Happy Monday! Enjoy the relative quiet before tomorrow's Election Day storm.

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, high of 72 with increasing clouds in the evening.

Today’s newsletter is 1,068 words — a 4-minute read.

After 11 middling-to-disappointing years under Bobby Hurley, the Arizona State men's basketball team is hoping for a fresh start under new head coach Randy Bennett.

Why it matters: The Sun Devils haven't made the NCAA tournament since 2023 — and never made it past the first round under Hurley — but Bennett brings a long history of success from his quarter-century stint at St. Mary's.

Catch up quick: ASU parted ways with Hurley after last season, in which the Sun Devils went just 17-16. It hired Bennett, a 64-year-old Mesa native, to replace him.

• Bennett's introduction notably was delayed five weeks due to an undisclosed health issue.
• He brings a winning pedigree: He holds a .721 winning percentage and led St. Mary's to the NCAA tournament 12 times in 25 seasons, advancing past the first round five times.

State of play: Bennett has completely reshaped the ASU roster through transfers. Only two players return from last year's team, one of whom missed the entire season with an injury.

• The most notable additions are senior forward Paulius Murauskas, who followed Bennett from St. Mary's, and senior Gonzaga transfer Emmanuel Innocenti.
• Altogether, ASU's transfer class was ranked first in the Big 12 Conference and 13th in the nation by 247Sports.

Yes, but: Expectations for the Sun Devils are not high this season.

• Multiple preseason polls pegged the ASU to finish 12th in the 16-team conference.
• Six of those teams are ranked in the top 25 nationally by the Associated Press, including rival Arizona, which is ranked fifth coming off a Final Four appearance.
• An ESPN bracket projection has ASU missing the tournament, despite the tourney's expansion from 68 to 76 teams.

Zoom out: Bennett's already setting the Sun Devils up for his second season, though, with two four-star recruits ranked in the top 100 by Rivals.

• ASU also picked up a commitment from Phoenix native Jakyi Miles, who ranks highly in the 2028 class but is reclassifying to be eligible to play next season.

What's next: The Sun Devils begin their season at home at 8pm today against East Tennessee State.

Forks up

The Arizona Wildcats lost most of the players from last season's Final Four squad but should be back in the national championship conversation after bringing back two starters and reloading with highly touted recruits and transfers.

The big picture: The Cats start the men's basketball season as the No. 5 team nationally and are favored to win the Big 12 for a second consecutive year.

Catch up quick: UofA last season made its first Final Four appearance in 25 years, where they lost to Michigan.

• The Cats lost freshman phenoms Brayden Burries and Koa Peat to the NBA draft while seniors Jaden Bradley, Tobe Awaka and Anthony Dell'Orso ran out of eligibility.

State of play: Head coach Tommy Lloyd still has some serious talent returning from last season, most notably center Motiejus Krivas.

• The 7-foot-2 Lithuanian is coming off a breakout season and is a preseason first-team Associated Press All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year going into his senior year.

Zoom in: Five-star shooting guard Caleb Holt, who's already being discussed as a top-five pick in next year's NBA draft, headlines Lloyd's recruiting class this season, and much of the Cats' success could depend on him.

What's next: The Cats open their season at 8pm today against former Pac-12 rival UCLA, the No. 22 team in the country.

Bear down

Arizonans have a new option this year to bypass the signature verification process for early ballots, potentially speeding up the state's infamously long vote-counting process.

Context: Voters write their signatures on their early ballot envelopes, and election workers use the signatures to verify voters' identities as ballots arrive in the mail.

• When voters drop off early ballots on Election Day, election workers can't begin verifying signatures until the next day, potentially causing significant delays in finalizing results.

State of play: A 2024 law, which created a new system this year, allows voters to show ID when they drop off early ballots. This lets them bypass signature verification.

• Voters can do this through the close of polls on Election Day.

What we're watching: If a significant number of voters show their ID to skip signature verification when they drop off early ballots on Election Day, we could know who won close races earlier than usual.

• About 30% of voters who dropped off early ballots on Election Day for the July primary used the new voter ID option, and about 50% in Pima County did the same.

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🗳️ The U.S. Justice Department announced an investigation into voter registration efforts by three Democratic-aligned groups in Arizona. (Axios)

🏈 The Cardinals benched quarterback Jacoby Brissett for Gardner Minshew II mid-game and came from behind for 33-30 overtime win over the Cowboys. (Arizona Sports)

🎥 The Department of Public Safety released a video days before the election touting the success of Gov. Katie Hobbs' border security task force. (Capitol Media Services)

⛈️ Flooding prompted evacuations across Arizona, including in Queen Valley, Tonto Basin, Sedona, Camp Verde and the White Mountain Apache Reservation. (Arizona's Family)

🗳️ Your local reporters are working to help you understand the races, candidates and issues shaping your community.

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Welcome to another edition of "Where in the Valley?"

How it works: We show you something cool. You tell us where it is.

• The first reader who names the spot gets a shoutout in the newsletter.

You tell us: Where in the Valley can you find this mural? Hit reply to this email with your answer.

Catch up quick: If you missed it, the location of last week's "Where in the Valley" was revealed.

• The decorative fence is at Fifth Avenue and Jackson Street in downtown Phoenix, outside the Icehouse.

☔️ Jeremy is glad the rain didn't stop his kids from trick-or-treating and getting huge candy hauls.

🤦‍♂️ Zach had what is starting to feel like a typical Sunday — sustaining two fantasy football losses and watching his Cowboys embarrass themselves.

This newsletter was edited by Jodie Lau.