The Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The school's team competes in the Big 12 Conference.

The Arizona State Sun Devils have appeared in the NCAA tournament 17 times, including 3 Elite Eights (1961, 1963, 1975). They have won eight conference championships (four WAC, and four Border Conference) and finished in the final AP rankings seven times. The highest national ranking the Sun Devils have achieved is AP No. 3 under Bobby Hurley during the 2017–18 season and No. 3 under Ned Wulk during the 1980–81 season when the starting lineup included future NBA stars Byron Scott, Fat Lever, and Alton Lister.

38 ASU Sun Devils have been selected in the NBA draft, including eleven-time NBA All-Star James Harden, Byron Scott, Isaac Austin, Lafayette Lever, Alton Lister, Lionel Hollins, Sam Williams, Jeff Pendergraph, Mario Bennett, Tommy Smith, Ike Diogu, Eddie House, Freddie Lewis, and Joe Caldwell.

History

Bobby Hurley era Arizona State was led by head coach Bobby Hurley (eleven seasons), who replaced Herb Sendek. Sendek was credited for bringing a "basketball atmosphere" and level of excitement to Arizona State that had been absent for years. In his first four seasons at Arizona State, Sendek led the Sun Devils to three consecutive 20 win seasons, the 2009 Pac-10 conference tournament finals, and the second round of the 2009 NCAA tournament and 2014 NCAA tournament. Hurley, in turn, took the Sun Devils to the 2018, 2019, and 2023 NCAA Tournaments. During his 11 seasons in Tempe, Hurley secured 15 victories over ranked teams, including 9 wins over top 15 teams.

The Sun Devils earned a 3-seed and first-round bye in the Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament and were scheduled to play Washington State when the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was also canceled due to the pandemic. While the NCAA did not release seedings for the canceled tournament, the Sun Devils were projected by ESPN's Joe Lunardi in his end-of-season "Bracketology" to be a 9-seed. This would have been the first time since 1964 that the Sun Devils had made the tournament in three straight years.

Head coaches

Record vs. Pac-12 opponents Arizona State has these all-time series records vs. Pac-12 opponents . The Sun Devils lead three of the series. (note: the results include non-conference matchups).

OpponentWinsLossesPct.StreakArizona86165()ARIZ 7Cal5143()CAL 2Colorado1418()COL 2Oregon4749()ORE 2Oregon St.5546()OSU 1Stanford4454()STAN 1UCLA2477()UCLA 6USC4464()USC 1Utah2838()UTAH 2Washington4449()WASH 3Wash. St.4942()ASU 3 Arizona State Records Book https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/asu.sidearmsports.com/documents/2019/11/21/2019_20_Sun_Devil_Men_s_Basketball_Record_Book.pdf

Postseason results

NCAA tournament results The Sun Devils have appeared in the NCAA tournament 16* (15) times. Their combined record is 15–18* (14–17). ASU's 1995 NCAA tournament appearance (2 wins, 1 loss) was vacated by the NCAA.

1958 First Round Idaho State L 68–72 1961 First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight SeattleUSCUtah W 72–70W 86–71L 80–88 1962 First Round Utah State L 73–78 1963 First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Utah StateUCLAOregon State W 79–75 OTW 93–79L 65–83 1964 First Round Utah State L 90–92 1973 First Round Sweet SixteenRegional 3rd Place Game Oklahoma CityUCLALong Beach State W 103–78L 81–98L 80–84 1975 First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight AlabamaUNLVUCLA W 97–94W 84–81L 75–89 1980 #5 First Round Second Round #12 Loyola Marymount#4 Ohio State W 99–71L 75–89 1981 #2 Second Round #7 Kansas L 71–88 1991 #8 First Round Second Round #9 Rutgers#1 Arkansas W 79–76L 90–97 1995* #5 First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen #12 Ball State#13 Manhattan#1 Kentucky W 81–66*W 64–54*L 73–97* 2003 #10 First Round Second Round #7 Memphis#2 Kansas W 84–71L 76–108 2009 #6 First Round Second Round #11 Temple#3 Syracuse W 66–57L 67–78 2014 #10 Second Round #7 Texas L 85–87 2018 #11 First Four #11 Syracuse L 56–60 2019 #11 First FourFirst Round #11 St. John's#6 Buffalo W 74–65L 74–91 2023 #11 First FourFirst Round #11 Nevada#6 TCU W 98–73L 70–72

NIT results The Sun Devils have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 13 times. Their combined record is 7–13.

