Jan 24, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils guard Maurice Odum (5) celebrates with teammates Anthony Johnson (2) and Bryce Ford (4) against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Discussing Arizona State's Last Second Loss to UCF

Originally posted on Arizona State Sun Devils on SI
By Kevin Hicks | Last updated Jan 29, 2026 10:00 AM ET

TEMPE -- In today's episode of the Arizona State Sun Devils Insider Podcast, we take a look at the 79-76 loss to the UCF Knights on Tuesday night, which was a heart-wrenching loss that might be difficult to move beyond. Topics such as the Sun Devils' margin for error moving forward and reflecting on what went wrong in the loss are discussed.

To listen to today's podcast, view below.

Below is a partial transcript from head coach Bobby Hurley's post-game press conference on Saturday, January 24 - when the Sun Devils defeated Cincinnati by a score of 82-68. Hurley discussed a myriad of topics, including praising individual players, reflecting on previous comments made following a past loss, and much more.

On Reflecting on 2025-26 Roster, Refocusing

"I, you know, after the game the other night, told everybody that I love coaching this team, because they are tough and resilient and they battle, and that's what they did. We had a really good practice yesterday, and I think there was carryover effect to that to this game was probably the best we've been concentrated and focused day before a game, and we looked like the team that we were early in the season."

On Motivation Behind Challenging Team

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not like a total idiot. I'm probably a partial idiot. So, like, I there's always things that I say that, like, even in terms of the crowd, like, that should be the first thing that I said tonight, but I didn't really mention that they I thought were really good. I think we gave them something to cheer about. So it's a two way street, and it was far better, and we had a good advantage in that regard. But there was a part of what I said was to hopefully get through to the players, to be able to lock in a little more and concentrate on these little details. The margin of error is very slim at this level and in this league to win games."

On Noah Meeusen’s Strong Performance

"Noah just happened to be the lightning rod at the end there. Like he's really not usually like that, like he's very cerebral about how he thinks about the game and wanting to develop his IQ for the game, and he already has a strong understanding of how to play, and he understands angles on defense. He's very active with his hands."

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Read more on the bold strategy that head coach Bobby Hurley employed with comments on 1/21 here, and on why Arizona State may have saved the season with the win over Cincinnati on Saturday here..