Sun Devils selected to 2023 First Four, first appearance since 2019

(Photo: Alyssa Buruato/WCSN)

Amid a time when questions surrounded Arizona State men’s basketball’s postseason hopes, head coach Bobby Hurley had “a feeling in my heart” that his program accomplished enough to achieve an NCAA Tournament berth. As the Selection Show announced ASU would head to Dayton to play Nevada, his reaction to the moment was simple — a celebratory jump into his pool at the team’s watch party at his house.

“It’s a fantastic feeling, just everything we’ve been through,” Hurley said. “You reflect on the whole journey, and to — there’s a lot of ups and downs along the way — and just really excited for the kids. They wanted it badly, I think we put together the type of season that was more than deserving for this opportunity.”

The Sun Devils were selected in the First Four of the West bracket, slatting them a contest with Nevada, where senior forward Warren Washington and fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. played before transferring to Tempe. With the limited time between Selection Sunday and the First Four, Hurley said preparation will begin immediately, even somewhat jokingly revealing Cambridge and Washington will be “involved in that scouting report.”

“It was ironic that that played out the way it did,” Hurley said. “I haven’t had a real opportunity to get their feelings on it. It was chaos in my house and then kind of everybody dispersed. and so it was I’ll get their thoughts as we go. But it’s, I don’t know how much more motivation need really. You’re in NCAA Tournament. So but yeah, it is a subplot certainly of storyline here for the NCAA tournament.”

ASU’s journey to achieve a Tournament bid was hectic, making a single appearance in the AP Top 25 poll before a 37-point loss to San Francisco. After opening the campaign 15-3 and a 6-1 start to Pac-12 play, Hurley and his squad finished the year 5-8 in its last 13 regular season games.

“It goes back to the Bay Area,” Hurley said. “Like we knew we had to win those two (Pac-12 Tournament games). It was must-win games for our season, and the guys stepped up. And then we were just trying to win everything we could, at Arizona and the (quarterfinal) USC game is definitely a significant game. I really, personally didn’t share this with the players, but I felt a ton of pressure that whole day knowing that I had to deliver a good performance, so we needed to win that game in order to have a legitimate chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.”

During Hurley’s eight-year regime, the Sun Devils have made the First Four twice, splitting their appearance. The 2023 Tournament marks the first time ASU will be in the First Four since 2019, where it defeated St. John’s before losing in the next round to Buffalo. Since that run, Hurley believes he learned a lot about himself and his best approach to coaching a team.

“I think that I have a better feel for who I am, really, and what I value,” Hurley said. “I think I’ve worked on trying to be a little less volatile, and just keeping my composure more and let my guys feed off a more composed version of myself. I mean, I still get after I’m very passionate and will still — from time to time — stray with the officials. But I’ve worked hard on that just to be more rock solid.”