Devils in Detail
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ASU MBB: Sun Devils Hit the Road for Tire Pros Invitational

By Zach Pekale

Mar 5, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley coaches against the California Golden Bears during the first half at Wells-Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley coaches against the California Golden Bears during the first half at Wells-Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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After opening the season 2-0 with a pair of blowout wins at Wells Fargo Arena, ASU Basketball is on the road for the first time in 2016.

The Sun Devils are set to take on the Northern Iowa Panthers at 2:30 p.m. MST in the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

Second-year head coach Bobby Hurley has never backed away from a challenege and once again, scheduled his team to run the gauntlet before getting to conference play.

To win this tournament, ASU would need to potentially knock off powerhouses Oklahoma and Xavier, two teams both ranked as No. 2 seeds in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

However, the Sun Devils must first beat an under-the-radar Northern Iowa team first.

The Panthers are still searching for an identity after guards Wes Washpun and Matt Bohannon graduated but head coach Ben Jacobsen might be onto something.

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In Northern Iowa’s win 74-37 win over Coe College, Jacobsen used a rotation to keep his players fresh with no one playing more than 23 minutes. The results: the team shot 52.6 percent from the floor including a 41.7 percent clip from three.

Jacobsen opened their season with a starting five of guards Jordan Ashton, Wyatt Lohaus and Jeremy Morgan as a well as a frontcourt of Ted Friedman and Bennett Koch.

Aside from Lohaus, the other four starters are at least 6’4″ and both big men stand stand at 6’9″.

For ASU, Hurley will go small to start, likely putting out a four-guard lineup of Tra Holder, Kodi Justice, Shannon Evans II and Sam Cunliffe with Obinna Oleka as the lone forward.

While the height difference would give the rebounding advantage to UNI, Oleka has averaged 13 rebounds a game while the ASU guards have been surprisingly efficient on the defensive glass.

Offensively, the Panthers put up very sound numbers shooting the ball. ASU is going to have to exploit size with the speed of its backcourt.

Against Cal Poly, Holder and Evans II thrived when the Mustangs switched on screens, allowing the duo to blow by their defender for a high percentage shot or a foul.

The Sun Devils shot 42 free throws last game led by a combined 19-23 performance at the line from Holder and Evans II.

The x-factor for the Sun Devils today will be senior guard Torian Graham. The journeyman has been playing 30 minutes a night off the bench, scoring 20.5 points and grabbing 6.5 rebounds.

Graham plays with a certain confidence that fires up his teammates and also allows him to nearly score at will, shooting almost 70 percent from the field on the year.

Next: ASU MBB: Long Live Small-Ball

Tip-off between ASU and UNI is at 2:30 p.m. MST and the game can be seen on ESPNU.

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