3 Arizona State Players To Watch Against Houston

Does a Sunday afternoon game look different for two teams who are not used to playing in that time slot?

Possibly, but unlikely.

For Houston and Arizona State, both basketball teams are used to playing on different days during the week due to non-conference games scheduled across the week at different times.

Coach Kelvin Sampson of the Cougars and coach Bobby Hurley of the Sun Devils are looking to add another early-season Big 12 game that will help down the line, fighting for a better seed in the conference tournament and even the NCAA Tournament.

Can the Cougars’ defense find a way to win its fourth straight to open league play, or will these three players on the Sun Devils have a great day shooting and spoil one of the favorites in the entire nation as they cut the nets down?

Maurice Odum, Guard

We have a game time & network for Sunday's game vs Arizona State inside Fertitta Center

See you at 7:30 pm TONIGHT vs West Virginia#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/x8ItFiXHfc
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) January 13, 2026

As a highly recruited player from the transfer portal, Arizona State found a great player from West Oaks Academy, who is now with his third program. Originally, he started his career at Pepperdine for one season, then moved to Pacific for two seasons before finding his new home.

The leader in minutes and points for the Sun Devils is the senior Maurice Odum, who has been nothing short of outstanding for a program trying to make a run to the Final Four. His hometown is the Bronx, New York, and he has made Tempe, Arizona, his temporary home, where he excels at shooting basketballs.

Listed at 6-foot-2, the guard is currently shooting 38.7 percent from the field with 3.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists. From deep, he is also going 35.1 percent and 86.8 percent from the free throw line. His best showing came against Texas, where he posted 36 points in the 87-86 win. He is a scary shooter with 14 games in double digits already, so he’ll have to be limited on Sunday.

Anthony Johnson, Guard

Another star on the Sun Devils who has been a key piece of the puzzle this season is Anthony Johnson, the second-leading scorer on the roster. Appearing in 16 games, Johnson hasn't earned as many minutes as other guys on the team, but he is still very effective with 14.9 per game.

From the field, the 6-foot-3 senior is going 47.9 percent from the field. To go along with that, he is reeling in 3.1 rebounds and tallying 1.9 assists. He is going to need to be consistent in order to help pull off an upset.

His best performance of the season came a couple of games ago against BYU, where he registered a season-high 24 points. He earns a ton of trips to the free-throw line and will find ways to draw contact as a player who goes 76.9 percent from the charity stripe. The Cougars have to be careful about No. 2 because he’ll make you pay for the mistakes.

Massamba Diop, Center

Arizona State went abroad to recruit one of its special talents, who chose to join the program; he is from Rufisque, Senegal. Listed as a freshman, Massamba Diop is the third leading scorer on the team and has been a huge pickup to get going on the inside.

Listed at 7-foot-1, the elite shooter wins his matchups because of his height and partly because of his discipline in handling the ball and being aware of where he is on the court. On Sunday, the tallest man on the court will be wearing No. 32, as he is shooting 65.7 percent from the field.

As one of the leading rebounders on the team, he will be fighting for every ball he can get to, which might make Houston struggle to crash the glass and retain possession. Diop has 14.6 points per game, along with 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks, which definitely help Arizona State on defense. It should be an enjoyable time to see what he’ll do to affect Houston’s decisions.