2026 PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 10, 2026

Bobby Hurley

Noah Meeusen

Moe Odum

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Arizona State Sun Devils

Postgame Press Conference

Arizona State - 83, Baylor - 79

THE MODERATOR: Joining us along with Coach Hurley is Moe Odum and Noah Meeusen.

BOBBY HURLEY: I thought we played really good offense. We had 19-of-31 from the field in the first half. It was guys stepping into shots from 3 and points in the paint across the board.

I would have been really surprised if I went into the locker room at halftime most of the year and knew I'd be up nine points against Baylor at halftime and Moe Odum had zero. Like, it's a testament to the guys coming along, different guys helping us.

Andrija Grbovic today had some really good moments. Gave us a boost. Noah is always guarding with great energy and defending. He hit some big shots for us as well. So it was impressive how the guys came out and competed.

I think we handled the last 48 hours very well leading into this game in terms of getting the guys ready physically after the Iowa State loss. And the guys responded like they have all year.

Q. Coach, the reports yesterday that you would not be returning as Arizona State's coach next season, wanted your reaction to that and how that played into the game?

BOBBY HURLEY: I talked with the team and you saw the reports. I didn't want to hide anything from them. They're playing for each other. I'm coaching them to the best of my ability.

I have not been told anything. So although the source is reputable and a guy that I know. But I'm just doing my job and coaching this team and enjoying these moments with this group right now.

Q. Moe, you've had a close relationship with him. You've played hard for him all year. How do you guys balance hearing that? Does that make you want to play even harder?

MOE ODUM: No, we play the same regardless. Next question.

Q. Noah, you kind of had a tough shooting stretch here in the last couple of games. Can you talk about coming into a crucial game like this and keeping a positive attitude and a positive mental approach and being able to knock down some huge shots today?

NOAH MEEUSEN: I've been struggling, but these are the games you live for, do or die. And you've got to have confidence. Coach, Moe, everybody keep telling me to keep shooting. I just stay in the gym, work and the work will show.

Q. Coach, after the West Virginia loss back in January, you made some comments about your frustration, maybe feeling like you lost the team a little bit, your words weren't getting through. Now you've won three of your last four, some big wins against Kansas and Texas Tech recently and now advancing in the Big 12 Tournament. Can you comment about the growth of your team since that moment?

BOBBY HURLEY: I don't think it's me making comments that changes anything. We were going through a tough stretch like you're going to do in this league. Maybe there's a couple of teams that are built to sustain a top effort, but there's no basketball conference like this.

Like, what we're trying to do is win five games in a row. It is harder to do what we're going to try to do than maybe win a national championship, because we're going to play a team tomorrow that potentially could be Elite Eight or a Final Four team. And that's in our second game.

Then we have other heavy hitters waiting beyond that if we continue to advance. So, me making the statement is more to shake things up and see what happens. But these guys, they're resilient, they're tough, and they responded and they have all year.

Q. Was curious if you could comment on, I guess, the troubles or benefits of having to play a team twice in less than a week like you will tomorrow with Iowa State coming next for you guys?

BOBBY HURLEY: Well, it gives us the opportunity to look at the film, especially in the second half of our game with Iowa State. And what we haven't done well the last two games is take care of the ball. And 23 turnovers on Saturday, it's not who we've been all year. We've been a team that's taken care of the ball for the most part, in the top three and four teams in our league. So it was uncharacteristic of us.

I gave a lot of credit to Iowa State and how they defend and certainly they deserve credit for that.

We had 16 again today. So I guess we're inching our way closer back to where we need to be in order to have a chance to beat a team like Iowa State. But you could just point to that one statistical category and say, like, that was, you know, the difference in the outcome of the game.

Q. Coach, can you just talk about what is it specifically about this group of dudes that gives you confidence that they can switch, kind of flip the script to go into that 24 hours at a time? What is it about these guys that makes you believe these next 24 hours are going to go the way you need?

BOBBY HURLEY: Well, we've been playing really well in first halves of games. And that's something I talked to the guys about after the Iowa State loss. We're up at Arizona at halftime. We're beating Iowa State on the road at halftime. We're up at Baylor at halftime. And we can't put together two halves.

I thought the way we played the first four minutes of the half was very good and we extended our lead. We continue to do that through the second media in the second half. And we came very close to putting two halves together, minus poor free-throw shooting down the stretch when the game probably shouldn't have been as close as it was.

Q. Moe, you didn't have your best game today, but five guys around you kind of picked themselves up. How comforting is it to know you have a guy like Pig and Noah and Andrija who can pick you up on nights when you're not your best?

MOE ODUM: Super comfortable. I believe in them even if I'm scoring I still tell them shoot the ball. I don't want them ever to hesitate.

I told Noah before the game, I don't have time for you to hesitate. Let it fly. I watch you work out in the gym after practice every day. You shouldn't be thinking about shooting the ball. You should shoot the ball.

That's just me. Like, I want them to score. I want them to have fun. I'm telling them to have fun because I'm going to have my fun. Coming out to play basketball is my fun. Whatever I do after that is whatever. But I just want them to have fun and play hard, and everything else will fall into place.

Q. Noah, Coach talked about how he likes your defensive effort and how you stay mixing it up on that end. How do you maintain that mentality throughout a full 40 minutes if your 3s maybe aren't falling in the first half?

NOAH MEEUSEN: Coach told me one time I've got to hang my hat on something. If my shot isn't falling, if my offense isn't going how I want to, I've got to bring something to the table. That's where defense comes into play.

Just also knowing the scout. Coaches do a good job getting us a good scout. And just knowing their plays, being a high IQ guy, I think, helps me.

Q. Coach, Cameron Carr had 25 points tonight but not efficiently at just 35 percent. How were you able to hold them off?

BOBBY HURLEY: I mean, he's a really good player, like a really talented player. I've got a lot of respect for his game. He makes it look easy shooting the ball from distance. I think across the board we had great energy early in the game. We were very active. We had a number of deflections, and we did a solid job really making them miss, and so he was a part of that whole core. They didn't get off to a great start shooting the basketball, and he was certainly in that mix. But he's a hell of a player. He's a tough guy to game plan for. He can shoot the 3s. Really athletic. He's got a big-time future.

Q. Moe, playing Iowa State on Saturday, from a point guard perspective, what is the challenge of facing that defense and that ball pressure?

MOE ODUM: I mean, it's the same thing playing against every other team. I'm going to get picked up full court. I'm going to get harassed. It's my job to be strong mentally and physically and protect the ball and not turn the ball over and get us into offense. It's not really a challenge. It's more so about the work I put in and to be able to show how much work I put in throughout the year and figure it out.