ASU Basketball Announces Series With Former Pac-12 Rival

Bobby Hurley is set to enter year 11 of head coach of the Arizona State men's basketball program with his back against the wall once again.

Hurley is in the final year of his contract and has been tasked with completely reshaping his roster in a manner that hasn't been seen from him in many years - relying much more on veterans with solid floors compared to previous iterations of Sun Devil basketball.

The new roster construction has been met with a fair amount of skepticism, but that hasn't prohibited Hurley from curating a challenging non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season - with Big 12 play in mind as well.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein relayed the news that the Sun Devils will be hosting a former Pac-12 foe in the UCLA Bruins in the upcoming season before traveling to Los Angeles in 2026-27 a short time ago - as per Bruins head coach Mick Cronin.

"NEWS: UCLA and Arizona State will begin a home-and-home series this season in Westwood, per Mick Cronin.

Return game in 2026-27 in Tempe."

Arizona State and UCLA have a storied history in shared competition - the Bruins lead the all-time series 69-24, but the Sun Devils have been much more competitive in recent meetings - the last of which was on January 17, 2024.

Cronin's UCLA program joins Texas, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, and Oregon State as prominent basketball programs that are on the non-conference slate for Hurley ahead of Big 12 play that will feature defending national runner-ups in Houston, among other teams that should be elite.

Hurley's roster - as mentioned previously - is a veteran-laden group that is a mix of transfers and overseas players that give the roster depth that hasn't been present for some time.

Moe Odum brings a pure point guard to the table that has rarely been a reality on Hurley's teams, while players such as Marcus Adams Jr. bring floor spacing to the table that also wasn't prevalent in recent years.

The team is set to begin the new season in early November - that leaves ample time for more camaraderie to be built and for Hurley to figure out how to manage rotations, among other factors.

Read more on the football program - particularly the case for Sam Leavitt to be an All-American selection at season's end here, and on if Kenny Dillingham has any built-in recruiting advantages in his role here.