Arizona State vs Mississippi State game preview

CHICAGO, — The Arizona State Men’s Basketball team kicks off their 2023-2024 campaign against Mississippi State at the Barstool Sports Invitational in Chicago, Illinois. Sun Devil head coach Bobby Hurley is entering his ninth season with the program and, looks to build off their first-round exit in the NCAA tournament last year. 

Arizona State basketball season opener preview

Frankie Collins, Jamiya Neal, Alonzo Gaffney, Bobby Hurley Jr., and Jordan Williams return from a team that won 23 games for the first time since 2018-2019. Hurley adds 11 new players, headlined by the LSU transfers of 7-foot center Shawn Phillips Jr. and Adam Miller, to Louisville transfer Kamari Lands, and JUCO transfer Malachi Davis. Others include: 

G Brycen Long – Houston Christian
G Jose Perez – West Virginia
F Zane Meeks – San Francisco
F Bryant Selebangue – Tulsa
G Braelon Green (Freshman) – Southfield, MI
F Akil Watson (Freshman) – Middletown, NY

These programs have only met twice, and Arizona State has won both games. The last matchup was in 2018 when Arizona State upset No. 15 Mississippi State 72-67.  Mississippi State, much like the Sun Devils, is looking to improve from their First Four exit by Pittsburgh. The Bulldogs, under second-year head coach Chris Jans, held teams to 61 points per game last year and an overall record of 21-13 in a grueling SEC conference. 

Injured players on both sides

Mississippi State will be without their star 6-10 power forward Tolu Smith with a foot injury. Coming into the season, Smith Averaged 16 points and eight rebounds last year.

The Bulldogs aren’t the only ones catching the injury bug. The Sun Devils will be without Alonzo Gaffney, who is to be sidelined for the foreseeable future. In what should be a tightly contested matchup in Windy City, and with both teams missing some interior presence, they’ll have to utilize the transfers brought in. 

Hurley and the Sun Devils need to show that they can handle the roster turnover from last year’s team against a battle-tested Mississippi State. It will be critical for Arizona State to start on the right foot and build chemistry early on, as it will decide how well the Sun Devils play this year.

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