St. Thomas and Arizona State are both 3-1 heading into their first meeting Sunday in Tempe, Ariz.
St. Thomas (Minn.) is in its fourth season as a Division-I program. The Tommies went 20-13 and finished fourth in the Summit League last year.
They outscored Oklahoma State 48-47 in the second half in their 80-71 loss in Stillwater, Okla., on Nov. 10.
Kendall Blue recorded his second career double-double with a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds as he went 7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Blue, a junior guard, is coming off a season in which he averaged 10.6 points and 4.1 rebounds and shot 49.6 percent from the field.
“Have to be more vocal out there on the court with the most experience on the team,” Blue said. “Have a bunch of new people and underclassmen, so I just have to lead by example.”
Arizona State is relying on freshmen for some of its leadership.
The Sun Devils start freshmen Joson Sanon and Jayden Quaintance, a duo that is averaging a combined 17 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Sanon made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points in Arizona State’s 87-76 win over Grand Canyon in Phoenix on Thursday night.
“It felt like I was watching him in an (AAU) gym back in April,” Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley said. “Jo was just playing with the ultimate confidence, and he’s such a gifted kid. When he gets in a zone like that, he’s virtually unstoppable.”
BJ Freeman, a transfer from UW Milwaukee, is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.5 points. Senior guard Alston Mason leads the Sun Devils with 13.8 points per game.
Mason scored 16 points and Freeman had nine points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field against Grand Canyon.
St. Thomas is coming off a 102-54 home win Friday night over Division-III St. Norbert. Blue made all five of his shots from the field, including two from 3-point range, and finished with 12 points.
The Tommies are not scheduled to play another Power 4 team this season.
–Field Level Media
