Joson Sanon expects to play for ASU vs. no. 3 Iowa State

On By Littum

Arizona State freshman Joson Sanon, who is dealing with an ankle injury, practiced Friday and is expected to play Saturday when the men’s basketball team hosts No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones.

“Joson looked fantastic today. It’s as good as he’s looked since before the injury,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters. “He’ll get the green light tomorrow provided he responds well from what he did today in practice, which I wouldn’t think would hold him back.”

Sanon has played in just one game this month, an 18-minute performance in an overtime game against Baylor on Jan. 11.

He remains the team’s second-leading scorer (12.8 points per game) behind wing BJ Freeman (13.2 points per game).

Sanon is Arizona State’s most efficient perimeter scorer, hitting 47% of his total shots and 48% of his threes on 4.7 attempts per game. match.

ASU (11-7) is coming off a road win against then-No. 23 West Virginia, ending a four-game skid.

Iowa State (16-2) fell to the same WVU team on Jan. 18, but rebounded in its last outing, a 108-83 win over UCF on Tuesday.

Hurley hopes that serves as a confidence booster that, combined with Sanon’s return, could give the Sun Devils a chance against an ISU team that ranks in the top-10 in both offensive and defensive KenPom ratings.

“It’s been a struggle at times, just always being able to create offense, always being able to keep fresh bodies on the floor,” Hurley said of Arizona State’s struggles this year. “When you add someone like (Sanon) back into the mix, hopefully that should give us a boost.”