TEMPE — ASU men’s basketball worked out some kinks in an 81-66 win over St. Thomas (MN) at Desert Financial Arena on Saturday, lending credence to the idea this team plays to the level of its competition.

“Knew it was gonna be a tough game,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said postgame. “There are easier teams that you most likely could find to buy than this one, particularly with how we started the season with the difficulty of a lot of these games.

“Just happy to get through the game. Glad we got separation … but we gotta still do better with the turnovers.”

Hurley sent a message to his players early: bad effort on the defensive glass would not be tolerated.

It took just one possession of a lackadaisical boxout attempt by BJ Freeman, if it could be called a boxout attempt, for Hurley to show visible frustration, replacing Freeman with Joson Sanon in a hurry.

When Freeman came back in at the first media timeout, the first thing he did was grab a rebound. The tone-setting paid off as the Sun Devils outrebounded the Tommies 44-29. It was the second time this season ASU has outrebounded its opponent (36-32 vs. Santa Clara).

He wasn’t the culprit behind the Sun Devils’ slow start offensively, however.

After Freeman scored on the first possession and exited soon after, the Sun Devils missed four straight shots. They made their next four before missing the following four, with the offense coming inconsistently due to frequent turnovers.

After the Tommies reached a 19-13 lead about halfway through the first half, ASU locked in with a 15-2 run, which included more of the stifling defense they’ve shown at times early this season.

In the second half, St. Thomas kept the game within striking distance and prevented the Sun Devils from pulling away until the offense was kicked into high gear with about five minutes remaining.

Star freshmen Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon were a big part of that, with their two-man game opening up Sanon from deep.

Jayden Quaintance, after recording his first double-double on Sunday, on what the biggest adjustment has been to the college game. pic.twitter.com/fG9L8iREdy

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 18, 2024

How did ASU’s star freshmen look in their fifth game?

Quaintance continues to look like one of the best freshman defenders in the country (three blocks and one steal on Sunday), and he has improved in other areas as well, finishing with the first double-double of his young career (13 points and 14 rebounds).

He’s best suited as a play finisher near the rim offensively, rather than creating away from it, which the Sun Devils had figured out for stretches. His best moments on that end came off first-half assists from Adam Miller he paid off with dunks.

“The paint’s always open. It’s always good when you can get easy buckets,” Quaintance said postgame. “Especially if you play inside out, it kinda gets everybody going, because all our bigs are willing to pass out, hit guys on the perimeter.

“So it’s always good to get the pick-and-roll going, it gets everybody going as a result.”

Quaintance also had his first made 3-pointer of his collegiate career on his sixth attempt this season, which came on a no-look pass from freshman wing Amier Ali.

nice look away dish from amier ali to jayden quaintance for the first made 3 of his young career pic.twitter.com/hmJ3zTNjHi

— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) November 18, 2024

Sanon (18 points, nine rebounds) flashed more of his shot-making prowess, knocking down 6 of 11 shots (3 of 5 from 3).

“He looks like he’s got that look, and he’s really confident playing the way I expect him to play,” Hurley said.

He entered the game with five assists and two turnovers in four games, which is an adequate mark for a player of his archetype. But the 0-assist, three-turnover night he finished with on Sunday is more concerning.

While some turnovers can come down to good ideas that are poorly executed, there were some head-scratching mistakes in his game.

While Ali wasn’t as highly ranked as Quaintance and Sanon out of high school, he’s shown a good deal of reliability, especially in a wing rotation that has dealt with a lot of inconsistencies.

Ali has also stepped up to be the lead defender in Hurley’s signature press defense, a role that isn’t given lightly.

“He’s very active, and he’s got good wingspan, moves well, so that’s a good situation for him to be in,” Hurley said. “He came in and gave us positive minutes, so that was a really good night for him.”

ASU (4-1) next hosts Cal Poly (3-2) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MST. Listen to play-by-play coverage on ESPN 620 AM, the Arizona Sports app or ArizonaSports.com.

Arizona State football was ranked in The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll for the first time in three years following its 24-14 win at Kansas State on Saturday.

ASU was slotted at No. 21, the first time the Sun Devils have been ranked since Week 7 in 2021, and the first time the program has appeared in the Top 25 under head coach Kenny Dillingham.

The Sun Devils also earned a place in this week’s Coaches Poll, landing at No. 22.

Last week, ASU narrowly missed cracking the Top 25 following its 35-31 win over UCF. The Sun Devils received 35 votes which put them second among teams just outside the rankings.

