ASU Basketball: Top 5 games of the upcoming season

It is hard to believe, but the Arizona State men's basketball season is less than two months away.

Long gone are the days of Jahii Carson and Jordan Bachynski. Now it is time for Shaquielle McKissic and co. to lead the Sun Devil basketball squad.

With the schedule now released, we take a look at the top five games of the upcoming season.

Maryland, Nov. 24 (CBE Classic-Kansas City)

This will really be the first chance we will get to see the Sun Devils play a decent team. The Terrapins have brought in four new four-star recruits according to Scout, including shooting guard Romelo Trimble. Trimble is considered one of the top guards of his class, and will likely be Arizona State's first clash against an elite player.

This will be Arizona State's fourth game of the season, and hopefully by this time there will be a better understanding of what the starting line up will look like.

UNLV, Dec. 3 (Tempe)

For the second straight year, Arizona State will face off against the Runnin' Rebels. Last year, Jahii Carson had one of the most impressive performances of his career as he went off for 40 points, and the Sun Devils won 86-80.

This year's game will be a much different affair, however, since both teams lost key starters. But, don't be surprised to see UNLV guard Rashad Vaughn throw down 40 points of his own in Tempe. Vaughn was listed as a five-star recruit by Rivals, and the eighth best guard overall.

Harvard, Dec. 28 (Tempe)

As we saw in last year's NCAA tournament, Harvard is not a team to be overlooked. The Crimson will be Arizona State's toughest test non-conference test before Pac-12 play kicks off. This will also likely be the time when four-star JUCO transfer Savon Goodman will be eligible to play for the Sun Devils. Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker has been courted by better Division I programs like Boston College, but has elected to stay with the Crimson, molding them into an Ivy League power over the past seven seasons.

Arizona, Jan. 5 (Tucson)

The Sun Devils and the Wildcats open up conference play against each other. Even though the Wildcats are projected to be national championship  contenders, they have struggled against the Sun Devils as of late. In the past seven years, ASU has an 8-7 record against Arizona. And, who can forget last season's double overtime upset over the then-No. 2 Wildcats.

UCLA, Feb. 15 (Tempe)

Despite the fact that the Bruins are losing Jordan Adams, the Wear twins (yes, they're finally gone), and Kyle Anderson, this team will still be extremely dangerous in the Pac-12. Former five-star recruit Isaac Hamilton will finally make his collegiate debut (sat out last season after transferring from UTEP) and guard Norman Powell will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.

Arizona State has not hosted UCLA since January 26, 2013. In that game, the Sun Devils upset the Bruins 78-60 (and Carrick Felix's last second emphatic block is memorable to this day).