Arizona State will try to rebound from a 15-point loss in its season opener to Mississippi State when it hosts Texas Southern on Saturday at Tempe, Ariz.
The Sun Devils (0-1), in Bobby Hurley’s ninth season as the head coach, struggled from 3-point range (shooting 5 of 21) and shot 32.1 percent from the field overall in the 71-56 loss to the Bulldogs in Chicago.
Hurley’s team includes only three returnees from last season and two of them — Jamiya Neal and Frankie Collins — started along with transfers Kamari Lands (Louisville), Jose Perez (West Virginia) and Shawn Phillips Jr. (LSU).
Arizona State’s other returner, Alonzo Gaffney, was in the eight-man rotation with Bryant Selebangue (Tulsa) and junior college transfer Malachi Davis.
Lands had 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field (1 of 5 from beyond the arc) in the loss to Mississippi State.
Perez went 0 of 4 from the field with four rebounds in 33 minutes.
Hurley sticks by his decision to start Perez, a graduate student who is playing for his fifth program in the last six years. He has also played for Manhattan, Marquette and Gardner-Webb.
“(Perez is) a hard-nosed player, he’s going to give you everything he has,” Hurley said. “When our fans watch him play, they’re going to appreciate his work ethic, his toughness.”
Texas Southern (0-1) is coming off a 92-55 loss at New Mexico on Monday.
The Tigers shot 29.4 percent from the field, including 5 of 24 from 3-point range.
Jonathan Cisse and Jaylen Wysinger led the Tigers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Cisse, a transfer from Incarnate Word, and Wysinger, a junior college transfer, were not with Texas Southern last season when the Tigers upset Arizona State 67-66 in overtime in Houston on Nov. 13.
The Tigers are trying to reach their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament with an influx of talent.
“We’re reloading after losing a great group of young men, three of them starters, and five in total,” said Texas Southern coach Johnny Jones. “It was a nucleus of guys that won three (SWAC) championships.”
–Field Level Media
When it comes to the perks Florida Atlantic earned following last season’s run to the Final Four, Tuesday’s ranks pretty high as the 13th-ranked Owls travel to New York to…
No. 10 Tennessee finds itself in an unusual position just seven games into the season — mired in a three-game losing streak. The Volunteers will try to snap that skid…
Tai’Reon Joseph scored 27 points and Bandon Davis had five of his 12 points during a closing 12-0 run as Southern stunned No. 21 Mississippi State 60-59 on Sunday in…
Trying to avoid early-season spiral, No. 10 Tennessee hosts George Mason
Top 25 roundup: Southern stuns No. 21 Mississippi State
Brandon Angel, Stanford blast San Diego
Jamison Battle beats up on old team as Ohio State tops Minnesota