ASU Men’s Basketball: UC Santa Cruz exhibition preview

(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)

After a hiatus for most of 2016, Arizona State men’s basketball finally comes back on Thursday.

The Sun Devils will play UC Santa Cruz in an exhibition matchup before the official season opener on Nov. 11. NCAA rules allow teams to play up to two exhibition games against non-Division I opponents or scrimmages against D-I teams. Arizona State scrimmaged against Weber State over the weekend, which per NCAA rules was not publicized.

Sun Devil fans will now get the chance to see the team take the floor in a true game for the first time this season. With a couple top-100 freshman and some now-eligible transfers, the novelty of this team makes its first game intriguing.

Their opponent for the exhibition is the phenomenally named UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. UCSC went 10-15 in D-III, falling toward the bottom of the west region.

The standout for the Banana Slugs is sophomore Will Crain. He’s 6-foot-6, but is listed on the roster as a center. Last season, he led the team in scoring with 13.8 points per game and was second in rebounds with 6.2. Junior forward Sam Gabbard shared the top of the stat sheet with Crain, putting up 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per outing.

Keys to the Game

Avoid Coasting Too Much

While this game will not appear on the actual record sheets, there is meaning to it. How ASU looks will set a tone for how they begin the season. This is especially true for highly-touted freshmen Sam Cunliffe and Jethro Tshisumpa, who will be making their first impression on eager Sun Devil fans.

That being the case, Arizona State should not come out looking disinterested. This represents their first chance to try whatever coach Bobby Hurley has been concocting in his laboratory since February. It’s an opportunity for them to practice in a game environment.

Manipulate the Size Advantage

While ASU may be on the wrong end of the size matchups against some D-I opponents, they are bigger than the Banana Slugs. To reiterate, their center is 6-foot-6, the same height as Cunliffe, who is listed as a guard.

The Devils should really unleash Tshisumpa here. He’ll be able to work UCSC over on the boards, and it may give him some added confidence headed into his first NCAA season. With his towering height advantage and excellent leap timing, he’ll be able to block anything he wants in this game.