We are deep in the part of the offseason where basketball schedules are slowly leaked one by one. ASU basketball will be hosting San Diego for a mid-December bout in Tempe.
The ASU Sun Devils will take on the San Diego Toreros on December 18, 2022 in Desert Financial Arena.
The news was released on Twitter by college basketball insider Jon Rothstein:
Source: Arizona State will host San Diego as part of its 22-23 non-conference schedule. Game is set for 12/18 in Tempe.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 27, 2022
Bobby Hurley against Steve Lavin.
Steve Lavin, head coach of the Toreros, is well-acquainted with Bobby Hurley. When Lavin was on the outs at his previous school, St. John’s, Hurley, then coach of the Buffalo Bulls, was one of the biggest names associated with the job.
After being fired from St. John’s, Lavin was in contention for the Arizona State job after the departure of Herb Sendek. Of course, Hurley beat out Lavin for the position and has been the head coach of the ASU Sun Devils ever since.
ASU vs San Diego
San Diego finished the 2021-22 season ranked 232 out of 358 Division I basketball programs by KenPom. Arizona State finished the same year ranked 97th after a disappointing 14-17 season.
Offensive woes were a big contributor to the lackluster campaign for ASU but the return of Marcus Bagley from injury and the addition of transfers like Frankie Collins should help jumpstart the offense next season.
Defensively, the Sun Devils were a top-30 team in the nation and if Hurley can manage the same defensive style without Marreon Jackson and Jalen Graham then ASU should be in a pretty decent spot to compete across the board and inside the Pac-12.
The two schools have only played twice before, once in early 1992 and again in late 2003. Both games were ASU victories with an average margin of 11 points.
Prediction
I feel comfortable predicting an ASU victory here. 78-64.
The history between Hurley and Lavin will only add interest to this game and it will be exciting to see which head coach comes out on top.
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