Arizona State basketball looks to continue its winning ways against San Diego at Desert Financial Arena.
Sun Devil fans had a lot to be thankful for this past weekend, their men’s hoops team won the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs, beating New Mexico 85-82 and No. 25 Saint Mary’s 68-64. They now head home for their fourth all-time meeting against San Diego. While winning the first two contests, the Toreros won 89-84 in San Diego last year.
General Information:
Teams: Arizona State (7-1) and San Diego (3-4)
Tip Time: 7 p.m. MST (9 p.m. EST)
Watch: ESPN+
What to know about San Diego:
The Toreros will be another WCC opponent for the Maroon and Gold. However, they have not had as much success as Saint Mary’s. They have gone 29-47 (13-28 in conference) over the past three seasons. They have not made the NCAA tournament since 2008.
Despite being seven games into the season, Steve Lavin’s side are making their first road trip of the season when they head to the Valley. After losing four of their first five games, they picked up two consecutive victories, beating Idaho 68-61 on Nov. 24 before beating Marian 69-64 on Nov. 27. The matchup against Arizona State will be their only game outside of California until January.
San Diego has shot 43% from the field this season, but have struggled from three-point land, only going 36-for-138 from beyond the arc. It also averages 15.4 turnovers per game and shoots under 70% from the free-throw line.
Junior guard Kjay Bradley Jr. leads the side in points, averaging 17 per game. He also leads the team with 27 assists and 19 steals. Despite Bradley being the only player in double-digit figures, the Toreros also have multifaceted players in sophomore forward Santiago Trouet and senior center Steven Jamerson II.
Trouet averages 8.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while leading the team with eight blocks on the season. Jamerson has 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds on average.
Latest on Arizona State basketball:
After an action-packed November, with eight games, including five away from Desert Financial Arena, the Sun Devils are in for a relaxing December. They play three games during the month, and get 11 days off after Tuesday’s clash.
Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters at a Monday press conference that the time off will give the Sun Devils time to “get better on the practice court.” They might also travel to Dallas to show support for the football team, who faces Iowa State in the Big 12 championship on Saturday.
Despite a Quad 1 win against Saint Mary’s and a Quad 2 win against New Mexico, the Sun Devils still see themselves outside of Top 25 polls. Nonetheless, they increased their votes, now getting 89 in the AP Top 25 and 39 in the Coaches’ Poll.
“I think we’ve earned the right to be in the conversation,” Hurley said about his team’s surge to make the Top 25. “We haven’t done anything to not be in a position to be ranked and the net rankings showed that.”
“I’m just proud of our effort to win a championship this past week. It’s exciting for our players to see the work they put in to translate to wins. I think the Big 12 is going to offer us a ton of opportunities to win big games.”
Hurley also said that junior guard Austin Nuñez is day-to-day in his recovery, which has caused redshirt senior guard Adam Miller to get more reps with ball handling. Nuñez has not played since Nov. 14 in the Jerry Colangelo Hall of Fame Series against Grand Canyon.