Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball

Arizona State Sun Devils
men's basketball
Arizona State Sun Devils; men's basketball
	2024–25 Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball team
University	Arizona State University
First season	1911;114 years ago
Head coach	Bobby Hurley (10th season)
Conference	Big 12
Location	Tempe, Arizona
Arena	Desert Financial Arena ; (capacity: 14,100)
Nickname	Sun Devils
Student section	942 Crew
Colors	Maroon and gold;
Uniforms
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
	1961, 1963, 1975
Sweet Sixteen	1961, 1963, 1973, 1975, 1995*
Other NCAA tournament results
Sweet Sixteen	1961, 1963, 1973, 1975, 1995*
Appearances	1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1991, 1995*, 2003, 2009, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2023
Conference regular-season champions
	BIAA: 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962; WAC: 1963, 1964, 1973, 1975
	* - vacated by NCAA

Last updated June 30, 2025

The Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big 12 Conference.

The Arizona State Sun Devils have appeared in the NCAA tournament 17 times, including 3 Elite Eights (1961, 1963, 1975). They have won eight conference championships (four WAC, and four Border Conference) and finished in the final AP rankings seven times. The highest national ranking the Sun Devils have achieved is AP No. 3 under Bobby Hurley during the 2017–18 season and No. 3 under Ned Wulk during the 1980–81 season when the starting lineup included future NBA stars Byron Scott, Fat Lever, and Alton Lister.

38 ASU Sun Devils have been selected in the NBA draft, including eleven-time NBA All-Star James Harden, Byron Scott, Isaac Austin, Lafayette Lever, Alton Lister, Lionel Hollins, Sam Williams, Jeff Pendergraph, Mario Bennett, Tommy Smith, Ike Diogu, Eddie House, Freddie Lewis, and Joe Caldwell.^[3]

History

Bobby Hurley era

Arizona State is currently led by head coach Bobby Hurley (eight seasons), who replaced Herb Sendek. Sendek was credited for bringing a "basketball atmosphere" and level of excitement to Arizona State that had been absent for years. In his first four seasons at Arizona State, Sendek led the Sun Devils to three consecutive 20 win seasons, the 2009 Pac-10 conference tournament finals, and the second round of the 2009 NCAA tournament and 2014 NCAA tournament. Hurley, in turn, has taken the Sun Devils to the 2018, 2019, and 2023 NCAA Tournaments.

The Sun Devils earned a 3-seed and first-round bye in the Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament and were scheduled to play Washington State when the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4] The 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was also canceled due to the pandemic. While the NCAA did not release seedings for the canceled tournament, the Sun Devils were projected by ESPN's Joe Lunardi in his end-of-season "Bracketology" to be a 9-seed.^[5] This would have been the first time since 1964 that the Sun Devils had made the tournament in three straight years.

Head coaches

Record vs. Pac-12 opponents

Arizona State has the following all-time series records vs. Pac-12 opponents. The Sun Devils lead three series with conference opponents. (Note: the listed all-time series records include any non-conference matchups). Updated through March. 14, 2024.

Opponent	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Streak
Arizona	87	163	(.348)	ARIZ 5
Cal	51	42	(.548)	CAL 1
Colorado	14	16	(.467)	ASU 2
Oregon	47	49	(.490)	ORE 2
Oregon St.	55	45	(.550)	ASU 1
Stanford	44	54	(.449)	STAN 1
UCLA	24	76	(.240)	UCLA 5
USC	44	64	(.407)	USC 1
Utah	28	38	(.424)	UTAH 2
Washington	44	49	(.473)	WASH 3
Wash. St.	47	42	(.528)	ASU 1

^[6]^[7]

