ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils face first test in SDSU
By Zach Pekale
After pulling away from Idaho State in the season opener, ASU men’s basketball will face its first challenge of the season against the San Diego State Aztecs.
What began as a slow start turned into a strong finish for Arizona State in the team’s first game of the 2017 season. Now, ASU will look to start 2-0 with SDSU coming into Wells Fargo Arena.
For the first time in 18 years, Steve Fisher was not on the Aztecs sideline for opening night. The man who revitalized SDSU basketball retired last April, making way for his long-time associate head coach Brian Dutcher to take the reins.
Dutcher handedly won his first game as head coach in a 91-52 romp over San Diego Christian. He showed off the depth of the Aztecs with 10 players each receving at least 15 minutes in the win.
The first-year man has the team’s three leading scorers back in guards Trey Kell and Jeremy Hemsley as well as big man Malik Pope.
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In Tempe, the Sun Devils looked like an entirely different unit against Idaho State than the one Bobby Hurley has coached the past two seasons. Hurley’s team possesses far more athleticism and capable playmakers than in years past in addition to a low-post presence.
Newcomers De’Quon Lake and Remy Martin quickly made an impact in the win, with the former scoring 24 points and pulling down eight rebounds in his first career start.
One key to the success of ASU will be depth. Freshman wing Kimani Lawrence is expected to be out until Christmas after having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot while forward Romello White is day-to-day for a violation of team rules.
Both losses could be big blows for ASU as Hurley is down to six scholarship players.
To pick up a win against the Aztecs, the Sun Devils will need Lake and forward Vitaliy Shibel to limit Pope after he scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds in just 18 minutes.
On the offensive end, look for Martin to be a spark off the bench while seniors Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice spread the floor. The team had 22 assists on 34 made shots Friday after averaging 13 per game a season ago.
Next: ASU Men’s Basketball: Lake provides spark for depleted frontcourt
Tip-off between the Aztecs and Sun Devils will be at 7 p.m. MT at Wells Fargo Arena. The game can be viewed on Pac-12 Network.