Monday night had its ups and downs for ASU men's basketball, but a win is a win, especially for Randy Bennett's first game in Tempe.

While the new staff and roster get through their growing pains, there was still plenty to take away for Sun Devil fans. What should be expected in Friday's contest vs. Northern Colorado?

A Brand of Smart Basketball

A lot of fans were hoping for a more impressive victory and winning margin in the season opener, but the ASU faithful were still pleased with their first glimpse at Randy Bennett's system.

The days of relying on big-time guard play and Bobby Hurley getting in the referees' ears are gone. Now, it's all about taking care of the ball and smart offensive ball movement, while Bennett watches on with his calm demeanor.

The days of "Guard U' and the Remy Martins of the world running around are now traded in for size and length with an emphasis on defense and rebounding.

Even in the win, Bennett talked about his displeasure with not living up to the identity.

"I thought our rebounding had been bad, and we were inconsistent tonight," Bennett said. "We're usually a very good rebounding team. We should be. We have good size, but we're just not there yet. Our habits aren't where they need to be."

Lacking what they need on the defensive side and in rebounding, the Devils still found a win, finding a a way to win "ugly". Something that Hurley's teams lacked.

Can The Center Position Come Alive? And Who?

After ASU's final exhibition in New Mexico, Bennett talked about how the center position left a lot to be desired.

"We got outplayed at the five, so I don't think the size helped us, and it needs to help us, or we need to go a different route. And I think they'll step up, and that's what they heard in the locker room: we lost the boards, and that can't happen."

On Monday night, Filip Malesevic stepped up.

Malesevic came off the bench and went four-for-four from the field and brought down six rebounds, outplaying starting center Ben Defty (0-4, 2 REBs).

Can Malesevic provide consistency from the five? Does he need to be inserted into the starting lineup? Or will he be a bench piece to build around?

Stars Will (Need To) Shine

Captains Paulius Murauskas and Dillan Shaw went a combined 10-for-25 from the field on Monday night, including 2-for-11 from three-point range.

This was in large part due to East Tennessee's defensive scheme, doubling up on Paulius and blitzing ball screens at Shaw.

"They got aggressive on those on-ball screens, so they're gonna they're gonna blitz you, and they're gonna come," Bennett said. "Dylan's in an on-ball, he's not used to being blitzed in an on-ball. He hasn't had that much experience doing that in his career, but he'll get better at it."

Bennett went on to talk about his belief in the team's depth and their talented roster, but it is hard to imagine the Sun Devils having a lot of success this season without their top two players shooting well.

It was the difference in Albuquerque, with the two former Saint Mary's forwards combining for 53 of ASU's 91 points.

Northern Colorado prioritizes running opponents off the three-point line, meaning Friday night may be another make-or-break evening for the Sun Devils from behind the arc.

Who Will "D-Up" in Innocenti's Absence?

It has been made clear through preseason play and the first game that ASU G/F Emmanuel Innocenti is ASU's main defender when it comes to guarding top talent.

The Ivory Coast native was tasked with guarding all-conference guard Jake Hall in New Mexico, followed up with top guard BJ Ward for East Tennessee.

When Innocenti left the Monday contest with a sprained ankle, Ward started to rise.

The Buccaneer guard finished with 25 points, a career high, as ASU felt the absence almost immediately.

With Northern Colorado coming to town, Big Sky Conference Preseason Most Valuable Player Langston Reynolds comes with them. Reynolds spent one season with Minnesota after three with No. Colorado, returning to the Bears for his fifth and final year.

Reynolds averaged 16 points per game in 2024-2025 for No. Colorado, thriving in head coach Steve Smiley's up-tempo system.

What will the answer be to stifling this high-octane offense? ASU will try to solve the riddle while getting back to their team identity, Friday night at Desert Financial Arena.