Mar 8, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley during the National Anthem at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images

Arizona State Basketball Continues to Make Tournament Case

Originally posted on Arizona State Sun Devils on SI
By Kevin Hicks | Last updated Dec 17, 2025 4:00 PM ET

TEMPE -- A balanced offense, rapidly evolving defense, and phenomenal coaching job by Bobby Hurley have catapulted the 2025-26 Arizona State basketball program to a 9-2 record to start the season, with another opportunity to pick up a quality win on Wednesday night against the UCLA Bruins.

The Sun Devils currently rank 51st in NCAA NET rankings as of Tuesday, placing them firmly within the NCAA tournament picture, at least according to historical precedent.

The consistently impressive start to the season has started to raise eyebrows from respected pundits as well - ASU on SI explores the program's tournament hopes as it stands at the tail-end of non-conference play.

Where Does Arizona State Figure Into Tournament Race?

Longtime ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has Arizona State as the last team in as of December 16, which serves as a point of another influential individual within the sport beginning to pay attention to the scrappy Sun Devils.

This placement currently has the program facing off against Big 12 rival Baylor in the "first four" in Dayton, Ohio, as part of the East region of the tournament - the winner would face six-seed Virginia in the round of 64.

While Arizona State is in an optimal position to reach the ultimate goal of an NCAA tournament appearance, more work must be done to actually make it.

Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What Do Sun Devils Need to Secure Tournament Spot?

Arizona State either has played or is going to play 13 teams that are at the very least on the bubble to reach the tournament per Lunardi.

Gonzaga, Oklahoma, and UCLA are the non-conference foes that are currently in-play to make it to March, while nine other Big 12 programs are currently in the field, with Colorado on the edge of being in currently.

Analytics site Team Rankings has the Sun Devils at a 32.5% chance to make the tournament with 18 victories, at 79.4% at 19 wins, and a 95.4% chance when crossing 20 wins.

The Sun Devils would enter Big 12 play with 11 victories - assuming they close out non-conference play by defeating UCLA and Oregon State. This would mean that the team would be going into conference play with a trio of quality victories, with many more opportunities to pick up resumé-defining triumphs.

Seven conference wins plus a win in the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City three months down the road appear to be enough to get them to the finish line, although a marquee win in the league is preferred instead of solely relying on wins over lower-tier teams such as Utah and Cincinnati.

Anna Carrington-Imagn Images

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on why the bright future of the football program isn’t dimmed by the loss to Arizona here.

This article first appeared on Arizona State Sun Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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