The Arizona State men’s basketball team is still in the fight.
Despite losing leading scorer BJ Freeman — who was kicked off the team by head coach Bobby Hurley — the Sun Devils snapped a six-game losing streak with an impressive 66-54 road victory over Kansas State on Sunday. And the win moved the Sun Devils much higher in the updated NCAA NET Rankings.
The NET Rankings, which are the only college basketball rankings that matter, are used by the 12-person NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
Sun Devils move into top 60
Arizona State (13-14, 4-12) moved from No. 65 to No. 60 in the NET, which puts them ahead of projected NCAA Tournament teams like George Mason (No. 65) and Wake Forest (No. 63).
The Sun Devils have played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, which is the primary reason they continue to be ranked so high. According to KenPom they’ve played the ninth-toughest schedule in the country — tougher than Tennessee, Wisconsin, Duke, Florida and many other March Madness-bound teams.
Arizona State has played 13 Quad 1 games, which are defined as home games against teams in the top 30 of the NET, and road games against teams in the top 75 of the NET. The win over Kansas State was a Quad 1 game going into it — because Kansas State was ranked No. 75 — but the loss dropped the Wildcats to Quad 2 territory at No. 81.
The Sun Devils, who are 3-10 in Quad 1 games and 4-2 in Quad 2 games, finish the regular season with four consecutive Quad 1 games — vs. BYU, at Utah, at Arizona, vs. Texas Tech. If they win all four games, they’ll easily be in the top 40 in the country and in contention for an at-large berth in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Winning those games is easier said than done, but Bobby Hurley’s team has proven they have the talent to do it. ASU has been right there in most of its Big 12 games, and maybe the dismissal of leading scorer BJ Freeman on Sunday solved some chemistry issues. The Sun Devils played arguably their most complete game of the season without Freeman.
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