Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley, the older brother to Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley, shared his thoughts on Arizona’s McKale Center following an 89-82 loss to the No. 1 Wildcats on Wednesday night in Tucson.
Led by Tommy Lloyd, Arizona is one of three Big 12 teams (Arizona, BYU and Houston) entering the weekend 4-0 in conference play.
On Wednesday, Koa Peat notched his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds against Arizona State; Tobe Awaka dropped a game-high 25 points and fetched five rebounds off the bench for the Wildcats.
Maurice Odum led the Sun Devils with 23 points on 9-of-24 shooting, including four triples; Massamba Diop added 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and six rebounds; Santiago Trouet led Arizona State on the glass with seven rebounds.
Of the atmosphere, the elder Hurley told reporters he considers Arizona, still unbeaten with 17 wins on the regular season, a team with plenty in the tank in mid-January.
“They really look like a team that can go the distance,” Hurley said. “We still have now 14 league games. If we can bottle some of what we did tonight, we have a chance to win some games when you can come into a place like this, which is top five that I’ve been in college basketball… It’s one of the best.”
With losses in five of its last six games, Arizona State turns toward another top-10 road foe, No. 7 Houston, on Saturday. The Cougars, led Emmanuel Sharp (15.9 ppg), have opened Big 12 play with four consecutive wins over West Virginia, Baylor, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati.