Arizona State also received 39 votes after its win against Utah on Oct. 11.

The Sun Devils (8-2, 5-2) host No. 14 BYU on Saturday, as the Cougars slid seven spots following their loss at home versus Kansas on Saturday.

A win on Saturday would see ASU’s first undefeated home season since 2004.

Should the Sun Devils win out, they would nearly guarantee a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The conference has four teams ranked in the AP poll between No. 14 BYU, No. 16 Colorado, No. 21 Arizona State and No. 22 Iowa State.

Oregon remained the No. 1 team in poll for the fifth straight week, while Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Indiana rounded out the top five for the second straight week.

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The shorthanded Phoenix Suns are going to be stuck in the mud until Devin Booker can lift them out of it and he wasn’t capable of doing so in Friday’s 99-83 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Without Grayson Allen (right hamstring soreness), Bradley Beal (left calf strain) and Kevin Durant (left calf strain) again, the Suns put forth a woeful offensive performance.

Booker had 12 points (2-for-10) with four assists and four turnovers. He is now shooting 28-for-68 (41.2%) in the four games Durant has missed.

The spacing, even when Beal was back, is totally different without Durant. Booker has not been able to adjust effectively enough to pinpoint his proper tempo, and even with all the extra bodies sent his way, we’ve seen him still thrive through this in the past.

What would help him tremendously is the supporting cast making shots to create some relief for him to find his scoring pocket easier but this is now three out of the last four games in which that hasn’t happened. The Suns were 9-for-37 (24.3%) from 3 with 17 assists and 14 turnovers.

Booker has made a living off being an exquisite shot-maker no matter the difficulty and he hasn’t been at that level, which is where he has to be to produce versus these coverages. And he’s always going to make the right play, as he has said since these defenses came for him. So his teammates have to start converting because the ball is not going to stop coming their way. One of those two parts of the equation will have to change or this is how it’s going to keep looking until Durant returns.

Thunder cruise past Suns

Phoenix (9-4) had a terrible first quarter, trailing 29-12, something hard to believe when you consider it only turned the ball over once against a prolific defense in that regard. The Suns were 1-of-11 from 3, with all 10 of those misses coming from five each for Ryan Dunn and Tyus Jones.

As teams have done since Durant got hurt, Booker is seeing helpers creeping closer and closer in his direction. OKC took it to the point where, at any moment in the half-court when Booker was pacing himself, the second guy was ready to swarm. He did what he is supposed to do, move the ball for an open shot, but those shots did not fall.

On top of that, Booker needed a hot start to find his scoring touch early, but he was 0-for-6 in the opening period. OKC’s Luguentz Dort has always been one of the best perimeter defenders on Booker the last couple of years and the effort from Dort plus a few other great Thunder defenders stifled Booker.

Booker didn’t score until the third quarter. He hadn’t had a scoreless first half since 295 games and five seasons ago on December 23, 2019, per Stathead.

Expectations for this Suns contest were real low without key players against the West’s best and a squad that is on pace to be an all-time regular season defense but Booker has to find his star form quickly. This conference does not rest for anyone, and a slumping few weeks could really be the difference between the play-in and an automatic playoff spot if promising beginnings for teams like the Grizzlies, Lakers, Kings, Rockets and Warriors are maintained.

OKC (11-2) was not good in this game, allowing the Suns to only be down a dozen at the half despite shooting 26.8%. It eventually found enough success off Suns misses to bump its lead up to 20 midway through the third quarter.

The Thunder did not have any centers, missing Isaiah Hartenstein (left hand fracture), Chet Holmgren (right iliac wing fracture) and Jaylin Williams (right hamstring strain). Alex Caruso (right hip soreness) has spent some time as their small-ball 5 but he was out too. Phoenix tried to take advantage with Jusuf Nurkic and he shot 0-for-7 and 4-for-8 from the foul line.

Nurkic is now 1-of-18 in his last three games. When adding qualifiers onto Stathead’s span finder that goes back to the 1975-76 season, filtering in a three-game stretch for a center who attempted at least 15 shots in that span, Nurkic’s 5.6% field goal percentage is the worst ever. Two centers previously shot 6.3% (1-of-16). Nurkic has been toughing it out through a left ankle issue but that is staggering inefficiency.

This loss in NBA Cup play dropped the Suns to a 1-1 record. They’ll most likely have to be perfect from here on out in their final two games to qualify for the knockout stage.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks have received calls from other clubs inquiring about center fielders Jake McCarthy and Alek Thomas, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported on Friday.

