The 2016-17 Sun Devil men's basketball team (9-8; 2-2) hits the I-10 to Tucson for a Thursday (Jan. 12) tip with No. 16 Arizona with Dave Pasch and Bill Walton on the call for ESPN2. ASU fell to Utah 88-82 on Saturday after topping Colorado 78-77 on Jan. 5 as Tra Holder nailed two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining to give ASU the win. Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd have the call on the Sun Devil Sports Radio Network, presented by MidFirst (620 AM).
SEASON RESET: ASU zig-zagged across North America three times (Orlando, Bahamas and New York City), got a solid road win at San Diego State on Dec. 10 and had that translate into a solid 98-93 Pac-12 opening win at Stanford on Dec. 30 and the 78-77 CU win on Jan. 5. The Sun Devils returned two starters (Tra Holder and Obi Oleka) and four total lettermen from last year's squad that posted eight wins against top-100 RPI teams in Bobby Hurley's first season. ASU has four players averaging more than 13 points per game, while Obi Oleka is one of three players in the league averaging a double-double (13.4 ppg./10.1 rpg.) and he leads the league in double-figure rebounding games with 11.
QUICK HITTERS: The 82.0 points per game posted by ASU is its best since the 1997-98 squad averaged 84.5, as ASU ranks third in the Pac-12 in scoring and free throw shooting (.756)...ASU is averaging just 11.0 turnovers (first in the league) and 9.8 three-pointers made, second in the Pac-12.
TORIAN-ING IT UP: Torian Graham posted a career-high in each tilt of a three-game span with 24 vs. Creighton, 26 vs. Central Arkansas and then 30 off the bench at Stanford. In his past six games he is 51-of-96 (.531) from the field, 21-of-47 (.447) from three and averaging 20.8 points and 4.8 boards. He is shooting .524 (64-of-122) from the field in the eight games he has come off the bench.Great story from @CamCox12 on @kodijustice21 overcoming some struggles growing up https://t.co/ix6yjWOeNd @jmarshallap
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 9, 2017
MOST SUN DEVIL POINTS OFF BENCH (1989-90 TO PRESENT)
31-Steve Moore, 2/10/05 at UCLA
30-Torian Graham, 12/30/16 at Stanford
29-Shawn Redhage, 2/8/03 at Washington
27-Lester Neal, 12/28/92 vs. Duquesne
Past 6 for @Torian_Graham
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 9, 2017
51-of-96 (.531) FGs
21-of-47 (.447) 3s
20.8 ppg
4.8 rpg@TimHealeyASU @K_Dodd3 @FabianArdaya @Tonis_The_Tiger pic.twitter.com/ZLBbwhTEKL
THREE IN TOP 10: ASU has three scorers in the Pac-12's top-10 entering play this weekend. Torian Graham (18.1 ppg.) is second followed by Tra Holder (16.7/sixth) and Shannon Evans II (15.9/seventh).
FREE THROW THREE-DOT DATA: The Sun Devils are making free throws at a rate that is tied for second-best in school history, as ASU is shooting 273-of-362 (.754) from the charity stripe. ASU shot .756 in 1977-78 and .754 in 1954-55 for its best seasons...ASU went 12-of-12 in the second half of a tight win at San Diego State on Dec. 10 and was 16-of-18 for the game to seal that road tilt...junior Tra Holder is 304-of-416 (.731) from the charity stripe in his 81 games...Shannon Evans II made his first 20 free throws to start the season. He 247-of-303 (.815) from the free throw line in his career...Obi Oleka is 130-of-173 (.751) from the free throw line.
When you make 3/4 and the pct goes down that is a good thing.
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 9, 2017
Best team FT in ASU history:
.756, 1977-78
.754, NOW
.754 1954-55 pic.twitter.com/wi2lQYQv4w
OBI PUTTING UP NUMBERS: Senior 6-8 forward Obi Oleka has to do much of the big man work this year, as he has led or tied for team lead in rebounding in all but two games. He has nine double-doubles and in the past seven games he is averaging 15.9 points and 11.1 rebounds. He had a career-best 17 rebounds vs. Central Arkanas on Dec. 22.
