Arizona State to Make First Coliseum Visit on Tuesday Night – West Virginia University Athletics

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia continues its two-game Big 12 homestand with a Tuesday night matchup against Arizona State that will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
 
The Sun Devils (10-7 overall and 1-5 in Big 12 play) are on the backend of an East Coast swing that saw them drop a 67-60 decision at Cincinnati last Saturday afternoon.
 
In that game, the Bearcats jumped out to 36-22 halftime lead and led by 17 early the second half before the Sun Devils rallied. Five-star freshman forward Jayden Quaintance, a former Kentucky recruit, pulled Arizona State to within four on a dunk, but the Sun Devils could get no closer. Quaintance led Arizona State in the game with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Quaintance, a 6-foot-9 forward, is one of four current Arizona State players averaging double figures at 10.1 points per game. He is also the team’s top rebounder pulling down 8.6 boards per contest.
 
Milwaukee transfer BJ Freeman, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, is leading the Sun Devils in scoring with an average of 13.2 points per game. He is shooting 35.1% from 3-point range and contributed 12 in last Saturday’s loss at Cincinnati.
 
Coach Bobby Hurley is also getting 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game from Ball State transfer Basheer Jihad, a 6-foot-9 senior forward.
 
Missouri State transfer Alston Mason is also contributing double digits in the scoring column with a 12 points-per-game average. He had 13 against the Bearcats.
 
Hurley has been playing without five-star freshman guard Joson Sanon, who suffered an undisclosed lower body injury in the BYU loss and is out indefinitely. Sanon was Arizona State’s top bench performer averaging 12.8 points per game and has missed the last five games, including the conference opener against Colorado, an 81-61 Arizona State victory.
 
Arizona State’ starting five of Quaintance (39 minutes), Mason (40 minutes), Freeman (36 minutes), Basher (33 minutes) and 6-foot-3 senior guard Adam Miller (36 minutes) played nearly the entire game against Cincinnati.
 
Amier Ali, a 6-foot-8 freshman, played nine minutes off the bench, while Shawn Phillips Sr., a 7-foot junior center from Dayton, Ohio, logged seven minutes.
 
Arizona State has dropped four-straight since the Colorado win, including a 72-66 overtime home loss to Baylor on Jan. 11.
 
West Virginia, meanwhile, is coming off one of the better home performances in school history last Saturday evening when it knocked off second-ranked Iowa State 64-57. Guard Javon Small scored a game-high 27 points, including 12 in a row at one point down the stretch, to give coach Darian DeVries‘ Mountaineers their third top-10-ranked win of the season, and their fourth against a ranked team.
 
“It’s obviously a big win for us and our program,” DeVries said afterward. “I think the world of Iowa State. I think they’re one of the best teams in the country and they have a chance to play on that last day.
 
“I was really proud of our team for its fight tonight on a night when both teams couldn’t get a lot going offensively,” he added.
 
Small enters Tuesday night’s game averaging a Big 12-best 19.8 points per game, which puts him in the top 25 among all NCAA scorers.
 
Small’s stat line against the Cyclones included seven rebounds, five assists and four steals in a wonderful all-around performance.
 
Amani Hansberry, who scored a team-best 16 points coming off the bench in the Houston loss, contributed all 12 of his points against Iowa State from behind the 3-point arc. Hansberry is averaging 10.2 points per contest.
 
The Mountaineer defense limited the Cyclones to just 43.9% shooting, including 1 of 17 from 3-point distance. WVU also made 14 steals, which directly led to 13 points.
 
West Virginia, like Arizona State, has reduced depth with key transfer Tucker DeVries missing his ninth-straight game with an undisclosed upper body injury.
 
Freshman guard Jonathan Powell (9.2 ppg.) and senior guard Joseph Yesufu (4.8 ppg.) have picked up some of the slack, as has freshman guard KJ Tenner (3.3 ppg.).
 
The Mountaineers’ starting lineup against Iowa State featured Small, Powell, 6-foot-8 senior forward Toby Okani, 6-foot-11 center Eduardo Andre and 6-foot-4 guard Sencire Harris. That’s the same lineup DeVries has used since upsetting seventh-ranked Kansas 62-21 in Lawrence.
 
West Virginia (13-4, 4-2) remains No. 30 in this week’s NET Rankings while Arizona State checks in at No. 64.
 
Tuesday night’s game will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools and the contest will tip off at 9 p.m. Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn begins at 8 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
 
Despite a frigid forecast and a late tip time on a weeknight, DeVries is hopeful to have another strong turnout against Arizona State.
 
“There are some tough places to play in the Big 12 and we want our place to be one of them,” he said. “I felt like it was (against Iowa State), and the crowd did their part.”
 
Tickets are still available and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.