Arizona State's Season Remains in Limbo Following UCF Loss

The Sun Devils are set to return to the drawing board after a down-to-wire loss to the Knights.

Jan 24, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils center Massamba Diop (35) against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils (11-10, 2-6 Big 12) missed an incredible opportunity to both pad their win total and earn a quadrant one victory in conference play on Tuesday night in a 79-76 loss to UCF.

The Sun Devils controlled the flow of the game for much of the night - even taking a 70-58 lead going into the final six minutes of the game. The team unfortunately did not withstand an offensive flury from the Knights - head coach Bobby Hurley was unable to secure his first Big 12 winning streak as a result.

Arizona State on SI gives three rapid fire reactions from the loss at the hands of one of the better Big 12 opponents below.

Jan 24, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley with guard Maurice Odum (5) against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona State's Rotation Remains Productive

The Sun Devils' offense has been the calling card of the 2025-26 team - this wasn't any different on Tuesday.

Hurley continued to deal with constraints that were created by the roster dealing with injuries to what would be regularly played rotation players - which has rendered an eight-man rotation as a necessity in recent games.

All eight players in the lineup contributed one way or another, particularly on the offensive end of the ball.

Point guard Moe Odum once again paced the team in scoring (18) and assists (6), while also knocking down several timely shots that put the team in position to win the game yet again. Junior shooting guard Bryce Ford continues to be one of the most reliable shot-makers on the team, as the Arizona native knocked down a trio of three-point looks - nearly knocking down the shot that would have sent the game to overtime. Santiago Trouet and Andrija Grbovic handled their respective roles quite well, with the former connecting on a layup to gift the team a lead late in the game, while the latter had an efficient scoring performance.

Jan 24, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils forward Andrija Grbovic (14) celebrates a three point shot against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first half at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Center Massamba Diop didn't put forward his best offensive performance, although the freshman made an undeinable impact on defense once again - blocking four shots and regularly forcing the Knights into difficult looks in the lane.

Perhaps the most impressive showings during the game came off the bench, as forward Allen Mukeba went 4-5 from the floor - including a thunderous three-point play off of a dunk, as well as making a positive impact on defense. Anthony "Pig" Johnson remains one of the premier sixth men in the Big 12 - this didn't change on Tuesday, as the senior collected 12 points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals in another invigorating performance.

Defense Continues to be Downfall

The Arizona State defense put together a strong showing in the closing minutes of the win over Cincinnati last Saturday - the opposite was the case on Tuesday night, as UCF nailed five of their seven three-point connections over the final six minutes of the defeat, including the go-ahead make that lost the game.

It's understandable that the Sun Devils have lapses on the defensive end at times, especially since the backcourt rotation is relatively small. However, a lineup that possesses a reasonable collection of athletes, size, and smarts shouldn't see winnable games unravel in this manner.

It will be fascinating to see how the Sun Devils approach Saturday's home duel against Arizona, who is one of two undefeated teams remaining in division one - and who are also a more physically imposing squad.

Jan 14, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils guard Moe Odum (5) shoots a three point shot over Arizona Wildcats guard Dwayne Aristode (2) during the second half of the game at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Margin for Error Continues to Shrink for ASU

The Sun Devils' already slim hopes to reach the NCAA tournament slimmed even more after the loss.

The general belief is that Arizona State will need to win either 18 or 19 games to reach "March Madness" - which would require the team to finish either 7-3 or 8-2 to reach that goal in the regular season.

This would require Arizona State to go undefeated in six games upcoming unranked games (Utah x2, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Baylor, TCU), while winning at least one of their remaining ranked battles against Arizona, Texas Tech, Kansas, and Iowa State.

The margin of error is razor-thin - it's now or never for Hurley and the Sun Devils.

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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