ASU 78, COLORADO 77 (1/5/17): ASU has now won the past four against CU in Tempe after the Jan. 5 78-77 win as Tra Holder hit two free throws with 1.6 seconds for the win...five Sun Devils were in double digits...ASU made 10-of-11 (.909) from the free throw line...there were 14 lead changes in the final 10:47 (no lead of more than four points in that span) and Colorado led 64-62, 66-64, 68-67, 73-71, 75-74 and 77-76 before Holder's free throws...Shannon Evans had 18 as did Torian Graham off the bench...Obinna Oleka notched his ninth double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
VS. COLORADO IN PAC-12 ERA IN TEMPE (4-1)
ASU 78, CU 77/Jan. 5, 2017
ASU 78, CU 72/Jan. 17, 2015
ASU 72, CU 51/Jan. 25, 2014
ASU 65, CU 56/Jan. 6, 2012
CU 63, ASU 49/Feb. 11, 2012
ASU 98, @STANFORD 93 (12/30/16): Lots of three-dot data from the Pac-12 opening win over on Dec. 30...ASU made 33-of-43 free throws (second-most made in a Pac-12 game in school history)...52 first-half points were ASU's most in Pac-12 game since Feb. 2, 2010 (54 vs. Stanford)...98 points most by ASU in a Pac-12 road game since 99-90 2OT win at Cal on Jan. 17, 2008, and the most in regulation game since Jan. 17, 2004 (100-85 at USC) ...Torian Graham's 30 points most by a Sun Devil in Pac-12 opener since Jeff Pendergraph had 31 at Stanford on Jan. 2, 2009...Torian's 30 points off bench most by a Sun Devil since Steve Moore had 31 at UCLA on Feb. 10, 2005...Stanford had won past the five in Palo Alto and the home team had won the previous six as ASU's last win in Palo Alto was Feb. 25, 2010.
ASU'S HIGHEST SCORING PAC-10/12 ROAD GAMES
ASU 111, @California 108, 2OT (Jan. 8, 2000)
ASU 103, @Arizona 98, 2OT (Mar. 11, 1995)
ASU 100, @USC 85 (Jan. 17, 2004)
ASU 99, @California 90, 2OT (Jan. 17, 2008)
@Arizona 127, ASU 99 (Jan. 15, 1998)
ASU 99, @Oregon 84 (Jan. 30, 1993)
ASU 98, @Stanford 93 (Dec. 30, 2016)
JETHRO NOTE: Freshman Jethro Tshisumpa -- with a 7-5 1/2 wingspan and 6% body fat -- has 23 blocks in 143 minutes on the year. Sun Devil Jordan Bachynsnki, the Pac-12 career leader, had 20 his freshman season when he played 240 minutes. Mario Bennett has the Sun Devil freshman record with 55 in 1991-92.
SUN DEVIL FRESHMAN BLOCKS
55-Mario Bennett, 1991-92
33-Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
31-Ike Diogu, 2002-03
24-Shawn Redhage, 1999-2000
23-Jethro Tshisumpa, 2016-17
23-Jeff Pendergraph, 2006-06
FINAL FOUR IN 2017: ASU and Glendale/Phoenix host the 2017 Final Four, the first Final Four held west of Texas since Seattle in 1995. It will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals. The 2017 Final Four also marks the 25th anniversary of Bobby Hurley earning 1992 MOP.
