Bobby Hurley believes Sun Devils’ resume warrants NCAA Tournament bid
Mar 11, 2023, 1:14 AM | Updated: 1:15 am
Head coach Bobby Hurley of the Arizona State Sun Devils looks on in the second half of a semifinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Arena on March 10, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Wildcats defeated the Sun Devils 78-59. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Sitting at 22-12 on the season, Arizona State men’s basketball head coach Bobby Hurley believes his team has done enough to deserve an NCAA Tournament bid.
Fresh of his team’s 78-59 Pac-12 semifinal loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Friday night, the head coach remained confident that ASU should be among the names called on selection Sunday.
“I truly believe that if you take our three best wins and compare them to other bubble teams, I really don’t think it’s close,” Hurley told reporters postgame. “We won 22 games in a power conference. I mean, how much more do you really have to do? I think these guys deserve it. And the other thing is, there’s Quad 1 wins and then there are really good Quad 1 wins.
“Any time you go on a neutral (site) and beat Creighton or you beat USC on a neutral or you go to Arizona to win. Those are serious wins. They’re not sitting on your home court gobbling up a Quad 1 game. I’m hopeful with all the things I stated that we would have a really, really good chance at getting into the NCAA Tournament.”
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ASU enters the weekend squarely on the bubble, sitting 60th in NET rating as of Friday evening and is 5-5 against Quad 1 schools.
Following ASU’s loss to Arizona, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Sun Devils among three teams (Pittsburgh and Oklahoma State) vying for two spots.
Pittsburgh (22-11) is coming off a 96-69 loss to Duke on Thursday. Oklahoma State (18-15) fell 61-47 to Texas the same day.