1983 First Round (Tempe, AZ)Second Round (Tempe, AZ) W 87–83L 76–78 1990 First Round (Tempe, AZ) L 71–86 1992 First Round (Santa Barbara, CA)Second Round (Tempe, AZ) W 71–65L 58–80 1993 First Round (Tempe, AZ) Georgetown L 68–78 1994 First Round (Provo, UT) L 67–74 1998 First Round (Honolulu, HI) L 73–90 2000 First Round (Tempe, AZ)Second Round (Raleigh, NC) W 83–77L 57–60 2002 First Round (Las Vegas, NV) L 91–96 2005 First Round (Las Vegas, NV) L 78–89 2008 First Round (Tempe, AZ)Second Round (Tempe, AZ)Quarterfinals (Tempe, AZ) Florida W 64–53W 65–51L 57–70 2010 First Round (Tempe, AZ) L 66–67 2013 First Round (Tempe, AZ)Second Round (Waco, TX) DetroitBaylor W 83–68L 86–89 2015 First Round (Storrs, CT)Second Round (Richmond, VA) ConnecticutRichmond W 68–61L 70–76 OT

NAIA tournament results Arizona State appeared in the NAIA basketball tournament twice. Their combined record is 2–2.

1948 First RoundSecond Round W 68–66L 53–54 1953 First RoundSecond Round W 81–79L 71–83

Commissioners' Invitational results Arizona State appeared in the National Commissioners Invitational Tournament once. Their overall record is 0–1.

1974 First Round (St. Louis, MO) L 74–81

CBC results Arizona State has appeared in the College Basketball Crown once. Their overall record is 0–1.

2025First RoundNebraskaL 78–86

Retired numbers

Arizona State Sun Devils retired numbers No.PlayerCareerYr. ret.Ref. 13 James Harden 2007–2009 2015 [James Harden's jersey number retired at Arizona State] on Sportingnews.com by Gabrielle McMillen - 19 Feb 2015 Notes

Honored jerseys The Sun Devils have honored eight jerseys in program history, most recently Ike Diogu's 5 in 2022. Nevertheless, the numbers are active and available for use.Basketball roster at Arizona State 5 Eddie House 1996–2000 Ike Diogu 2002–2005 11 Byron Scott 1979–1983 12 Fat Lever 1978–1982 13 James Harden 2007–2009 32 Joe Caldwell 1961–1964 33 Lionel Hollins 1973–1975 53 Alton Lister 1978–1981

NBA & ABA Individual Achievements

National Basketball Association

NBA Most Valuable Player

2017–18 James Harden Shooting guard Houston Rockets

List of NBA All-Stars 1969, 1970 Joe Caldwell Shooting guard/small forward 2013–2022; 2025 James Harden Shooting guard 1978 Lionel Hollins Point guard 1988, 1990 Fat Lever Point guard

NBA Champion

2014 Jeff Ayres Power forward San Antonio Spurs 2025 Luguentz Dort Small forward Oklahoma City Thunder 1978 Lionel Hollins Point guard Portland Trail Blazers 2008 Eddie House Shooting guard Boston Celtics 1980, 1982 Mark Landsberger Power forward Los Angeles Lakers 1985, 1987, 1988 Byron Scott Shooting guard Los Angeles Lakers

ABA Individual Achievements ABA Champion

1970, 1972, 1973 Freddie Lewis Point guard Indiana Pacers

1970 Art Becker Power Forward Indiana Pacers

ABA All-Star Game

1968, 1972 Art Becker Power forward 1971, 1973 Joe Caldwell Shooting guard/small forward 1968, 1972, 1975 Freddie Lewis Point guard

Statistical leaders

References

External links