Adam Miller makes his return to Tempe to take on Arizona State (2-0) on Friday night, having played under coach Bobby Hurley from 2023-25. One has to think Miller has been giving out some insider knowledge about Hurley’s operation during the preparation for this non-conference matchup.
“It’s gonna be weird seeing him in a different jersey. He gave the program everything he had, never cheated us of anything. Always rooting for him.” – Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley on Adam Miller
On the other hand, Arizona State senior guard Moe Odum knows a thing or two about the No. 19 Gonzaga program (3-0). He was with Pacific from 2022-24 and Pepperdine in 2024-25. Last season with the Waves, Odum scored 24 points and dished out eight assists in a 89-82 December loss to the Zags. He was the biggest storyline at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas during the West Coast Conference tournament after leading Pepperdine to the semifinals. Odum currently leads the Sun Devils in assists with seven per game.
When speaking with the media leading up to this matchup, Hurley said his Suns Devils’ group didn’t keep its foot on the gas in their last outing against Utah Tech, which resulted in an 81-66 victory. They will have little to no room for error against Gonzaga.
“We didn’t show a lot of maturity being up (by 23) … If we do that for like 90 seconds against Gonzaga, we’re gonna have very little chance to win.” – Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley on Gonzaga matchup
Arizona State Sun Devils freshman center Massamba Diop
The first-year prospect is a unicorn at 7-1 tall, 7-3 wingspan, and 10-inch hands. Massamba Diop has shown some incredible flashes through his first two collegiate games. He’s averaging 16.0 points on 65 percent shooting from the field, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.5 steals.
The young talent can stretch out the floor, having hit his first two three-point attempts in his career. Sizing up against Gonzaga’s Graham Ike, the pair should make for an exciting back-and-forth affair on all dimensions of the court.
Hard to cook up someone with that level of gracefullness and ball skills at the size that Diop has. He’s a name to monitor for the 2026 NBA Draft this upcoming summer.
Continue to make defensive effort the top priority
Tyon Grant-Foster has opened up a new level to the Gonzaga defense by forcing opponents into taking bad or tough looks out on the perimeter. Plus, Jalen Warley’s motor never seems to run out as he currently leads the team with 2.3 steals per game. He’s been a Swiss army knife with his ability to do whatever is asked of him on the floor by coach Mark Few. Can never forget about Emmanuel Innocenti out on the wing, who continues to turn defense into offense on the other end.
As a team, the Zags are ranked No. 21 in the country for field goal percentage defense at 33.7 percent and tied for No. 27 in scoring defense at 58.0 per game.
Dominate in the frontcourt with Graham Ike, Braden Huff
Don’t let up with the intention to score inside the paint in the half-court offense through one of the top duos in the nation. Graham Ike and Braden Huff’s ability to handle the ball, the way they operate with each other in the low post, and crash the offensive glass off misses will be a handful for the Arizona State bigs to deal with. The pair combines for 31.0 points and 17.0 rebounds per game so far.
Control the pace, share the ball
Gonzaga is at its best when playing up-tempo and speeding up their offensive possessions, making sure they have more effective looks than their opponent. Currently, the Zags are showing a care-free attitude toward who is actually scoring the ball. This group just wants to find the best possible shot and is sharing the wealth, having dished out 20.0 assists per game through the first three games of the season (tied for No. 34 in the NCAA) and 9.3 turnovers per game (tied for the No. 33-least in the NCAA).
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Gonzaga is the favorite by 12.5 points. The moneyline for the Zags is -880 and +580 for the Sun Devils. The over/under is set at 163.5.
Gonzaga has this double-edged sword that opponents haven’t seen for quite a while. It’s a pick-your-poison type of situation with how they will beat you, either by striking you down on offense or shutting you down on defense. Currently on KenPom for the No. 3 overall-ranked program in college basketball, the Zags hold the No. 5 adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 9 adjusted offensive efficiency.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
