The Arizona State basketball team is looking to bounce back in the Hall of Fame Classic

The Arizona State men’s basketball team snapped its six-game winning streak against No. 7 Florida and will look to get back on track with another special event game.

Coach Bobby Hurley’s team will play a nearby team, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

It will be the Sun Devils’ final non-conference vote before they begin Big 12 play after Christmas. It was a busy start for ASU, traveling across the country for the third time. This is the sixth state outside of Arizona that the Sun Devils have played.

After Saturday’s game, ASU will have played just four of its 11 home games.

A closer look:

Arizona State (8-2) vs. UMass (5-7)

Time/Place: Saturday, 2 p.m., Mass Mutual Center, Springfield, Mass.

TV/radio: CBS Sports Network.

The matchup: UMass will play its fourth game against a power conference opponent. It is 0-3 against major conferences with losses to West Virginia (75-69), Temple (87-80) and Florida State (92-59). ASU is averaging 78.6 points per game while UMass is averaging 75.3 despite playing a lighter schedule. The 66 points ASU scored in last week’s loss to Florida was its lowest total since its regular-season opening game against Idaho State, in which it won 55-48.

Injury updates: The Sun Devils will be without backup Austin Nunez (foot), who is out for the season after just four games.

About the Sun Devils: ASU has five players averaging double figures, led by true freshman Joson Sanon (14.8 ppg), who struggled in ASU’s last game, shooting 2 of 9 from the field. The others are Basheer Jihad (13.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Alston Mason (11.4 ppg) and Adam Miller (10.3 ppg), the latter posting an 18-point performance. ASU’s other true freshman, Jayden Quaintance (8.4 ppg, 8 rpg), ranks second nationally with 34 blocked shots despite playing two fewer games than the national leader. Rebounding was a key component for ASU. This season it’s a plus-1, but it’s been exceeded by a total of 29 in the two losses to Florida and Gonzaga.

About the Minutemen: UMass is coached by Frank Martin, in his second year after spending 10 years at South Carolina, where he had a record of 171-147 (.538). He holds an overall coaching record of 324–231 (.584) spanning five years at Kansas State. Sophomore guard Jaylen Curry (14.3 ppg, 4.6 apg) is the team’s leading scorer, followed by senior guard Rahsool Diggins (10.9 ppg). Also on the roster is sophomore Akil Watson, who played for Hurley as a true freshman last season. He averages 11.3 minutes and 4.6 points per game. UMass ranks 262nd overall out of 355 schools in shooting percentage (42.9%) and 352nd in 3-point shooting (25.9%).

Breaking News

Dellupodisabato

The Arizona State basketball team is looking to bounce back in the Hall of Fame Classic

Leave a Reply Cancel reply