ARIZONA STATE BASKETBALL

ASU men prepare for first ever Wooden Legacy Tournament on Thanksgiving

Nov 27, 2013, 6:10 PM | Updated: 6:10 pm

Thanksgiving is usually a time for turkey and football, but if you want to change it up a little, you can catch Jahii Carson and the Sun Devils play in one of the nation’s premier basketball tournaments.

With Arizona State’s men’s basketball getting a lot of recognition recently, now’s the time to board the bandwagon in what is shaping out to be a special season. ASU, sitting at 6-0 to start the year, embarks on Southern California to participate in the first ever Wooden Legacy Tournament — a combination of the John R. Wooden Classic and the Anaheim Classic.

The Sun Devils will start play with arguably the toughest opponent right out of the gates, the Creighton Bluejays. The Jays are undefeated on the season and currently sit at number twenty in the AP poll. They are a familiar foe for these Devils, as the teams battled each other last year at the Las Vegas Invitational title game in what amounted to be an 87-73 Creighton victory.

Some future NBA players will be on display in this matchup, as well, as Jahii Carson gets another shot to beat Doug McDermott and company. Slowing Creighton’s star, who’s averaging 27.5 points per game on the season, will undoubtedly be a top priority for the Sun Devils. The winner advances to the semifinals and will play the winner of the College of Charleston and San Diego State matchup.

Rounding out the rest of the tournament will be Miami vs. George Washington and Marquette vs. Cal State Fullerton. Games will be played at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Arena on Nov. 28 and 29, before switching venues to the Honda Center in Anaheim for its Dec. 1 championship game.

ASU’s first-round game against Creighton can be heard at 9:00 p.m. MDT on Arizona Sports 620 AM on Thanksgiving day.

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