Arizona State has opened the season with two wins, and now the Sun Devils get another shot at building on that start when Hofstra comes to Tempe on Tuesday.
The matchup lands in the middle of a five-game homestand for Arizona State, which is coming off a 90-63 win over Northern Colorado on Friday. Hofstra arrives at 1-1 after a painful finish at Princeton on Thursday, when the Pride let a nine-point lead slip away in the final 1:31 of a 60-58 loss.
For Arizona State, the early story has been about control - and the next step is holding it longer. The Sun Devils put Northern Colorado away with a 36-14 burst to close the first half and take a 48-26 lead, then stayed comfortably ahead the rest of the way.
Even so, the second half again showed a familiar pattern for Randy Bennett’s team, which also saw East Tennessee State hang around in a 75-65 Arizona State win on Nov. 2.
“It’s good to get separation,” said Arizona State coach Randy Bennett, who is in his first season with the Sun Devils after 25 years at Saint Mary’s.
“Little steps we’re making. One of them is learning how to do that -- get a lead, stretch the lead and stretch the lead and just never have a run where they cut it and make it close.”
Hofstra’s loss at Princeton came with a different kind of frustration. The Pride finished with 18 turnovers, their highest total since Nov. 19, 2024, when they had 20 in a 79-61 loss to Florida State.
“It was the turnovers that cost us, especially late in the game,” said sixth-year Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton. “That’s one that I wish we could have back.”
Arizona State has been led so far by Paulius Murauskas, who is averaging 27.0 points per game after spending the previous two seasons at Saint Mary’s. Another Saint Mary’s transfer, Dillan Shaw, is putting up 10.5 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds, while Joel Foxwell is averaging 11.0 points and leads the Sun Devils with 6.5 assists per game.
Hofstra’s top scorers are Tanner Thomas and Trey Boyd III, both averaging 12.0 points. Thomas also leads the Pride with 8.0 rebounds per game. Nick Jefferson is averaging 10.5 points and shares the team lead in assists with Justin Moore at 4.0.
The Pride returned one player from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, Joshua DeCady.
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