Previewing Week Ahead For ASU Basketball

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball program has enjoyed a relatively successful start to the 2025-26 season.

Bobby Hurley's team decisively won the first two games of the year and put together a competitive performance in a 77-65 loss to Gonzaga on Friday night.

Now, the squad is looking to move past the loss and to continue pushing through a compelling non-conference slate of games while also fighting through injuries and continuing to gel together as a unit.

Monday: Georgia State

Arizona State finishes off their four-game homestand to begin the season against a Georgia State squad that has started off the campaign with a 1-3 record.

Sophomore guard Jelani Hamilton and forward Joah Chappelle have paced the Panthers - both averaging double digit scoring figures to this point.

One of the most fascinating pieces of the Panthers' squad is that there are four players that pose a legitimate threat as floor-spacers

Thursday @ Hawaii

The Sun Devils are set to travel to Hawaii ahead of a Thanksgiving week tournament - facing the Rainbow Warriors in the process.

The Rainbow Warriors are 4-1 on the season - including a victory over Utah Tech. Hawaii also nearly defeated a quality Big 10 team in Oregon to begin the season.

Hawaii's offense is extremely well-balanced, as they feature seven players that average at least six points per contest so far this season. Center Isaac Johnson has been a revelation in his fifth season - averaging 14.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game five games in.

Looking Ahead: Maui Invitational

The game against Hawaii is in preparation for the Maui tournament - they are set to play the opening game of the competition on Monday, November 24 against the Texas Longhorns. This marks the first time that Hurley has faced off against former Arizona coach Sean Miller since the 2020-21 season, which was Miller's final season at the post.

An Arizona State win would likely trigger a game against another former Pac-12 foe in Washington State on the next day - this would be the third former Pac-12 rival that the Sun Devils square off against this season.

A win over Washington State would push the Sun Devils into the championship round against four potential opponents, the most intriguing of which would be the Will Wade coached NC State Wolfpack or another former Pac-12 opponent in the USC Trojans.

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on how the culture that has been cultivated by coach Dillingham showed up against West Virginia here.