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;113 years ago (1911) [1]
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 [2]
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1961, 1963, 1975
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1961, 1963, 1973, 1975, 1995*
NCAA tournament round of 32
1975, 1980, 1981, 1991, 1995*, 2003, 2009
NCAA tournament appearances
1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2009, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2023 * - vacated by NCAA
Conference regular season champions
BIAA: 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 WAC: 1963, 1964, 1973, 1975

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 ten-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

See also: List of Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball seasons

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

Main article: List of Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball 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	161	(.351)	ARIZ 3
Cal	51	42	(.548)	CAL 1
Colorado	12	16	(.429)	COL 1
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	37	(.431)	UTAH 1
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		Round of 24	Idaho State	L 68–72
1961		Round of 24 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Seattle USC Utah	W 72–70 W 86–71 L 80–88
1962		Round of 25	Utah State	L 73–78
1963		Round of 25 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Utah State UCLA Oregon State	W 79–75 OT W 93–79 L 65–83
1964		Round of 25	Utah State	L 90–92
1973		Round of 25 Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Oklahoma City UCLA Long Beach State	W 103–78 L 81–98 L 80–84
1975		Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Alabama UNLV UCLA	W 97–94 W 84–81 L 75–89
1980	5	Round of 48 Round of 32	Loyola Marymount Ohio State	W 99–71 L 75–89
1981	2	Round of 32	Kansas	L 71–88
1991	8	Round of 64 Round of 32	Rutgers Arkansas	W 79–76 L 90–97
1995*	5	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	Ball State Manhattan Kentucky	W 81–66* W 64–54* L 73–97*
2003	10	Round of 64 Round of 32	Memphis Kansas	W 84–71 L 76–108
2009	6	Round of 64 Round of 32	Temple Syracuse	W 66–57 L 67–78
2014	10	Round of 64	Texas	L 85–87
2018	11	First Four	Syracuse	L 56–60
2019	11	First Four First Round	St. John's Buffalo	W 74–65 L 74–91
2023	11	First Four First Round	Nevada 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

Retired numbers

Main article: List of NCAA men's basketball retired numbers

James Harden played two seasons for the Sun Devils before entering the NBA. His number 13 was retired by Arizona State in 2015

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

Notes

1. 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
	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

Main article: Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball statistical leaders

References

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

External links

• Official website