A month away from Randy Bennett's first season in Tempe, the Sun Devils are already making splashes.
In a way.
College basketball outlet and broadcast platform "The Field of 68" posted its non-conference schedule "Cupcake Awards" for the upcoming 2026-2027 season.
On the list? Utah, Stanford and Arizona State.
New Era, Soft Launch
ASU earned the label of cupcake for its non-conference schedule by being one of just three power-conference programs to have 10 or more buy games on their schedule.
Here is how it shapes up:
(Buy Games in Bold)
vs. East Tennessee State
vs. Northern Colorado
vs. Hofstra
vs. University of Louisiana-Monroe
vs. Oakland
vs. LSU (Neutral Site)
vs. South Carolina (Neutral Site)
vs. Montana
vs. Oklahoma (Neutral Site)
vs. Mercer
at Oregon State
vs. San Diego
vs. Idaho
vs. Southern Illinois
That's 10 buy games and four high-major games, with only one of them being a true road game.
For reference, 2025's schedule included a ranked home matchup against Gonzaga, a ranked road game against UCLA, a neutral site meeting with tournament-bound Santa Clara, an invitational against ranked Texas and USC and a road game against Hawaii.
A Pattern For Bennett?
In his 25 seasons at Saint Mary's, Bennett caught some criticism for his "soft" scheduling.
However, it's not easy for a mid-major program like the Gaels to piece together a competitive non-conference schedule. Big programs refuse to schedule home-and-homes and instead make you travel, as the smaller schools have to look out for their resume at the same time.
Bennett won the WCC tournament four times and the regular-season title seven times, focusing on conference play as the key to the Gaels punching their ticket for March.
But now at ASU, the options for creating a non-conference schedule expand. Since Bennett took over in the spring, it has been a rapid pace for the program to get up to speed. It is no surprise that scheduling likely took a backseat for this offseason.
But for the seasons to come, what will Bennett's scheduling philosophy be? Will he continue his ways, or change with the times?
A Big Task In The Big 12
Overall, ASU already sits in a good position with the talent of the Big 12.
Eight Big 12 teams made March Madness last season, displaying the quality of competition in conference play. No matter what their non-conference schedule looks like, the Sun Devils will still have a prime opportunity to build a resume.
But that raises another question: will the Sun Devils be able to compete in a loaded conference?
ASU has not had a winning conference record since 2022-2023, back in the PAC-12. Since joining the Big 12, the Devils have a 11-27 record in conference play.
For a coach who made his living on excellence in conference play, Bennett will need to follow the same blueprint for the 2026-2027 season.
ASU Men's Basketball will open their season at home against East Tennessee State on Nov. 2.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arizonastate as Randy Bennett, Arizona State Men's Basketball's Non-Conference Schedule Labeled "Cupcake" For 2026-2027.