Postseason results

NCAA tournament results

The Sun Devils have appeared in the NCAA tournament 16* (15) times. Their combined record is 14–17* (12–16). ASU's 1995 NCAA tournament appearance (2 wins, 1 loss) was vacated by the NCAA.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1958		First Round	Idaho State	L 68–72
1961		First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Seattle USC Utah	W 72–70 W 86–71 L 80–88
1962		First Round	Utah State	L 73–78
1963		First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Utah State UCLA Oregon State	W 79–75 ^OT W 93–79 L 65–83
1964		First Round	Utah State	L 90–92
1973		First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Oklahoma City UCLA Long Beach State	W 103–78 L 81–98 L 80–84
1975		First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Alabama UNLV UCLA	W 97–94 W 84–81 L 75–89
1980	#5	First Round Second Round	#12 Loyola Marymount #4 Ohio State	W 99–71 L 75–89
1981	#2	Second Round	#7 Kansas	L 71–88
1991	#8	First Round Second Round	#9 Rutgers #1 Arkansas	W 79–76 L 90–97
1995*	#5	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#12 Ball State #13 Manhattan #1 Kentucky	W 81–66* W 64–54* L 73–97*
2003	#10	First Round Second Round	#7 Memphis #2 Kansas	W 84–71 L 76–108
2009	#6	First Round Second Round	#11 Temple #3 Syracuse	W 66–57 L 67–78
2014	#10	Second Round	#7 Texas	L 85–87
2018	#11	First Four	#11 Syracuse	L 56–60
2019	#11	First Four First Round	#11 St. John's #6 Buffalo	W 74–65 L 74–91
2023	#11	First Four First Round	#11 Nevada #6 TCU	W 98–73 L 70–72

NIT results

The Sun Devils have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 13 times. Their combined record is 7–13.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1983	First Round (Tempe, AZ) Second Round (Tempe, AZ)	Cal State Fullerton TCU	W 87–83 L 76–78
1990	First Round (Tempe, AZ)	Long Beach State	L 71–86
1992	First Round (Santa Barbara, CA) Second Round (Tempe, AZ)	UC Santa Barbara Utah	W 71–65 L 58–80
1993	First Round (Tempe, AZ)	Georgetown	L 68–78
1994	First Round (Provo, UT)	BYU	L 67–74
1998	First Round (Honolulu, HI)	Hawaiʻi	L 73–90
2000	First Round (Tempe, AZ) Second Round (Raleigh, NC)	New Mexico State NC State	W 83–77 L 57–60
2002	First Round (Las Vegas, NV)	UNLV	L 91–96
2005	First Round (Las Vegas, NV)	UNLV	L 78–89
2008	First Round (Tempe, AZ) Second Round (Tempe, AZ) Quarterfinals (Tempe, AZ)	Alabama State Southern Illinois Florida	W 64–53 W 65–51 L 57–70
2010	First Round (Tempe, AZ)	Jacksonville	L 66–67
2013	First Round (Tempe, AZ) Second Round (Waco, TX)	Detroit Baylor	W 83–68 L 86–89
2015	First Round (Storrs, CT) Second Round (Richmond, VA)	Connecticut Richmond	W 68–61 L 70–76 ^OT

NAIA tournament results

Arizona State appeared in the NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament twice. Their combined record is 2–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1948	First Round Second Round	Northeast Missouri State Mankato State	W 68–66 L 53–54
1953	First Round Second Round	East Tennessee State Nebraska Wesleyan	W 81–79 L 71–83

Commissioners' Invitational results

Arizona State appeared in the National Commissioners Invitational Tournament once. Their overall record is 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1974	First Round (St. Louis, MO)	Toledo	L 74–81

CBC results

Arizona State has appeared in the College Basketball Crown once. Their overall record is 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2025	First Round	Nebraska	L 78–86

Retired numbers

No.	Player	Career	No. ret.	Ref.
Arizona State Sun Devils retired numbers
13	James Harden ^{[n 1]}	2007–2009	2015	^[9]

Notes

↑ In 2020, Harden gave Josh Christopher permission to wear his retired #13 number.^[8]

