their first two games to San Francisco and California, Cal Poly notched three consecutive wins, beating Menlo College, Seattle and Eastern Washington.
Five players reached double-digit figures in Sunday’s victory over Eastern Washington. Two guards, freshman Peter Bandelj and sophomore Kieran Elliott, helped the Mustangs get 28 bench points. Bandelj scored 13 while Elliott scored 10.
Graduate guard/forward Owen Koonce and senior guard Isaac Jessup lead the team in points per game with 14. Graduate point guard Jarred Hyder follows with 13.2 per game.
Graduate guard Mac Riniker, who had 15 points against Eastern Washington, averages 10.4 points per game. He is also the most efficient shooter on the team, shooting 61.1% from the field and 54.5% from three-point range.
This is a team that likes to go quick. It averages 73.1 possessions per 40 minutes, which is ranked 27th in the nation according to KenPom.
Latest on Arizona State basketball:
Arizona State enters Wednesday’s contest fresh off an 81-66 win over St. Thomas. It was the fourth consecutive game where the team has put up 80 points or more, something it has not accomplished since the 2017-18 season.
Senior forward Basheer Jihad led the way with 20 points while freshman guard Joson Sanon followed with 18. But the biggest story of the night was freshman forward Jayden Quaintance. The five-star prospect posted his first double-double in Maroon and Gold with 13 points and 14 rebounds, which were both career highs in his young career.
“I was 17 years old coming into college, so I know what that is (like),” Jihad said about Quaintance to reporter after the game. “He’s a very good listener. Always open to criticism. He’s very passionate about the game. So, it’s easy to get to him and he’ll make the changes that you ask him to.”
Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley informed reporters that junior guard Austin Nuñez is hurt with problems with his ankle and Achilles. Nuñez did not think that he was ready to go a day before the game.
“He’ll see the docs tonight and tomorrow and we’ll know more tomorrow,” Hurley said on Sunday.
The Sun Devils moved from No. 7 to No. 3 in the latest CBB Review Big 12 power rankings, only behind No. 1 Kansas and No. 7 Houston.