Arizona State Sun Devils guard Anthony Johnson (2) leans into Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Tyon Grant-Foster (7) on Nov. 14, 2025, at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe. Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Arizona State Basketball Turning Heads Early in Season

Originally posted on Arizona State Sun Devils on SI
By Kevin Hicks | Last updated Dec 3, 2025 9:00 AM ET

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils (6-2) have a huge three-week stretch ahead of them in which they will conclude non-conference play behind five more contests in the sphere.

The team has overachieved to this point of the 2025-26 campaign - securing a win over SEC foe Texas and competing with national powerhouse Gonzaga in a game on November 14.

The early-season performance has turned heads - including widely respected college basketball media figure Andy Katz, who ranked Arizona State at number 30 in his weekly "power 37" rankings, which is a great measure of the current landscape of division one basketball.

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Katz's View of Arizona State

"Coach Bobby Hurley has the Sun Devils heading in the right direction. I love the backcourt of Moe Odum and Anthony “Piggy” Johnson. The Sun Devils beat Texas and Washington State before falling late to Southern Cal in the Maui Invitational title game."

The ranking of number 30 could be considered generous by some, as the official NCAA NET rankings have Arizona State exactly at the 100th spot. However, Katz makes an astute point that the Sun Devils boast a quality win over Texas, as well as possessing two quality losses. The duo of Odum and Johnson is surely electric and raises the ceiling of the team, but this roster is much more than those two players.

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2025-26 Sun Devils Are Deeper Compared to Last Season

Odum is averaging 19.1 PPG and is within the top 75 nationally in three-point percentage at 44.3% - he is obviously the leader of this team, while Johnson is second on the team at 13.5 PPG. Johnson also provides infectious energy on the defensive side of the ball on top of being a microwave scorer off of the bench

.This team is more than the top two scorers, as Massamba Diop has flashed legitimate NBA upside in his freshman season in multiple facets - he has flashed the ability to hold up against high-major bigs. Bryce Ford has shot nearly 50% from three-point range and has been the catalyst behind numerous victories. Allen Mukeba, Santiago Trouet, and Andrija Grbovic have had moments of brilliance at the forward spots to begin the season.

This is all while considering the fact that guard Noah Meeusen and forward Marcus Adams Jr. have yet to be fully integrated into the lineup due to working back from offseason injuries. Hurley has Arizona State in a strong position with about a month to go until Big 12 play is ushered in.

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Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on why the bright future of the football program isn’t dimmed by the loss to Arizona here.

This article first appeared on Arizona State Sun Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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