Honored jerseys

The Sun Devils have honored eight jerseys in program history, most recently Ike Diogu's 5 in 2022.^[10] Nevertheless, the numbers are active and available for use.^[11]

No.	Player	Career
5	Eddie House	1996–2000
5	Ike Diogu	2002–2005
11	Byron Scott	1979–1983
12	Fat Lever	1978–1982
13	James Harden	2007–2009
32	Joe Caldwell	1961–1964
33	Lionel Hollins	1973–1975
53	Alton Lister	1978–1981

Statistical leaders

References

↑ Arizona State Sun Devils Men's Basketball School History on Sports Reference.com
↑ "Sun Devil Athletics Brand Identity Guidelines" (PDF). Retrieved June 30, 2022.
↑ "Arizona State NBA Draft Picks".
↑ "2022 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament". Archived from the original on July 10, 2015.
↑ "NCAA Bracketology -- Projecting the 2022 March Madness men's field".
↑ Arizona State Records Book https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/asu.sidearmsports.com/documents/2019/11/21/2019_20_Sun_Devil_Men_s_Basketball_Record_Book.pdf
↑ "Arizona State Sun Devils Head-to-Head Results".
↑ Josh Christopher will wear James Harden’s retired No. 13 jersey for ASU at Arizona Sports, 7 May 2020
↑ [James Harden's jersey number retired at Arizona State] on Sportingnews.com by Gabrielle McMillen - 19 Feb 2015
↑ "Men's Hoops Hosts Colorado Saturday as Ike Diogu No. 5 Goes Into Rafters". Arizona State Sun Devils . January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
↑ Basketball roster at Arizona State

External links

Official website

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[permiss-9] In 2020, Harden gave Josh Christopher permission to wear his retired #13 number.^[8]

[1] Arizona State Sun Devils Men's Basketball School History on Sports Reference.com

[2] "Sun Devil Athletics Brand Identity Guidelines" (PDF). Retrieved June 30, 2022.

[Devils_drafted-3] "Arizona State NBA Draft Picks".

[4] "2022 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament". Archived from the original on July 10, 2015.

[5] "NCAA Bracketology -- Projecting the 2022 March Madness men's field".

[6] Arizona State Records Book https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/asu.sidearmsports.com/documents/2019/11/21/2019_20_Sun_Devil_Men_s_Basketball_Record_Book.pdf

[7] "Arizona State Sun Devils Head-to-Head Results".

[8] Josh Christopher will wear James Harden’s retired No. 13 jersey for ASU at Arizona Sports, 7 May 2020

[10] [James Harden's jersey number retired at Arizona State] on Sportingnews.com by Gabrielle McMillen - 19 Feb 2015

[11] "Men's Hoops Hosts Colorado Saturday as Ike Diogu No. 5 Goes Into Rafters". Arizona State Sun Devils . January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.

[12] Basketball roster at Arizona State

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[n 1]

[9]

[8]

[10]

[11]

v t e Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball
Venues	College Gym Mesa Civic Center Sun Devil Gym (1953–1974) Desert Financial Arena (1974–present)
Rivalries	Arizona
Culture & lore	Sparky the Sun Devil "Maroon & Gold" Marching Band
People	Head coaches NBA draftees NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e Big 12 Conference men's basketball
Current teams	Arizona Wildcats Arizona State Sun Devils Baylor Bears BYU Cougars Cincinnati Bearcats Colorado Buffaloes Houston Cougars Iowa State Cyclones Kansas Jayhawks Kansas State Wildcats Oklahoma State Cowboys TCU Horned Frogs Texas Tech Red Raiders UCF Knights Utah Utes West Virginia Mountaineers
Championships & awards	Big 12 tournament All-Big 12 Coach of the Year Player of the Year
Conference challenges	Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series (2007–2010) Big 12/SEC Challenge (2013–2023) Big East–Big 12 Battle (2019–2024) Coast-to-Coast Challenge (2021–present)
Seasons	1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26