What ASU Must Do to Beat Gonzaga: A Breakdown

In today's edition of the Sun Devils Insider Podcast, we take a look at the path to victory for ASU on Friday.

Arizona State Sun Devils Santiago Trouet (1) and Massamba Diop (35) attempt to block Southern Utah Thunderbirds Isaiah Cottrell (0) during a game at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Nov. 4, 2025. | Diannie Chavez/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TEMPE -- In today's edition of the Sun Devils Insider Podcast, we take a look at what ASU must do to have a shot to defeat Gonzaga tonight.

To listen to today's podcast, view below.

Below is a partial transcript from Bobby Hurley's press conference following ASU's season-opening win on November 4.

On Securing First Win of Season

"Nice to win, nice to get, obviously, a win on under our belt. To start. We we struggled at the end of last year, and I told the team, you know, we hadn't won a game in a long time. So, you know, we had two close exhibitions that go our way. Had a lot of stuff going on in those games, so the program needed to win today and just get off to the right start. So mission accomplished."

Mar 13, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The Adidas shoes with Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky logo worn by Sun Devils guard Frankie Collins (1) in the second half against the Utah Utes at the T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

There's a lot of work to still be done, especially today, defensively, we were we lost containment of the ball way too much. I thought we were too spread out on defense, not helping. When a guy did drive the ball, they got into the pain way too much. They scored 40 points in pain. So we can't really afford to do that as the water gets deeper over the next couple of weeks. And so we got, we need this practice time. And good thing, we have a few days till our next game.

On Shot Distribution

Thought it was fine. I don't think that was like an area or an issue or problem. It was like nine for 23 the ratio of those shots that we took relative to the shots in the paint. And it was pretty, pretty well proportioned.

"I just think we all, you know, want to be accountable, and we want to try and set a sort of bar at a certain level, and if we don't attain it, you know, yes, it's great to win, and I want them to feel happy that we won, but I also want to cautiously make them alert to the fact that the water is going to get deeper and and the mistakes that We made tonight, you know, are not going to be acceptable in some of our games."

On G Adante Holiman's Status

Oct 22, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley speaks to media during Big 12 Menís Basketball media day at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Sophia Scheller-Imagn Images | Sophia Scheller-Imagn Images

He's got an elbow. He He landed awkwardly in a in a workout in summer, and, you know, he we're working to get him back as best we can, but it's still, you know, he had a he had some work on the elbow, and he's doing his treatment and his therapy. We're not, we haven't set like a timeline for his return. It's going to depend on him continuing to progress.

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and three major takeaways following a gutsy win over Iowa State here

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