On an evening where fans were welcomed back inside Desert Financial Arena, Arizona State (1-0) stood above Portland (0-1) in a 76-60 win both on the scoreboard and on the floor.
Sun Devil coach Bobby Hurley had placed an emphasis on gathering height during the offseason after a 2020-21 season where the team finished 332nd in rebound margin. On Tuesday at Desert Financial Arena, that investment in growth was easy to recognize.
This time around, the Sun Devils were ending defensive stops with rebounds, and flipping offensive misses back to themselves for second chance points, from where they scored 20 percent of their total.