(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
No. 20 ASU hosts San Francisco Saturday night in its first game as a ranked team since March 2009.
The Sun Devils are looking to start the season 7-0, a feat they haven’t accomplished since the 1980-81 season. However, head coach Bobby Hurley is making sure the team stays focused on its next opponent.
“That is not something we focus on,” Hurley said of the potential 7-0 start, “we’re playing these games one at a time and having a lot of respect and being humble for every opponent we have.”
That mentality has worked in the season’s first month, culminating in a 16-point Thanksgiving weekend victory over then No. 15 Xavier. The latest win showcased the potential of this team, but the question now is if the success is sustainable, at least until conference play commences at the end of the month.
“We’re not just a bunch of shooters that can make threes,” Hurley said, “and we certainly can do that at times, but then we have guys that are playing at an elite level off the dribble; Kodi Justice, Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Remy Martin can all attack their man and create help and make a play for themselves or a teammate.”
Saturday’s game will be a nice way to break up the toughest part of ASU’s non-conference schedule. The team is in the midst of a six-game stretch that includes four power-five opponents, four teams that made the tournament a season ago and two teams ranked in the top 15 when ASU plays them.
“It’s only six games, we have a lot of games left, we’re not even halfway through the season,” senior guard Tra Holder said of the team’s hot start. “We have to stay level-headed and know that every game is going to be a tough one.”
Although San Francisco is 3-2 with a schedule of second-rate division one opponents, the Dons shocked a 7-2 Utah team almost a year ago that had only lost to top 20 opponents prior to that game.
The Dons upset of Utah was at a neutral site, and the Sun Devils will be more well-rested, as this is their only game between November 25 and December 7. Nevertheless, ASU must be wary of a similar outcome and continue the same offensive formula that’s worked against tougher teams.
“I think we’ve been doing a great job of sharing the ball,” Holder said. “Whoever’s hot we keep going to them…and the teammates feed off the energy of who’s hot at the time.”
The hot-hand has been Holder more often than not, as his 23.3 points per game ranks 12th in the nation. The team does have good balance though, as its 95.7 points per game are third in the country and its 1.59 assist-turnover ratio ranks 11th.
One thing the Sun Devils will have to focus on is defending three-pointers. The Dons top two scorers, freshman guard Souley Boum and senior forward Chase Foster, are both averaging over 14 points per game on 53 percent and 44 percent three-point shooting, respectively. It’s an area of weakness coach Hurley is aware of.
“I think defensively if you want to look at how we defended the three-point line,” coach Hurley said of improvements his team looks to make. “I think some of it had to do with our opponent, especially Xavier also with some of their guys that can shoot.”
As much attention as ASU has gotten for its hot start, the team is well-aware of the ultimate goal.
“It’s early and we’re getting a lot of attention right now but we want to be there in March,” senior guard Shannon Evans II said. “We got to keep trying to get better, keep tuning up things and just working hard.”
Evans II is the only current ASU player with NCAA tournament experience, as him and coach Hurley took Buffalo to the big dance in 2015.
Saturday night’s game tips off at 7 p.m. in Tempe.