FALL SIGNINGS: From one coast to the other one, Bobby Hurley's staff signed a pair of top-100 players this past fall, as 6-6 swingman Kimani Lawrence (New Hampton School in New Hampton, N.H.) and 6-2 guard Remy Martin of Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon will join the Sun Devil program in 2017-18. A four-star signee according to Scout, Martin averaged 14.5 points as a junior. Lawrence, a four-star small forward from The New Hampton School in New Hampton, N.H., is the nation's 54th overall prospect according to ESPN, while Scout.com lists him as the nation's No. 11 small forward.
SCOUT.COM SUN DEVIL TOP-100 RECRUITS ON ROSTER NEXT FALL
54. Kimani Lawrence, 2017 (freshman next year)
81. Romello White, 2016 (sitting this year/academic redshirt)
98. Remy Martin, 2017 (freshman next year)
100. Tra Holder, 2014 (2015 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team)
OBI ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON: It was the Jan. 14 WSU game where forward Obinna Oleka (Oh-BEE-nah Oh-LEH-ka) began to emerge last season. Obi was in double figures in 13 of the final 16 games and averaged 11.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and was 41-of-49 (.837) from the free throw line in that time. He also had three of his four double-doubles in that span. Oleka had no points and one rebound in the first two games, but because he only played five games for State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota the previous two seasons and didn't play in 2014-15, a slow start was expected. Consider this: Before he took the court in the opener Nov. 13, his previous official game was Dec. 7, 2013...a 705-day break between games.
OBI OLEKA FIRST 10 CAREER GAMES/PAST 39
MPG: 19.0/29.3
FT: 17-27 (.630)/113-146 (.773)
RPG: 4.9/8.3
PPG: 6.4/12.0
TOP SCORING GAMES FOR OBINNA OLEKA
20 vs. Citadel (11/23/16)
19 vs. #9 Creighton (12/20/16)
19 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
18 at California (1/1/17)
18 vs. Central Arkansas (12/22/16)
17 vs. Cal Poly (11/13/16)
17 vs. #23 Oregon (1/31/16)
17 vs. Oregon State (1/28/16)
17 vs. #8 Arizona (1/3/16)
OBI OLEKA DOUBLE-DOUBLES (13/9)
15/10 vs. Colorado (1/5/17)
18/17 vs. Central Arkansas (12/22/16)
19/16 vs. #9 Creighton (12/20/16)
15/11 vs. New Mexico State (12/17/16)
15/12 at San Diego State (12/10/16)
14/11 vs. #1 Kentucky (11/28/16)
20/15 vs. Citadel (11/23/16)
11/10 vs. Nothern Iowa (11/17/16)
17/13 vs. Cal Poly (11/13/16)
14/13 vs. UCLA (2/14/16)
13/11 vs. Washington (1/16/16)
11/10 vs. Washington State (1/14/16)
10/14 vs. Marquette (11/24/15)
ASU 74, @SDSU 63 (12/10/16): ASU fell behind 14-4 and was down 32-25 at the half but came back behind 10 three-pointers and 16-of-18 free throws to post a solid road win at always tough Viejas Arena, where 2016 MWC regular season champion SDSU was 49-5 in its past 54. ASU, which had won two OOC road games in Coach Hurley's first season (UNLV and Creighton), earned another and is now 3-1 in road OOC games after going 8-22 in the previous 30. Tra Holder had 17 points (perfect in six free throw attempts) while Obi Oleka had 15 points and 12 boards off the bench. SDSU was 65-1 at home and 48-2 in past 50 games overall when leading at the half.
