Bobby Hurley Discusses What Went Wrong in Loss to Arizona

The Arizona State head coach reflected on a pair of competitive contests against their bitter rival.

Jan. 31, 2026 at 7:55pm

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Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley discussed his team's 87-74 loss to the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. Hurley praised his team's effort in the first half, but acknowledged that Arizona's physical dominance wore down the Sun Devils in the second half. Hurley also noted his team's struggles on offense, including poor free throw shooting and three-point shooting. Despite the loss, Hurley was pleased with his team's overall performance and believes they have the potential to be a competitive team, though they have yet to fully realize it over a full 40-minute game.

Why it matters

This game was part of the heated rivalry between Arizona State and Arizona, two of the top teams in the Pac-12 conference. The loss drops Arizona State to 13-9 on the season, making their path to the NCAA tournament more difficult. However, Hurley's comments suggest the Sun Devils have shown they can compete with the best teams in the conference, even if they haven't been able to pull off a season-defining win yet.

The details

Arizona State came out strong in the first half, tying the game at 38 going into halftime. However, the Wildcats' physical dominance and depth wore down the Sun Devils in the second half. Arizona State struggled offensively, shooting just 27-65 from the floor, 8-24 from three-point range, and missing 8 free throws. Despite the loss, Hurley was encouraged by his team's effort and believes they are close to putting everything together, though they have yet to do so over a full 40-minute game.

  • The game was played on January 31, 2026 at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona.

The players

Bobby Hurley

The 11th-year head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball team.

Bryce Ford

A guard for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Koa Peat

A forward for the Arizona Wildcats.

Allen Mukeba

A forward for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Massamba Diop

A center for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

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What they’re saying

“This game felt like very similar to like a mirror of our last game in Tucson, just really good first half, and then you know, whether it's they're just too big and physical that you know they wear you down, and eventually... the encouragement of having our defense in front of us in the first half and now down at the other end, and we just weren't able to stand up to challenge on the interior, whether that meant, you know, stopping their drives or getting a big defensive rebound when we needed to, we still had our chances.”

— Bobby Hurley, Head Coach, Arizona State Sun Devils

“We didn't shoot free throws well. think we were four for 15 on unguarded threes. So things against the team, as good as this Arizona team, is you can't afford to do those things offensively.”

— Bobby Hurley, Head Coach, Arizona State Sun Devils

What’s next

The Sun Devils will look to bounce back when they take on the Utah Utes on the road on Wednesday night.

The takeaway

Despite the loss, this game showed that the Arizona State Sun Devils have the potential to be a competitive team in the Pac-12, even against the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats. However, they have yet to fully put it all together over a full 40-minute game, an issue Hurley acknowledged they need to address moving forward.