TEMPE – Before heading to the locker room at halftime, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley stopped and scratched his head, puzzled by the scoreboard — his Sun Devils trailed Georgia State by 11.
But, in the locker room, it wasn’t Hurley who laid into his team. Instead, senior point guard Moe Odum spoke up.
“I told them if you don’t want to end up on Jon Rothstein’s ‘Epitome of Brutality,’ we’ve got to pick it up,” Odum said. “I read all of that stuff. I don’t like to be embarrassed. We are a high major team.”
As the head of the snake to the ASU comeback, Odum ended the night with 24 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five steals to lead his team to a 75-62 win. He is up to 32 assists on the season, putting him on pace for 240 on the year, which would be the second most in program history.
Additionally, his 24 points are the most by a Sun Devil this season, and so are his nine assists.
Despite the Bronx-native being a typical pass-first point guard, Hurley wasn’t surprised by Odum’s scoring burst.
“He can take over the game scoring the ball,” Hurley said. “He did it in the WCC tournament last year. It is not like he can only pass and not score. He can do a little bit of both.”
From the opening tip, Odum controlled the game. He had a hand in the first four ASU baskets, either scoring or assisting. As the point guard and leader, he also sets the standard for the group, especially in the guard room.
During the halftime break, Odum said he made it a point to talk with fellow guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson to get him going.
Following a half in which it was outscored 17-4 in bench points in the first half, the Sun Devils’ reserves, led by Johnson, flipped the script.
Johnson scored 13 points in the second half after being held scoreless before the break. His high-energy effort on both ends and a series of emphatic dunks ignited the ASU crowd to life and shifted the momentum.
AND THIS PIGGY WENT ON A FLIGHT ✈️
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 18, 2025
📺 ESPN+@PigGlizzy2 pic.twitter.com/7vv74Y9fZB
“I thought Pig Johnson’s energy in the open court and what he did defensively turned the game around for us,” Hurley said.
Amongst the guards, sophomore Noah Meeusen made an impact, even without scoring, in his Sun Devil debut.
“I know he only had 2 points, but you can see the potential,” Odum said. “If you watch the film, you will realize what Noah was doing. And you’re going to say that, that boy played really good.”
Even though Meeusen only scored two points, he made an impact all over the court. Defensively, he was sharp, especially in the press, forcing two turnovers.
Most importantly, Meeusen played 17 minutes, relieving some of the point guard role off of Odum’s shoulders. Following ASU’s loss to Gonzaga, Hurley said he wanted to make it an emphasis to give Odum some more rest.
Now with Meeusen in the rotation, the guard room is starting to shape up for the Sun Devils, as they prepare for the Maui Invitational. Still, Odum believes the game should also serve as a wake-up call to the team.
“We came into this game underestimating Georgia State and almost got our heads blown off,” Odum said. “It is a lesson to me and my teammates that we can never underestimate anybody outside the Power Five. At the end of the day, we have all been at the mid-major level or below, so we all know how that feels.”
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