ABOUT THAT STRETCH: ASU had a six-games in 23-day stretch that had them playing No. 1 Kentucky, No. 18 Purdue and No. 9 Creighton along with UNLV, at San Diego State (2016 MWC regular season champion) and New Mexico State (2016 WAC regular season champion)
SUPER TOUGH SIX IN A ROW
Monday, Nov. 28 vs. #1 Kentucky at Bahamas (8-time NCAA champion)
Saturday, Dec. 3 vs. UNLV (6 NCAA Tournaments in past 10 seasons)
Tuesday, Dec. 6 vs. #18 Purdue at New York City (8 NCAA Tournaments past 10 seasons)
Saturday, Dec. 10 at San Diego State (7 NCAA Tournaments past 11 seasons)
Saturday, Dec. 17 vs. New Mexico State (4 NCAA Tournaments past 5 seasons)
Tuesday, Dec. 20 vs. #9 Creighton (10 NCAA Tournaments past 18 seasons)
ASU 97, UNLV 73 (12/3/16): ASU started fast and never looked back in a 97-73 win over UNLV, as ASU made 13-of-22 (.591) three-pointers in the first half en route to matching a school record with 18. Shannon Evans II led ASU with 28 points while Torian Graham had 22 and Tra Holder 20. ASU led 51-32 at the half and had just eight turnovers.
SUN DEVIL MOST THREE POINT FIELD GOALS (UPDATED THROUGH 1/1/17)
18 vs. Central Arkansas, Dec. 22, 2016
18 vs. UNLV, Dec. 3, 2016
18 vs. San Francisco, Nov. 20, 2009
17 vs. Oregon State, Mar. 5, 2011
17 vs. Idaho State, Dec. 23, 2008
16 vs. Miami (Ohio), Nov. 12, 2013
15 vs. Citadel, Nov. 23, 2016
BEST THING ABOUT FRESHMAN IS THEY BECOME SOPHOMORES: Tra Holder averaged 14.2 points in 2015-16 after averaging 7.0 in his freshman season. The +7.2 increase is the best from first year to second year Sun Devil since Jeremy Veal went from 7.4 in 1994-95 to 18.9 in 1995-96 (+11.5).
BIGGEST SUN DEVIL SCORING IMPROVEMENTS (FIRST SEASON TO SECOND)
Jeremy Veal, +11.5 (7.4 in 1994-95 to 18.9 in 1995-96)
Dennis Hamilton, +11.1 (6.2 in 1963-64 to 17.3 in 1964-65)
Art Becker, +10.1 (9.0 in 1961-62 to 19.1 in 1962-63)
Arthur Thomas, +9.4 (4.3 in 1984-85 to 13.7 in 1985-86)
Tra Holder, +7.2 (7.0 in 2014-15 to 14.2 in 2015-16)
HE CAN PLAY: Transfer Shannon Evans II arrived at ASU after having spent two seasons under Coach Hurley at Buffalo. As a sophomore in 2014-15 he averaged 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists and led the Bulls to the NCAA Tournament as he earned second-team All-MAC honors. As a freshman, he averaged 8.5 points and 3.3 assists per game and was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team. He sat the 2015-16 season but has two years to play starting in 2016-17.
SHANNON EVANS II 20-POINT SCORING GAMES (14/5 AT ASU)
33 vs. Cornell (1/3/15)
28 vs. UNLV (12/3/16)
25 at Ball State (2/4/15)
24 at UT-Arlington (11/18/14)
23 vs. Central Arkansas (12/22/16)
23 at Western Michigan (1/10/15)
23 at Grand Canyon (11/25/14)
21 vs. Utah (1/7/17)
21 vs. Tulane (11/18/16)
21 at Kent State (2/28/15)
21 at St. Bonaventure (12/3/14)
20 vs. Niagara (12/19/14)
20 vs. Manhattan (12/21/13)
20 vs. Cal Poly (11/13/16)
QUICK QUESTIONS WITH SHANNON EVANS
Most upset you have ever been on the court: Losing the NCAA tournament
Happiest you have ever been on the court: Winning the MAC championship
You can go watch a past sporting event live...which one? 1991 Duke vs UNLV
Past Sun Devil (any sport) you wish you could have watched compete: Pat Tillman
JUSTICE SERVED: Kodi Justice has made 101 three pointers in 66 career games. He suffered a fractured navicular bone in his left foot on Jan. 25, 2015 (freshman year) and missed the remainder of that season, but bounced back with a solid sophomore season. His injury happened the game following a season-high 16 points at California, so he was just starting to get in the groove, and then adapted to a new coaching staff in the summer of 2015 while getting healthy. He posted 10 double-digit scoring games last year (three in 18 games in 2014-15). He tied for second on the team in assists with 76 and third in steals with 30.
