Arizona State and No. 9 Florida will meet in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event Saturday in Atlanta after both teams have experienced more than a week off from games to concentrate on final exams.
The Sun Devils (8-1) have not played since defeating San Diego 90-53 at home Dec. 3.
The Gators (9-0) last played Dec. 4, when they beat visiting Virginia 87-69 in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Florida’s 87 points were the most the Cavaliers have allowed in 129 games, since Dec. 26, 2020 in a 98-75 loss to Gonzaga.
The Gators scored 20 points off 15 turnovers in that game.
For the season, Florida’s opponents are averaging 13.9 turnovers a game, which has led to an average of 17.8 points.
“It’s defense to offense,” senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. said. “We want our offense to feed off our defense. That’s been our emphasis this year. When teams go on runs against us, we kind of focus on the defensive end, because we know the offense is going to come.”
Arizona State, with freshman standouts Joson Sanon and Jayden Quaintance each logging about 28 minutes a game, is prone to commit turnovers. The Sun Devils average 12.7 turnovers a game that has led to 12.7 points a game for opponents.
Basheer Jihad, a forward who transferred from Ball State, has a team-high 28 turnovers with 10 assists.
He also is Arizona State’s second-leading scorer (13.3 ppg) and rebounder (5.8).
Sanon tops the Sun Devils with 15.9 ppg and Quaintance in rebounds at 8.0.
Sanon started the first three games but has come off the bench in the last six to provide a spark.
“I know people get hung up with that, but he’s basically a starter,” Arizona State Bobby Hurley said about Sanon being a reserve. “He’s gonna play 30-plus minutes. I need him in the game, so he’s gonna be in the game a lot.”
Quaintance was recruited by Florida after John Calipari left to Arkansas from Kentucky, where Quaintance originally committed.
Quaintance, a 6-foot-9 forward, took an official visit to Florida before deciding to join Arizona State.
Florida’s top rebounder is 6-foot-11 center Alex Condon, who averages 7.0 rebounds to go with his 13.0 points per game.
Condon extends well with his shooting despite his height and position. He is making 58.7 percent of his shots from the field, including 46.2 percent (6 of 13) from 3-point range.
The Gators also start Rueben Chinyelu, a post player who is averaging 6.4 rebounds.
Their top scorer is Clayton at 18.4 ppg. He also leads the Gators in assists (3.8).
Florida is 9-0 for only the third time in the program’s 116-year history and the first time since the 2005-06 season when the Gators started 17-0 and won the first of consecutive national championships.
Arizona State will be showcased in Atlanta twice within three weeks. The Sun Devils’ football team will be in Atlanta for the College Football Playoffs at the Peach Bowl, which will take place Jan. 1.
–Field Level Media
