Moe Odum Catapults Arizona State to Tournament Win Over Texas
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TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils (5-1) secured a dramatic victory over the Texas Longhorns (4-2) by a score of 87-86 in what was the first round of the Maui Invitational tournament on Monday night.
This game marked the revival of the rivalry between Bobby Hurley and Sean Miller - who coached at Arizona between 2009 and 2021.
The Sun Devils opened the game with the same starting lineup that has been in place all season - Moe Odum, Bryce Ford, Santiago Trouet, Andrija Grbovic, and Massamba Diop were on the floor at opening tip, while Miller trotted out a team that is seeking to compete in the SEC.
Arizona State on SI recaps the first round of tournament play below.
First Half
The game started off as an evenly-matched, defense-centric affair, as both teams shot well under 50% in the early stages.
Texas built up a 25-20 lead at the 5:35 mark of the half behind five points off of six Arizona State turnovers and by knocking down nine free throws on 10 attempts.
The Sun Devils remained within striking distance as the half progressed - with Odum cutting the Texas lead to 2 after making a trio of free throws. Arizona State finally broke through with the lead at the 1:46 mark of the half after Grbovic hit a corner three point look.
Odum hit two more three-point looks in the closing minutes of the half to boost Arizona State to a 39-34 advantage going into the locker room. Anthony "Pig" Johnson was also undeniably massive in keeping the offense afloat during periods of struggle - as he pitched in 10 points.
Second Half
Texas came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders - the offense produced 33 points by the time the second frame was halfway over with.
A circus shot by forward Allen Mukeba resulted in an and-one that re-injected life into Arizona State - this was followed by a technical foul on Dailyn Swain that shrunk the Texas lead to 67-65.
Texas regained control of the game with a Jordan Pope corner three at the 8:33 mark to expand the Longhorns' lead to 74-66 - the largest of the game.
The Texas lead ballooned to 10 points, but a concerted effort defensively by the Sun Devils brought the game to back within two points at the 5:38 mark.
The game continued to go back and forth over the home stretch. A jump hook from Diop tied the game at 84 before a sequence of plays resulted in Texas' Swain having an opportunity to put the team up four with free throws.
Swain missed both - resulting in Odum bringing the ball up, maneuvering around, and knocking down an off-balance three-point shot to gift the Sun Devils an 87-86 lead with 10 seconds left.
Key Performances
Moe Odum - 36 PTS, 3 AST, 6-12 3PTFG
Anthony "Pig" Johnson - 17 PTS, 3 STL, 5-6 FG
Andrija Grbovic - 8 PTS, 4 REB, 1 BLK, 2-5 3PTFG
What's Next
The Sun Devils are set to play former Pac-12 foe in Washington State this evening at 6 P.M. MST in the semifinals of the tournament.
Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on major takeaways from the Sun Devils’ convincing win over Colorado in week 13 here.
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.