Arizona State Takes Tumble in Key Metric Following Oregon State Loss

The Sun Devils will need to work their way back into the NCAA tournament picture in Big 12 play.

ASU Sun Devils guard Moe Odum (5) yells out to his team from the bench as they play the Oregon State Beavers at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Dec. 21, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TEMPE -- Bobby Hurley's Arizona State Sun Devils were in an undeniably ideal position heading into the final two games of non-conference play after entering last week being considered an NCAA tournament squad by many outlets.

The Sun Devils entered the week 9-4 and left the week 9-4 - dropping games to UCLA and Oregon State, which has played a hand in drastically changing the outlook of the 2025-26 season with Big 12 play set to begin in less than two weeks.

Hurley and star guard Moe Odum both acknowledged that the loss to the Beavers - which is still considered a quadrant four loss - was a major roadblock for the team, and will continue to be moving forward.

Arizona State on SI explores the potential fallout from the loss, and what lies ahead for the Sun Devils below.

Arizona State Drops in Key Metric

Arizona State came into Sunday's game ranked 57th in the NCAA NET rankings - placing them well within the paramaters of a typical profile of an NCAA tournament team.

The 78-75 loss to Oregon State, who was just short of being ranked 200 in NET, dropped them from 57th to 84th on Monday, which puts their at-large pursuit in jeopardy for the time being.

Quadrant four losses are widely seen as a resumé crusher, as seen in the 2022-23 Arizona State team nearly missing out on the tournament that season due to a loss to Texas Southern early on in the campaign.

The bright side at the moment is that the Sun Devils are 4-0 in quadrant two games, securing wins over Texas, Oklahoma, and Santa Clara that can potentially develop into quad one wins as the season goes on.

What Lies Ahead For ASU?

Arizona State begins their second season of Big 12 play at home on January 3 against the Colorado Buffaloes before jumping right into the most daunting stretch of the season, which features road games against BYU, Arizona, and Houston within two weeks of each other.

There's little doubt that the Big 12 slate will present a multitude of opportunities to pick up season-defining victories, as the Sun Devils will also have chances to defeat unranked teams that are ranked in quad one or two range - including Kansas State, UCF, and Baylor.

They will also need to avoid more "bad" losses, as Utah, Cincinnati, and West Virginia are currently ranked 97 or lower according to NET.

ASU Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley reacts on the sidelines as they play the Oregon State Beavers at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Dec. 21, 2025. | Joseph Rondone/Arizona Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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.

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