Previewing Major Week Ahead for Arizona State Basketball

The Sun Devils have two opportunities to stack their win total in the days ahead.

Jan 14, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Ivan Kharchenkov (8) attempts to steal the ball from Arizona State Sun Devils guard Moe Odum (5) during the second half of the game at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils are coming off of a competitive game against the Houston Cougars in a rare Sunday afternoon game.

The Sun Devils remain hopeful to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2022-23 season despite sporting a 10-8 record roughly halfway into the campaign.

Bobby Hurley's squad has two major opportunities to add to their season win total during the course of this week - Arizona State on SI briefly touches on each matchup below.

Jan 10, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley against the Kansas State Wildcats at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Wednesday: West Virginia

West Virginia is heading into Wednesday's matchup with a 12-6 record after defeating the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday.

The Mountaineers were left scrambling when first-year head coach Darian DeVries departed for Indiana - the program rebounded by hiring North Texas head coach Ross Hodge.

The team has started out Big 12 play with a 3-2 record, having lost to conference powers Iowa State and Houston in blowout fashion, while also defeating Kansas in the process.

Senior guard Honor Huff paces the squad with 17.1 PPG, while seven other players on the roster average at least five points per contest.

Jan 10, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils forward Allen Mukeba (23) against the Kansas State Wildcats at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona State and West Virginia are set to square off at 7 P.M. MST from Desert Financial Arena in Tempe.

Saturday: Cincinnati

Cincinnati is coming off of a potentially season-saving victory over Iowa State on Saturday, which started a winning streak that began with a victory over Colorado.

Fifth-year head coach Wes Miller has yet to take the program to an NCAA tournament, and a tepid start to the season via non-conference play heightened doubts that the 42-year old would ever be able to take the program back to where it was under Mick Cronin.

The Bearcats have responded with a trio of narrow losses to begin conference play that eventually spiraled into the two-game win streak, although they will have played Arizona prior to the trip to Tempe.

Cincinnati forward Baba Miller is leading the team with 13.2 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 1.5 BPG, while several other key contributors have been integral in what seems to be a revival of the season.

Senior guard Kerr Kriisa - a former Arizona player - has been out for two weeks, while freshman Shon Abaev - who considered playing for ASU out of high school - has been effectively phased out of the rotation as of late.

Arizona State and Cincinnati are set to play at 8 P.M. MST once again from Desert Financial Arena, with the Sun Devils traveling to take on UCF after this contest.

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on why the bright future of the football program isn’t dimmed by the loss to Arizona here.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page when you click right here.

Please follow us on X when you click right here, as well as @khicks_21 for nonstop Arizona State coverage!