No. 9 BYU next up for struggling Arizona State men’s basketball team

The Arizona State men’s basketball team will look to snap a three-game skid when it hits the road to take on a formidable foe in No. 9 BYU.

This is part of a tough stretch for coach Bobby Hurley’s team, which dropped its conference opener to Colorado 95-89. The Sun Devils are facing three top 10 teams in the next four games, and all three of those will be on the road.

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Let’s take a closer look at the next game for the Sun Devils:

Arizona State (9-5, 0-1) at No. 9 Brigham Young (13-1, 1-0)

Time/Date: 7 p.m. MST, Wednesday, Jan. 7, J. Willard Marriott Center, Provo, Utah

TV: Peacock. Radio: ESPN 620 AM

About the matchup: This is the only time the teams will meet this season. They played twice last season, with the Cougars winning both, the first 76-56 in Provo, then later in the season in Tempe 91-81. BYU has won 10 straight games, its first such streak since it won 10 straight in the 2010-11 season. This is BYU’s best start to a season since that season when it was also 13-1.

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About the Sun Devils: The biggest factors in the recent skid have been defense, rebounding, and 3-point shooting. They gave up a season-high 95 points against Colorado, a lower-tier team and a foe not anywhere near the quality of the ones they are facing in the next two weeks. Defense and rebounding have been chronic problems. The shooting from deep is a recent problem. The Sun Devils are only 14-for-73 (19.2%) in the past three games, but in the three games before that, they had hit 29 of 64 tries (45.3%). Starting forward Santiago Trouet (lower leg injury) did not play in the last game, but Hurley sounded optimistic that he might play in this one. That would be a help to the rebounding woes because he is the leading rebounder. Moe Odum (16.6 ppg, 6.6 apg), Anthony “Pig” Johnson (14.2 ppg), and Massamba Diop (13.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg) are averaging double figures.

About the Cougars: BYU’s lone loss was 86-84 to then-No. 3 UConn on Nov. 15. Look no further than 6-foot-9 freshman forward A.J….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/no-9-byu-next-struggling-170158802.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-06 17:01:00

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