FOUR QUESTIONS WITH KODI JUSTICE
You can pick the brain of any coach, who is it?: John Wooden
You can go watch a past sporting event live...which one? Rumble in the Jungle
Past Sun Devil (any sport) you wish you could have watched compete: Pat Tillman
Biggest challenge in my life: Being dyslexic
KODI JUSTICE TOP SCORING GAMES
20 vs. Citadel (11/23/16)
20 vs. Houston Baptist (12/19/15)
17 vs. Utah (1/7/17)
17 vs. Washington (1/16/16)
16 vs. Washington State (1/14/16)
16 at California (1/22/15)
CALL THEM COMEBACKS: In the past 11 seasons, ASU has made four halftime comebacks on the road of at least seven points, three of them under Bobby Hurley. Last year ASU came back from 12 down to win at UNLV and eight down at Creighton. It came back from seven down to win at San Diego State on Dec. 10.
HALFTIME COMEBACKS ON ROAD 2006-07 PRESENT (7+ POINTS OR MORE)
(12) @UNLV 37, ASU 25 (Dec. 16, 2015)/ASU 66, @UNLV 56
(8) @Creighton 41, ASU 33 (Dec.2, 2015)/ASU 79, @Creighton 77
(7) @San Diego State 32, ASU 25 (Dec. 10, 2016)/ASU 74, @San Diego State 63
(7) @Stanford 35, ASU 28 (Feb. 25, 2010)/ASU 68, @Stanford 60
ASU 96, CAL POLY 74 (11/13/16): ASU scored 57 in the second half and raced to a 96-74 win. Tra Holder posted 24 points, while Shannon Evans II added 20 and Torian Graham had 18 off the bench. Evans II became the first Sun Devil since Ike Diogu (Jan. 17, 2004 vs. USC) to go perfect in at least 12 free throw attempts, while ASU's 57 second-half points was the most in a half since it scored 58 vs. San Francisco on Nov. 20, 2009.
UA NOTE: ASU had had modest success against the two-time defending Pac-12 champion Wildcats, as it is 9-10 in past 19. The Feb. 14, 2014, 69-66 double-OT win over No. 2 Arizona (23-1) is the highest ranked team the Sun Devils have topped at home, while Arizona's 20-2 mark in the 2015 win is tied for the third-best opponent record to play in Wells Fargo Arena since ASU joined the Pac-10 in 1978-79. Weird note: ASU has trailed at the half in six of those nine wins vs. UA.
RECORD VS. ARIZONA SINCE 2007-08 (PAST 10 SEASONS)
UCLA 11-10/.524
ASU 9-10/.474
UW 7-10/.412
UO 7-10/.412
USC 6-11/.353
CAL 6-12/.333
CU 4-10/.286
STANFORD 4-14/.222
OSU 4-14/.222
WSU 3-13/.188
UTAH 1-10/.091
MILES: The Sun Devils last year had a tough out-of-conference schedule, playing three OOC road games for just the fifth time in 38 seasons. This year, it has one true "road" game but its travel schedule was even tougher. ASU between Nov. 16 (travel day) and Dec. 10 (game at San Diego State) traveled 12,900 miles and slept in a hotel in 11 of 25 nights.
ROAD TRIP(S)!!! ... ROUND TRIP MILES FROM PHOENIX
Orlando/Tire Pros Invitational (Nov. 17-20)=3,680
Bahamas vs. #1 Kentucky (Nov. 28)=4,320
Jimmy V Classic @NYC vs. #18 Purdue (Dec. 6)=4,300
San Diego @SDSU (Dec. 10)=600