UMass-Lowell next up for Bobby Hurley's Arizona State men's basketball team
Those mid-week games against unfamiliar opponents don't do much to excite a fan base and sometimes teams don't get that motivated either. Well, the Arizona State men's basketball team had better be motivated. Its next opponent, UMass-Lowell, is coming off quite a win, having defeated Georgia Tech 74-71 Tuesday night.
It will be just the second home game for ASU which will play its following two games in Las Vegas later this month.
Coach Bobby Hurley says his team has progressed and is coming off a couple of good pratices.
"Two of our better practices. We'll start there. I just think that we're in good spirits as to what we're doing, moving the ball better on offense, getting better shots, a little more cohesiveness," he said. "We're still figuring things out on offense. We were further along before we added Jose (Perez). Then we added Jose and then there's an adjustment to that and he's a unique type of player. I think it's worth that adjustment because in the long run he's going to make us better but there are some growing pains in the interim until we figure things out. "
Let's take a look at the next opponent:
UMass-Lowell (3-0) at Arizona State (1-1)
Day/Time: Thursday, 7 p.m.
Site: Desert Financial Arena
TV: Pac-12 Network. Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM
About the matchup: ASU started the season with an abysmal performance in a 71-56 loss to Mississippi State on a neutral court but showed some improvement, particularly on the defensive end in a 63-52 win over Texas Southern in Saturday's home debut. UMass-Lowell, of the America East Conference, defeated Rivier 96-51 and Dartmouth 81-48 to start the season, then had the win over the Yellowjackets in Atlanta.
About UMass-Lowell: The River Hawks are coming off a 26-8 showing, their best at the Division I level and they return several players from that team. The 3-0 start is also their best since transitioning to Division I in 2013. They were picked second in the conference preseason poll behind Vermont. Top players include 6-foot-9 senior forward Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (13.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and senior guard Ayinde Hikim (21.3 ppg, 3 rpg, 4 apg). They did lose a couple of their top 3-point shooters and are hoping junior guard Andres Fulgencio, a transfer from Division II Bloomfield, can fill that void. It is only two games but Lowell currently ranks eighth of 350 teams in scoring defense (49.5 ppg).
About ASU: The Sun Devils have 10 newcomers and coach Bobby Hurley still is experimenting with his lineup. Louisville transfer Kamari Lands (12.5 ppg) is the team's leading scorer this far with returning point guard Frankie Collins (11.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.5 apg) also in double figures. LSU transfer Shawn Phillips (6.5 ppg, 6 rpg) is the leading rebounder. Rebounding has been an issue so far with ASU a -9 in rebounding margin, 323rd in that category. It is also 336th in field goal percentage (34.55%). They are 55th however in field goal percentage defense (35.77%).
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU men's basketball team to host UMass-Lowell in next game
