It’s never one thing when you’re in a losing streak. It’s a lot of little things that add up. Such is the case for the Arizona State men’s basketball team, which has lost seven of its last eight games after a promising start to the season.
The Sun Devils sit at 10-9 overall and 1-5 in Big 12 play heading into the Jan. 24 game against Cincinnati (10-9, 2-4) at Desert Financial Arena.
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One particular play summed up the 75-63 loss to West Virginia on Jan. 21 at Desert Financial Arena. The Sun Devils led 37-32, and West Virginia had the ball with 22 seconds left in the first half. The Sun Devils took a timeout, and coach Bobby Hurley told his team that once it got late in the shot clock, to foul in the backcourt before the Mountaineers could attempt a 3-pointer.
ASU had a foul to give, and none of the players in the game had a foul. Sophomore guard Noah Meeusen was on the ball defending West Virginia’s best player, Honor Huff, as the shot clock wound down. He didn’t foul, and Huff ended up draining a long 3-pointer at the buzzer. Instead of going into the locker room up by five points and feeling good about that half, ASU was up by just two, and it was West Virginia feeling good about where it stood.
“We talked about taking a foul at the end of the half,” Hurley said. “This is why things that we might draw up on a board in a huddle don’t get executed sometimes, because there isn’t a commitment to listening, and we lack discipline in terms of listening to some of the things I am trying to get across. So my voice is not working with this group, and that was a great example of it.”
Hurley is rounding out his 11th year as the program’s leader. He is in the final year of his contract, and with this being the third straight season of disappointing results, it would appear his time in Tempe is coming to a close.
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Hurley wears his emotions. That can be both good and bad. He has never been one to mince words.
Asked after the game if it was the most dejected he has felt after a loss, the only thing he offered was, “yeah, it is in terms of the light in the tunnel, it’s hard to see a lot of light.”
With the school administration not offering a contract extension, Hurley was put in the always difficult position of trying to recruit players who couldn’t be sure the staff that recruited them would remain.
Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley reacts against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the second half at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Jan. 21, 2026.
Hurley leaned into the international market, the top prospect, the top athlete being 7-foot-1 freshman center Massamba Diop, a native of Senegal, who many opposing coaches have lauded as a future NBA talent. He got a veteran point guard in Moe Odum from Pepperdine, one of those consummate team leaders.
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The team was 9-2, and things looked promising. Then came an inexplicable loss to Oregon State that Hurley admitted was a setback.
Hurley has praised this team all season from a character standpoint. On multiple occasions this season, he has talked about his players’ unselfish nature and how he doesn’t have to worry about a player sulking on the bench after being taken out of the game, as has been the case with coveted prospects in the past. That is fine and dandy, but the Sun Devils appear to have lost their way, and Hurley admittedly isn’t sure how to right the ship.
“We failed,” he said. “I’m failing. I can’t get through to the team. So I don’t know what else I can say.”
Hurley also knows he hasn’t given the local faithful much to root for. The Big 12 is known for its stellar men’s basketball. Whether or not Hurley has been given the resources he needs to compete with the national juggernauts is a debate for another day.
Arizona State Sun Devils forward Santiago Trouet (1) is pressured by West Virginia Mountaineers forward DJ Thomas (5) on Jan. 21, 2026, at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe.
Hurley reflected on the first half of his tenure, one in which the now-dilapidated arena was near capacity. ASU’s record on its home floor the last six years is a not-so-impressive 46-35. The last season ASU qualified for the NCAA Tournament was 2023-24. That year, ASU was 10-5 at home.
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The team was 13-3 at home in 2019-20, the year the postseason was cancelled due to COVID. The Sun Devils won 23 games and were 13-3 at home the previous year as well.
“We had this place cooking before COVID,” Hurley said. “Now it’s just a sterile environment. We don’t win here. We don’t give our fans any reason to show up with enthusiasm and think that we’re going to win a basketball game. We have been dreadful at home for years.”
Injuries haven’t helped. The Sun Devils have been down to eight players in recent games, and two athletes who were likely going to be starters or, at best, significant contributors off the bench have yet to play.
The next game will be a test of Hurley’s resolve and his players’. After this one comes the return matchup against Arizona, this time in Tempe.
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Say what you want about Hurley, he cares. And he cares deeply; that’s why the losses are eating away at him.
Cincinnati (10-9, 2-4) at Arizona State (10-9, 1-5)
Time/Date: 8 p.m. MST, Jan. 24, Desert Financial Arena.
TV: CBS Sports. Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7.
About the matchup: This will be the only meeting between the teams this season. They played once last season, in Cincinnati, with the Bearcats prevailing, 67-60.
About the Bearcats: Cincinnati is coming off a 77-51 loss to No. 1 Arizona at McKale Center. Senior forward Baba Miller (13.2 ppg, 10.5 rpg), a transfer from Florida Atlantic, had 14 points in that loss. Sophomore center Moustapha Thiam (10.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg), a newcomer from Central Florida, is also a presence with which ASU will have to contend.
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About the Sun Devils: ASU is looking to regroup from a 75-63 loss to West Virginia. Senior point guard Moe Odum (16.4 ppg, 6.5 apg) had 17 points and eight assists in that loss. Freshman center Massamba Diop (14.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Anthony “Pig” Johnson (13.8 ppg) are also averaging double figures.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: As losses pile up, ASU coach Hurley not hiding frustrations