The Diamondbacks have depth in the outfield with Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. regularly in the starting lineup with further depth pieces in first baseman Pavin Smith and prospect Jorge Barrosa.

Definitely a lot of interest in Jordan Montgomery on the trade front but also in the Diamondbacks Centerfielders Alek Thomas and Jake McCarty. Arizona turned Daulton Varsho into a starting C and LF 2 years ago, could they move one of their CF for help at another position?

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) November 15, 2024

Arizona has dug into its outfield depth over the past couple seasons to add to areas of need, most notably after the 2022 season when the D-backs shipped Daulton Varsho to Toronto for Gurriel and catcher Gabriel Moreno. The Diamondbacks also dealt Dominic Canzone in the Paul Sewald trade and Dominic Fletcher to the White Sox for pitching prospect Cristian Mena over the past 18 months.

That does not mean Thomas or McCarthy will be traded or the D-backs are trying to trade them. Arizona has received plenty of calls for players since the season ended, and the organization has big decisions to make on how to proceed after missing the postseason with 89 wins.

General manager Mike Hazen told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke this week he has been asked about nearly his entire rotation.

“We have a lot of conversations,” Hazen said of calls for pitchers. “Those conversations with other clubs get out, and when teams ask us about a player, nobody really cares whether we say it or they say it. They just say it’s been said. I don’t put a lot of stock into what’s being said out there. … A lot happens almost every year, and it’s happening now, especially when we’ve said we’re open to listening on that area of our team.”

What the development regarding the outfielders does mean is there are interested parties in case the Diamondbacks decide to adjust their roster.

McCarthy’s stock is at a high point after he put together a very solid season in 2024.

The 27-year-old bounced back from an inconsistent 2023 season and won everyday reps. In spring training, his role was not certain, but he kept a level head, stayed healthy and remained a steady contributor throughout the season.

He was red-hot from the end of July into early September, hitting .336 over a seven-week span with a five-hit game and five three-hit performances.

McCarthy cooled off down the stretch but finished the year slashing .285/.349/.400 with eight homers and 25 steals. His value defensively comes from his versatility and athleticism, and he earned a Gold Glove nomination for right field.

In center, Thomas is the superior defender.

Thomas had a painful 2024 campaign, landing on the injured list for three months due to hamstring issues that included a setback. He struggled offensively upon his return and was optioned to Triple-A Reno, where he sustained an oblique injury and missed more time. He played only 39 MLB games this past season.

The outfielder is still only 24 years old and has shown flashes of power to pair with his must-watch defense. Finding consistency driving the ball and limiting his ground balls remain objectives he has to hit.

Both Thomas and McCarthy are under team control through 2028.

The Diamondbacks have a hole at first base with Christian Walker a free agent and questions regarding how to approach the designated hitter spot. Jordan Montgomery is a starter whom the D-backs are reportedly looking to offload.

The bullpen is an area the club aims to bolster, and two of the league’s better closers have been involved in trade rumors before they enter free agency next winter: Milwaukee’s Devin Williams and St. Louis’ Ryan Helsley.

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It’s become clear that the Arizona Cardinals see value in pass rushers when others don’t.

They absorbed an injury to projected starter BJ Ojulari by standing pat in the preseason. Before the trade deadline, they swung a minor trade with the Denver Broncos to acquire Baron Browning, who had lost value to his old team.

On his new one, Browning played 18 snaps last Sunday in a win over the New York Jets, getting just enough familiarity to play a small role despite arriving in the Valley five days before the game.

“He did an awesome job,” Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort told Arizona Sports‘ Wolf & Luke on Friday. “We found a role he could play for the game and we expect that role to grow.”

Browning tallied two hurries in that small sample size, including a flushing of Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers that led to Cardinals teammate Xavier Thomas’ strip-sack.

Baron Browning with a sweet spin move forces Rodgers off his spot and Xavier Thomas strip sacks him pic.twitter.com/bUYfrDTGxH

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) November 10, 2024

The Cardinals under Ossenfort have made it a practice to find value — from first-round picks to undrafted players. Oftentimes, it’s finding value in players who can do a little of everything well.

It’s why they took defensive tackle Darius Robinson in the first round this year, and why Arizona extended fellow outside linebacker Zaven Collins despite a 3.5-sack full season in 2023.

Collins and Dennis Gardeck laid a blueprint for the reason why the Cardinals might be interested in Browning.

