Bobby Hurley will face the coach he replaced when Arizona State faces Santa Clara in the Las Vegas Hoopfest on Friday night in Henderson, Nev.
Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek, in his ninth season with the Broncos, spent nine seasons in charge of the Sun Devils before he was fired in 2015 and replaced by Hurley, who is in his 10th season at ASU. The schools have met seven times before, most recently in 2004, but with neither current coach at the helm.
Both teams are coming off season-opening wins, though one was more impressive than the other. Santa Clara began with an 85-78 win Monday over Saint Louis at the Field of 68 Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D., while ASU escaped Idaho State at home 55-48 on Tuesday.
“I thought our guys did a good job of playing with poise and composure,” Sendek said after Santa Clara’s win. “I thought our guys withstood a couple of good punches that Saint Louis threw. There were a lot of good takeaways.”
Adama Bal led the Broncos with 24 points, one of five players in double figures.
ASU’s win over Idaho State came mostly due to its defense, which allowed only 25.4 percent shooting from the floor.
“It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t inspiring really,” said Hurley, whose team had been blown out at Duke the week before in a nationally televised exhibition.
The Sun Devils signed a pair of highly regarded recruits in the offseason in guard Joson Sanon and center Jayden Quaintance, but in the opener Quaintance was one of two starters who failed to make a field goal.
ASU is trying to start 2-0 for only the second time in the last six seasons, while Santa Clara has won its first two games each of the previous five seasons.
The Las Vegas Hoopfest is a two-game event at Lee’s Family Forum, with the other matchup featuring New Mexico and UCLA.
–Field Level Media
