The Arizona State men’s basketball team is extremely shorthanded against Nebraska in its College Basketball Crown game today.
How shorthanded?
The Sun Devils have seven scholarship players available against the Cornhuskers.
Included in the list of players not playing for ASU basketball in the 5:30 p.m. MST game at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas is freshman Jayden Quaintance and freshman guard Joson Sanon, but they are not playing for very different reasons.
Roster limitations for the game mean the Sun Devils are going to have to rely on some inexperienced players for perhaps big minutes against the Cornhuskers tonight, and their more established players are going to be in for a big workload.
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Watch ASU vs Nebraska on FUBO (free trial)Why isn’t Jayden Quaintance playing for Arizona State vs Nebraska?
Quaintance, a forward, will miss the game with a knee injury.
He last played in ASU’s 66-54 win over Kansas State on Feb. 23, the Sun Devils’ most recent victory. They have lost five straight games since.
In 14 games this season, Quaintance has averaged eight points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game, while getting 2.9 blocks per game for the Sun Devils.
Arizona State vs Nebraska picks: Who wins College Basketball Crown game?
Why isn’t Joson Sanon playing for ASU against Nebraska?
Sanon will not play after entering the transfer portal and committing to St. John’s.
He played in 15 games for Arizona State, scoring 12.3 points per game, with 3.4 rebounds per game for the Sun Devils.
Adam Miller is scheduled to play for Sun Devils vs Cornhuskers
ASU does have a piece of good news for its roster.
Senior guard Adam Miller, who was slowed by hip and oblique injuries the last two weeks of the season, is scheduled to play for the Sun Devils.
More: Arizona State men’s hoops back on the floor for first-round Crown game against Nebraska
What Bobby Hurley had to say about roster vs Nebraska today
“We had to give the guys about a week off just because of the volume of minutes they have played with us so depleted,” Hurley said. “When we got back, we’re basically doing skill work. We can’t do a lot of live stuff just because of the number of people we have available.”
ASU last played on March 11 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Sun Devils lost to Kansas State, 71-66.
Hurley only used seven players in that game, including Sanon, who played 39 minutes. Basheer Jihad played 36 minutes in that game, with Shawn Phillips Jr. playing 29 and Miller playing 22. Amier Ali played 26 minutes off the bench and Trevor Best played 13 minutes of the bench.
The Republic’s Michelle Gardner contributed to this story.
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