They began their careers in very different places respectively as a first-round pick and an undrafted rookie. But both have followed a similar evolution as off-ball linebacker turned edge player.

Browning can relate.

“Baron’s an interesting case,” Ossenfort said. “Baron came out of Ohio State and he played some off-the-ball linebacker, he played detached from the formation — really didn’t play on the line of scrimmage. Goes to the draft process and Baron is a very talented athlete. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s explosive.

“Denver did a great job of finding a home for him. He kind of settled into outside linebacker. … We think he fits schematically what we try to do defensively. We think he’s got three-down ability to play both the run and the pass.”

Under Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, the Cardinals have turned players deemed by others as tweeners into hybrids. It’s semantics, but the difference in connotation of the two words can maybe explain how uniquely Arizona’s front office thinks compared to the rest of the league.

Because of their backgrounds, Collins and Gardeck have the ability to drop into coverage on occasion, while inside backer Mack Wilson Sr. can invert into a pass rusher depending on down-and-distance context, scheme and opponent matchups.

As a collective unit, that scheme versatility has made Arizona a tough nut for opposing offensive coordinators to crack.

Browning appears to fit right into that plan.

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PHOENIX — ASU men’s basketball came out on top of GCU, 87-76, in a hard-fought win in front of a packed Footprint Center on Thursday.

All of ASU’s games to this point have been dogfights, and this was no different with 41 fouls called in the game and no double-digit lead to be had for either side until the Sun Devils took control late.

ASU (3-1) used a 17-8 run in the middle of the second half that included two 3s by freshman guard Joson Sanon and five points from point guard Alston Mason to gain separation.

Late in the first half, Sanon rattled off a 13-point run over a six-minute stretch, marking a new career high in his fourth game before halftime. He would finish with 21 points.

Putting on a Clinic ?@joson_sanon /// @hofseries pic.twitter.com/z9YzMNGsaK

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 15, 2024

He had five of his team’s 11 made 3s, good for the second-most the Sun Devils have hit this season (15 vs. Santa Clara).

Sanon also had admirable defensive moments against GCU star wing Tyon Grant-Foster, who had 19 points and four steals in his season debut. Grant-Foster had nine points over Sanon’s 13-point stretch, as the two kept their respective offenses afloat in the early going.

BJ Freeman, who led ASU in scoring over the first three games (13.7), was inefficient overall but broke a drought of more than three minutes without a made bucket by ASU with a 3-pointer late. He scored nine points in the win.

ASU freshman big man Jayden Quaintance delivered the exclamation point on the victory, adjusting to a Grant-Foster spin move and blocking the layup attempt in the final 75 seconds.

Both teams return to their respective homes, with ASU facing off against St. Thomas (MN) on Sunday at 6 p.m. MST while the ‘Lopes play next on Wednesday against UC Davis at 7 p.m.

The Phoenix Suns on Thursday revealed their 2024-25 City Edition uniforms that call back to the Valley’s hosting of the 1994-95 NBA All-Star Game.

A “The Valley” logo is back in a new form on the jerseys after the theme’s debut before the 2020-21 season with a gradient uniform and last season’s “El Valle” City Edition twist.

2024-25 Phoenix Suns City Edition Uniform ?️@PayPal | pic.twitter.com/Lr9rGfS3Xi

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) November 14, 2024

Phoenix will compliment the jerseys with a matching court that will include “modernized gecko decals from the 1995 NBA All-Star Court.”

In October, the Suns dropped a closeup shot of the waistband of some incoming uniforms, with a saguaro cactus sitting atop a star at the center.

Leaks of the full uniform kit have popped up on the internet over the past several months.

Indeed, the tops have “The Valley” in a Western-ish font that dates back to the team’s 1970s-era uniforms. The players’ numbers are layered on top of an orange star behind the numbering.

The green and orange highlights sit above the purple base of the shorts.

Both the jerseys and shorts have an orange and purple tribal step pattern running along the sides, with those green and orange seams around the arms and neckline, as well as on the waist.

When will the Phoenix Suns wear their City Edition uniforms?

The Suns will wear the look 10 times at home, the first time coming Monday against the Orlando Magic.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray won the sixth NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor of his career after completing 22 of 24 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown Sunday against the New York Jets.

Murray also rushed for 31 yards and two scores. He completed his final 17 pass attempts — that set a franchise record — in the 31-6 win at State Farm Stadium.

