Sun Devils ‘kept their composure’ in nervy season-opening victory

(Photo: Caden Leonard/WCSN)

TEMPE – Before his first game as Arizona State men’s basketball head coach, Randy Bennett felt a “little nervous going into it – more than usual.”

“You don’t know the locker room situation, you don’t know how long it’s going to take to walk down, you don’t know how guys are going to play because we’re new,” Bennett said.

Bennett was used to his routine at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California, where he spent 25 seasons as Saint Mary’s head coach. With Saint Mary’s, Bennett cemented his 500-plus-win legacy with his trademark gritty offense and stout defense.

But this offseason, Bennett entered the unknown and returned to a place he hadn’t lived in for 40 years. He signed a five-year contract, intending to instill his identity in the revitalization of Sun Devil basketball.

Yet, even for the 64-year-old, Bennett still felt nerves before his first game.

Then, moments before tipoff, the crowd of 5,353 roared when the Desert Financial Arena public address announcer introduced Bennett.

“It was a great experience, great atmosphere,” Bennett said. “We can get it popping.”

By then, the nerves were gone, and it was time to see how well the team implemented Bennett’s core values over the offseason. ASU (1-0) showed flashes of Bennett’s brand of basketball, but ultimately struggled to pull away from East Tennessee State (0-1) in the season-opening 75-65 victory.

Throughout his tenure at Saint Mary’s, Bennett consistently built one of the nation’s slowest offenses. Bennett hasn’t had an offense ranked in the top-300 for adjusted tempo since 2015, when Saint Mary’s ranked 271st.

Against East Tennessee State, Bennett’s offensive pace was somehow slow, even for his own standards. ASU finished with 58 total possessions, the lowest for a Bennett-coached team since February 2025 against Oregon State. 

The Sun Devils finished with a slower-than-60-possession pace on three occasions under previous head coach Bobby Hurley, marking one of the biggest shifts between the two regimes.

ASU got the ball into the half-court and waited until the shot clock ticked under 20 seconds before beginning its offensive sets. 

Second-year guard Joel Foxwell delivered a mature performance in his Sun Devil debut, finishing with 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting, alongside five assists and a turnover.

“I feel comfortable out there,” Foxwell said. “It’s a lot of getting everyone involved. I think I did a decent job of that tonight. I don’t think I was at the rate I wanted to be at, but Randy’s given me that opportunity to go out there, run the team and get guys the best shot possible.

“I’m going to continue to do that, but I’m going to continue to get better at that as well.”

East Tennessee State tried to pressure ASU screens as much as possible, but Foxwell frequently navigated them well to find an open teammate. Fourth-year forward Paulius Murauskas benefited the most from Foxwell’s success, as he finished with 21 points and 11 made free throws.

In the first 10 minutes, Murauskas took one shot, which he missed, but still finished the half with 11 points.

“Paulius knows I’m going to roll with him,” Bennett said. “I trust him because I know he’ll play (well) in big games, little games.”

Despite how slow their offense can move, Bennett believes the pace boils down to the Sun Devils’ trademarks beyond their offensive sets.

“The way we defend, we’re going to make it tough for you to get transition baskets,” Bennett said. “We usually try and be really good at taking off the three and not giving you second shots. All of a sudden, you take those things away, it’s going to be a grind for them if they want to have a chance to win.

“It kind of plays out that way. We’re not trying to control the tempo.”

East Tennessee State scored five points on the fast break, as ASU succeeded in one of Bennett’s core values. Defensively, the Sun Devils limited East Tennessee State’s ability to score inside the arc, partly because of the size difference between the two sides. ASU’s average height is 6-foot-8, due to six players standing taller than 6-foot-10-inches.

Meanwhile, East Tennessee State’s average height is 6-foot-5-inches, with only two players taller than 6-foot-8. Despite the height gap, the Sun Devils only won the rebounding battle by three rebounds. 

“Our rebounding has been bad,” Bennett said. “We were inconsistent tonight. We’re usually a very good rebounding team. We should be. We have good size, but we’re not there yet. Our habits aren’t where they need to be.”

At Saint Mary’s, Bennett built a strong work ethic on the glass, with his teams frequently ranking among the nation’s elite in rebounding categories. Last season, Saint Mary’s ranked 13th in the nation for offensive rebounding and fourth-best in defensive rebounding per KenPom.

ASU kept East Tennessee State in the game because it didn’t dominate the glass. With 2:33 left, East Tennessee State trailed 65-59. Then, the Sun Devils finally flexed their muscles and went on a 7-0 run to put the game to bed.

“Going into this game, I told them two things that we had to be good at: play hard for 40 minutes and keep your composure for 40 minutes,” Bennett said. “You better have your head ready to fight.”

Last year, East Tennessee State won the Southern Conference regular season championship, but lost in the conference tournament’s championship game and a berth in the NCAA tournament. 

Bennett recognized that hunger, as they look to avenge last season’s heartbreak.

“They’re a good team, they’re scrappy,” Bennett said. “I don’t want to say it’s nothing to lose, but there’s not near as much pressure on them coming in here.”

Regardless, ASU finished with a season-opening win, setting up Bennett to successfully install his core values in the team. However, that doesn’t mean the win is anything to gloat about.

“We need to play better,” Murauskas said. “I don’t think we played great tonight, and we’re not satisfied with it.”

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