The Sun Devils take on Steve Alford and the New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque Tuesday evening. After bringing a plethora of young talent to Tempe for the 2010-2011 season, Herb Sendek and ASU will need to learn how to play together quickly to overcome this classic trap game.
GAME NOTES: The Arizona State Sun Devils get their 2010-11 campaign off the ground tonight as they tangle with the New Mexico Lobos in non-conference action in The Pit.
ASU, which is led by Herb Sendek, is opening the season on the road for the first time since 1992. In fact, this is just the fifth time in the 33 years that the Sun Devils have been affiliated with the Pac-10 Conference that they've opened a campaign away from home. Arizona State is coming off a campaign in which it posted a record of 22-11 and was 12-6 in league action. After losing to Stanford in the conference tournament, the Sun Devils matched up against Jacksonville at home at Wells Fargo Arena in the first round of the NIT and lost to the Dolphins by a score of 67-66.
As for the Lobos, champions of the Mountain West Conference for two straight years, they began the season at home versus Detroit on Saturday and used the opportunity to post a 63-54 victory for head coach Steve Alford.
In a series that dates back to 1931, the Lobos lead the Sun Devils by a count of 46-37, thanks to back-to-back victories. The most recent of those came back in 1995 in Tempe by a score of 86-79.
This group of Sun Devils has a lot of growing to do with a total of nine freshmen on the roster and just six players who saw action for the program a year ago. Senior guard Ty Abbott is the top returning scorer for the group after putting up 12.0 ppg a year ago, adding 4.4 rpg as well to show off his versatility. Named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team last season, Trent Lockett displayed tremendous promise and potential after putting up close to seven points per game. He scored in double figures nine times as he played in all 33 games for the Sun Devils, one shy of the rookie record. Jamelle McMillan brings along plenty of experience after appearing in 94 games the last three seasons and finding himself in the starting lineup a total of 50 times for ASU. After averaging just over eight minutes per game as a freshman, Rusian Pateev should be ready for a heavier dose of action, especially since he's put on some weight that he can throw around in the paint.
It wasn't exactly the earth-shattering start to the season they were looking for, but the Lobos managed to come out on top of Detroit in the opener nonetheless on Saturday night. Defensively, New Mexico was right on point in the first half as it held the visitors to just six total field goals and 1- of-9 shooting behind the three-point line. Overall, Detroit made good on just 30.9 percent of its shots from the floor and was forced into 22 turnovers. Curtis Dennis accounted for a team-best 12 points for the Lobos while Alex Kirk responded with a double-double consisting of 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in his first career game. Dairese Gary tacked on nine points and six assists as he became the latest UNM player to record 1,000 points for his career. In addition to starting Kirk, coach Alford also inserted Kendall Williams into the starting lineup, both of whom are true freshmen.
The Lobos have some new faces in the lineup this season, but still the squad is better stacked than Arizona State which will take some time to learn everyone's style.
GAME NOTES: The Arizona State Sun Devils get their 2010-11 campaign off the ground tonight as they tangle with the New Mexico Lobos in non-conference action in The Pit.
FACTS & STATS: Site: The Pit/Bob King Court (18,018) -- Albuquerque, New Mexico. Television: Versus. Home Record: ASU 0-0, UNM 1-0. Away Record: ASU 0-0, UNM 0-0. Neutral Record: ASU 0-0, UNM 0-0. Conference Record: ASU 0-0, UNM 0-0. Series Record: New Mexico leads, 46-37.
Tuesday, November 16th, 10:00 p.m. (et).
New Mexico 62, Arizona State 57