Hofstra vs Arizona State prediction: Murauskas, Defty and a new Arizona State test rebuilt Hofstra

Two programs starting over

Strip away the jerseys and this is close to an opening night for two new teams. Arizona State's roster accounts for 9.2% of last season's minutes. Hofstra's accounts for 11.3%. Last season's team numbers, then, describe players who mostly play somewhere else now.

Those numbers came from very different years. The Sun Devils went 17-16 in Bobby Hurley's final season, and Randy Bennett was hired March 23 to replace him. Hofstra won the Coastal Athletic Association tournament title against Monmouth and finished 24-11. Its season ended with a 90-70 NCAA Tournament loss to Alabama.

The Pride's best players left after that run. Cruz Davis scored 20.1 points a game before moving to Texas Tech, and Preston Edmead (16.1 a game) is now at NC State. Arizona State lost center Massamba Diop to Gonzaga and guard Maurice Odum, who averaged 16.4 points. The holdovers are role players. Bryce Ford is back for ASU, and Joshua DeCady, who made 23 starts for Hofstra last season, is the Pride's lone notable returner.

Arizona State's portal haul

Bennett's first roster leans on proven production from smaller leagues and the West Coast Conference. Paulius Murauskas arrives from Saint Mary's after scoring 18.4 points a game last season. His offensive rating of 125.1 (points produced per 100 possessions) shows that volume came with efficiency.

Ben Defty, from Boston University, is the interior finisher. He shot 69.4% from the field last season and blocked 1.8 shots a game. Joel Foxwell, from Portland, ran an offense with 6.5 assists a game. Dillan Shaw, Murauskas' Saint Mary's teammate, adds spacing after hitting 41.6% of his threes.

The question is how fast those parts fit together. Arizona State hosts East Tennessee State on Nov. 2 to open the Bennett era, and this game follows soon after.

Hofstra's backcourt bets on volume

Hofstra replaced its scoring guards with two from Loyola Chicago. Justin Moore averaged 10.9 points there last season. Deywilk Tavarez is a high-volume shooter who attempted 210 threes and made 31.4% of them. Neither was efficient last season, so the Pride need a jump from both to replace what Davis and Edmead supplied.

The more intriguing addition is Imanuel Zorgvol from Youngstown State. He blocked 1.9 shots a game last season in a part-time role. He is the most natural answer on the roster for Defty's work around the rim. Spence Wewe, from Quinnipiac, adds a rebounding forward. Two roster listings for the Pride don't match, so the starting lineup can't be confirmed.

Claxton's continuity, Bennett's blank slate

Hofstra has the edge in one place: the sideline. Claxton is in his fifth season, and his system survived the roster churn even if the players didn't. Last season that system produced an elite interior defense, holding opponents to 44.0% on two-point shots, 3rd of 365. It also played slowly, at 65.4 possessions per 40 minutes, 294th in the country.

Arizona State has no such baseline. Hurley's last team played fast, but that tempo belongs to a different staff. Bennett's first season also followed a spring health issue that pushed his formal introduction to early May. Joe Rahon and Rick Croy join him as associate head coaches. How the Sun Devils want to play is unknown until they take the floor against East Tennessee State.

What to watch

Hofstra's road to Tempe is busy. The Pride host St. Joseph's Long Island on Nov. 2 and play at Princeton on Nov. 5, then fly west for a late tip on ESPN+.

• Defty and Murauskas against Zorgvol. If ASU's frontcourt scores easily, Hofstra's interior defense from last season didn't make the trip.
• Tavarez's shot volume. A streaky shooter on a new team can swing a game alone.
• Foxwell's playmaking. He ran Portland's offense, and ASU needs that from day one.
• Tempo. A slow game suits Claxton's identity. A fast one suggests Bennett's group is comfortable early.