Arizona State lugs an eight-game home losing streak into what could be head coach Bobby Hurley’s last regular-season game with the Sun Devils, when No. 9 Texas Tech visits Saturday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Multiple media reports indicated Hurley could be on the way out after a 10-year run that featured three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Arizona State (13-17, 4-15 Big 12) has lost three consecutive games and is 1-9 in its last 10 and is destined for a fourth losing season in five years.
“It’s very easy to just let go of the rope and feel sorry for yourself and not compete,” Hurley said. “These guys have stayed together through all the chaos that we’ve had and the unfortunate things that have gone on but they, and Mason in particular, have shown leadership.”
The Sun Devils have been without leading scorer BJ Freeman the last two weeks after he was dismissed for conduct detrimental to the team. They have also not had post player Jayden Quaintance (right knee) over the last three games.
Adam Miller (hip) played only the first minute of Tuesday’s 113-100 loss at No. 24 Arizona before aggravating his injury.
Alston Mason finished with a season-high 33 points against Arizona.
“I feel bad for the kids. I’ve done a lot in the game. And I appreciate every moment I get to do what I do,” Hurley said. “But this is like their moment, and I feel like this season has been robbed from us to a degree just with unfortunate injuries spread (throughout the season.) And maybe all those injuries collectively have added to why we lost maybe another four or five games we could’ve won.”
The Sun Devils reached 100 points in regulation for the first time this season despite having only five scholarship players available by time the game ended. Basheer Jihad and Shawn Phillips Jr. fouled out of the game in the waning minutes. They eclipsed the century mark on Feb. 12 when they lost at Texas Tech 111-106 in double overtime.
Since their meeting with Arizona State in Lubbock, Texas, the Red Raiders have lost to TCU and Houston but won at Kansas 78-73 last week to improve to 2-22 at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.
Texas Tech (23-7, 14-5) is 7-2 on the road this season.
The Red Raiders are coming off a 91-75 win at home against Colorado on Wednesday night. They tied a program record with 16 made 3-pointers.
Kerwin Walton made four 3-pointers and Chance McMillian and Christian Anderson each had three.
“Man, what a fun team to coach, because all of them are unselfish,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “Our team really does share the basketball and everybody can shoot, so how do you defend it?”
A Texas Tech victory guarantees a second-place finish in the Big 12 regular season behind Houston, which lost only one conference game and secured the regular-season conference title last week.
The Red Raiders are the only Big 12 team to defeat the Cougars, back on Feb. 1 at Houston.
In a double-overtime win over Arizona State in the previous meeting, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin had a career-high 41 points and 15 rebounds and Darrion Williams had 27 points.
Toppin is coming off a 30-point, 14-rebound performance in the win over Colorado on Wednesday.
If Quaintance is unavailable because of his knee injury, Arizona State faces a huge challenge against Toppin and the Red Raiders’ frontcourt.
The Sun Devils were outscored 52-30 in the paint in their loss at Arizona on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