The quarterback has now won more Player of the Week awards than any past Cardinal. Quarterback Kurt Warner, pass rusher Chandler Jones and corner Patrick Peterson won five apiece.

Murray is the first quarterback to complete 85% of his passes and add two rushing touchdowns in a single game in NFL history.

The performance was Murray’s 11th game in his career with a passer rating (126.7) of 120 or greater.

His award gives Arizona consecutive weekly honors after punter Blake Gillikin was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the Chicago Bears.

AFC Offensive Player of the Week: Ravens QB Lamar Jackson

NFC Offensive Player of the Week: Cardinals QB Kyler Murray

AFC Defensive Player of the Week: Bills CB Taron Johnson

NFC Defensive Player of the Week: Eagles LB Zack Baun

AFC Special Teams Player of the Week: Chiefs LB Leo Chenal

NFC Special Teams Player of the Week: Lions K Jake Bates

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Jusuf Nurkic will miss the Phoenix Suns’ 2024 NBA Cup group stage opener against the Utah Jazz with a left ankle injury on Tuesday.

Center Mason Plumlee is set to make his first start of the season.

The Jazz will also be without their starting center, Walker Kessler, due to hip soreness. Utah will, however, have guard Keyonte George available after he showed up on the injury report with a foot sprain.

Nurkic started but ultimately was pulled Sunday during the Suns’ loss to the Sacramento Kings. He entered the evening listed as questionable with ankle soreness.

The center grabbed seven rebounds and a steal while going 0-for-4 from the field in 15 first-half minutes before Plumlee started the second half.

Nurkic had gotten out to a rough start to the year after missing the preseason with a finger injury.

In 10 games, the big man averaged 9.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 31% from 3-point land. He had come on strong with three double-double performances in a row before Sunday.

Who’s up with Jusuf Nurkic injured vs. Jazz?

Against Sacramento, Plumlee finished with six points, 11 rebounds and six assists over 26 minutes in his most active performance of the season. He was part of a defensive effort that forced six turnovers on Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who also fouled out of the game that went to overtime.

Phoenix likely turns to rookie second-round pick Oso Ighodaro against Utah, which even without Kessler boasts athletic bigs like Lauri Markkanen, John Collins and rookie Kyle Filipowski. Former Suns center Drew Eubanks is also on the roster.

Ighodaro played 10 minutes against Sacramento Sunday and scored five points to go with two boards and an assist in 10 minutes.

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The Phoenix Suns’ four-game NBA Cup schedule for 2024 begins Tuesday in a visit to face the Utah Jazz.

Group play for Phoenix is highlighted by a game Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder (9-2) and then Tuesday, Nov. 26, against the Los Angeles Lakers (6-4). That home game against Los Angeles is the only nationally broadcasted game of the NBA Cup schedule for Phoenix.

The Suns will face the San Antonio Spurs (5-6) on Dec. 3 to close group play.

The schedule was released in full by the NBA in August.

Phoenix (8-2) begins its NBA Cup games without Kevin Durant, who is nursing a calf strain.

From Nov. 12-Dec. 3, each team will play four group play games – one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two on the road.

Eight teams will advance to the knockout rounds. The team with the best standing in group play games in each of the six groups will advance. The team that finishes with the best record and point differential among second-place teams will take the wild card spot.

The knockout rounds will consist of single-elimination games for the eight teams that advance from group play, beginning with the quarterfinals on Dec. 10-11. Teams that win will progress to Las Vegas for neutral-site semifinals on Dec. 14 and the championship on Dec. 17.

Phoenix Suns 2024 NBA Cup schedule

Tuesday, Nov. 12 at Utah – 7 p.m. MST
Friday, Nov. 15 at Oklahoma City – 6 p.m. MST
Tuesday, Nov. 26 vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 8 p.m. MST (TNT)
Tuesday, Dec. 3, vs. San Antonio – 7 p.m. MST

NBA Cup groupings for 2024

Western Conference groups

Group A

Minnesota Timberwolves
Los Angeles Clippers
Sacramento Kings
Houston Rockets
Portland Trail Blazers

Group B

Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Los Angeles Lakers
Utah Jazz
San Antonio Spurs

Group C

Denver Nuggets
Dallas Mavericks
New Orleans Pelicans
Golden State Warriors
Memphis Grizzlies

Eastern Conference groups

Group A

New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets

Group B

Milwaukee Bucks
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Toronto Pacers
Detroit Pistons

Group C

Boston Celtics
Cleveland Cavaliers
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks
Washington Wizards

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