Exploring Arizona State's Metric Standings Heading Into Final Stretch

The Sun Devils are in a position to save their season over the final three weeks of the regular season.

Arizona State guard Moe Odum (5) shoots a free throw against Cincinnati during a game at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 24, 2026. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils (13-12, 4-8 Big 12) are entering the final six games of the 2025-26 season in the coming days - just recently removed from a vital 85-76 victory over Oklahoma State.

The entire Big 12 slate has been marred by a back-and-forth nature of results in conference play, as the Sun Devils have backed up a key win with a crushing loss on multiple occasions.

Now, Arizona State faces a "now-or-never" proposition - the metrics have improved for Bobby Hurley's team in recent days, but they must stack victories together beginning with the next game.

Follow how the metrics have rebounded in Arizona State's favor as of Friday morning below with Arizona State on SI.

NCAA NET: 71 (13th Big 12)

The NET is utilized as the primary medium to select and seed tournament teams. The typical range of bubble teams vary, but the mid 50's to low 70's is the benchmark.

Arizona State's rapid rise from mid 80's/low 90's to 71 is due to a myriad of factors, including defeating Oklahoma State and Texas continuing to rattle off victories.

There are currently only seven Big 12 teams that are currently projected to reach the tournament, so one should assume that the Sun Devils need to jump conference foes such as TCU and West Virginia to have a realistic shot to be selected as an at-large team.

Jan 31, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley against the Arizona Wildcats at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

KenPom: 69

KenPom has been a metric that is widely respected amongst the college basketball world for over two decades, and is still used to measure how strong teams are overall - especially as far as both sides of the ball are concerned.

Offensive rating: 67

Arizona State's offense has largely been the calling card as far as the success they have experienced this season, although the team has dropped a few spots according to KenPom over the last week-plus.

Offensive performances against Utah and Colorado that underwhelmed began the trend. The offense did generate 85 points against Oklahoma State, but much of the work was done at the free throw line, and the Sun Devils shot just 5-21 from three-point range.

The hope is that ASU cleans things up ahead of games against stingy defenses in Texas Tech and TCU.

Defensive rating: 104

Arizona State's increased efforts on the defensive side of the ball has been a direct correlation to more positive outputs over the last three weeks.

The rise in recent weeks might come as a surprise to some - especially due to the continued usage of 2-3 zone - although there has been a concerted effort from players such as Noah Meeusen and Massamba Diop.

Feb 7, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard Jalin Holland (11) defends on Arizona State Sun Devils forward Andrija Grbovic (14) in the second half at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-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..

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