TEMPE – As the flood lights of Desert Financial Arena shone down on the Tempe crowd chanting “ASU, ASU, ASU,” the Sun Devil faithful started to head toward the baseline and rush the court while senior guards Moe Odum and Anthony “Pig” Johnson, ASU coach Bobby Hurley and the entire team flapped their arms up and down to get the crowd loud.
Hurley, who couldn’t help but show a slight smile, got his first staple win of the season, allowing Odum and Johnson to get lifted and surrounded by multiple fans who stormed center court to take pictures. Hurley and his team clapped and cheered their way to the locker room as water emerged from numerous water bottles as players jumped up celebrating victory, while graduate forward Allen Mukeba stepped towards Hurley to wrap his arm around his coach to hug him.
When Bobby Hurley said he was “in his prime,” to reporters before Tuesday nights game, it befuddled many people; however, ASU’s (14-12, 5-8 Big 12) performance against No. 13 Texas Tech (19-7, 9-4 Big 12) showed the world that it wasn’t just Hurley who was in his prime, but the team itself, as they were greeted by Athletic Director Graham Rossini smiling, clapping and congratulating players as they headed back to the locker room following a 72-67 victory over the Red Raiders at Desert Financial Arena.
When asked about what the storm court meant to him, Odum broke down his thoughts and mindset about it.
“It meant a lot because I never beat Gonzaga or Saint Mary,” Odum said. “ I had to storm the court this year, not going to lie. That is all I was thinking about when I entered the portal. I have dreamed of this, so I am just so happy we could finally get one and hopefully we can get more.”
COURT STORM IN TEMPE!! ASU DEFEAT NO. 13 TEXAS TECH 72-67.@InfernoIntel pic.twitter.com/N6Lqc7KLL2
— AshtonSharinn (@AshtonSharinn18) February 18, 2026
For Hurley, ASU’s first statement win of the 2025-2026 season could not have come at a better time, with many speculating about his future. Tack on all the dismay fans have shown, negative chants, comments, or even negative articles written by pundits, Hurley was able to gain the last laugh as he silenced all the doubters and non-believers in front of many donning neon green and pink shirts, and once again reiterating to the world why he was brought into this position back in 2015.
“I do not care about doubters,” Hurley said. “I have coached against some of the best coaches in the country. I have been doing it for 11 years and I feel like I am in my element and can go toe to toe with anybody. So I am very confident in my abilities.”
To have confidence like that, Hurley credited his team as a whole, who, outside of a couple of near-costly plays in the final two minutes, played a full forty minutes.
Odum offered his thoughts on what it means to him and the rest of his team to have Hurley’s confidence throughout the year.
“It means a lot,” Odum said. “When he comes to the press conferences, and you see his comments and stuff, we do not look at it as him giving up on us. He is saying the truth and none of us takes it personally, and if we do take it personally, it is in a good way to show him that it is not who we are. It has been super fun to know that he can challenge us and we can respond back and that is how it is.”
For Hurley, this is not the first time he has pulled a rabbit out of a hat. Hurley’s six out-of-conference wins against top-25 opponents in the regular season were a feat that tied the program’s top-25 out-of-conference wins as a whole across the prior 37 seasons. Now, include his in-conference victories in his career against established top-25 teams such as Arizona, UCLA (when they were in the PAC-12) and now Texas Tech, and it backs up his point of “being in his element.”
The crowd played their role for ASU, getting loud after every takeaway, bucket and big-time play forced. Hurley, who has been disappointed with the crowds at Desert Financial Arena, was urging more fans and students to show out after the home loss to Arizona, and the Sun Devil faithful accepted the challenge and ran with it.
The DFA crowd is proving that they can hang with the upper echelon of Big 12 as the atmosphere is electric.
— AshtonSharinn (@AshtonSharinn18) February 18, 2026
The Sun Devils have their largest lead of the game as they lead the Red Raiders 67-56 with 3:26 to play, proving in their own right that they can hang with the big dogs… pic.twitter.com/LnpfyEHrxB
The squad donning the maroon and gold was tenacious on the defensive side of the ball, reminiscent of the old Hurley style of defense, as they recorded 17 turnovers, the most the Red Raiders have given up in a game this season, leading to 21 points on the other end.
It wasn’t just turnovers defensively for ASU, however. Hurley’s defense had full-court traps on lockdown, and the zone defense they played suffocated Texas Tech on the perimeter. When they finally were able to find junior forward JT Toppin, sophomore forward Santiago Trouet, freshman center Massamba Diop and others were there to force him right and take him off his rhythm.
“We had to make Toppin use his right hand,” Johnson said. “And once he used his right hand, that put everyone in the scrambler and we just had to rebound. We had to out-rebound them tonight.”
While the Sun Devils still lost the rebounding battle 36-31, they tied their fourth-lowest mark for turnovers with nine.
The Sun Devils’ offense executed a solid game against a Texas Tech team that holds its opposition to 72.4 points per game.
The 7-for-18 three-point shooting was good for a 38.9% clip while ASU shot 44.1% from the field and garnered 32 paint points, two more than Texas Tech.
Another stat that the Sun Devils outshone the Red Raiders in? Bench Points, with the Sun Devils getting 14 points off its bench, 11 of the 14 thanks to Johnson, to the Red Raiders’ eight.
Odum led the way offensively in terms of points, shooting 6-for-12 and 3-for-6 from three, accumulating 23 points while tacking on three assists.
Trouet, who was credited by coach Hurley and his teammates as constantly improving, led the team in offensive rebounds with three and had 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting, including knocking down a clutch three and having two blocks and two steals.
It was not all sunshine and roses for fans at Desert Financial Arena as with 6:03 seconds left, Toppin, who blocked Diop’s driving layup, went down clutching his knee and signaling to the medical staff he needed attention as he was writhing in pain.
JT Toppin down and clutching his knee. This would be a huge blow for the Red Raiders. Toppin leads the Red Raiders in points and rebounds and is second on the team in a plethora of categories.
— AshtonSharinn (@AshtonSharinn18) February 18, 2026
“I hope he is ok,” Hurley said. “Hate to see a guy go out of a game like that. He is one of the best players in the country, and I went through it last year with one of the best freshmen in the country, and so my heart goes out to him, and I hope he is back soon for them.”
The Sun Devils will look to secure their 15th win of the season when they head to Waco, Texas, to face the Baylor Bears (13-13, 3-10 Big 12) on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. MST at the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion.
“The goal is to go to the tournament,” Odum said. “We went down a nasty road, losing a lot of games we were not supposed to, but like I told them before this, we win this game and we got a chance to get back into the conversation.”
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