Moe Odum scored 23 points, Massamba Diop added 19 and Arizona State pulled away late to beat No. 14 Kansas 70-60 on Tuesday night in what could be Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley’s final home game.
Hurley is the final year of his contract and the administration hasn’t given any indications it will be extended amid a fourth mediocre season in the past five years.
The Sun Devils (16-14, 7-10 Big 12) did all they could to send their coach off with a win in a physical, emotional game that included the ejection of Kansas coach Bill Self and one of his assistants.
Arizona State jumped on Kansas early, withstood a big run and made the key plays down the stretch to beat the Jayhawks (21-9, 11-6) for the third time in the Hurley era, with the others 2018 and ’19.
Darryn Peterson scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half as the Jayhawks twice rallied from double-digit deficits. Kansas went on a 17-1 run to cut a 20-point halftime deficit to four and trimmed a 12-point deficit to two with four minutes left.
Anthony Johnson answered with a 3-pointer and a layup, kicking off a 11-0 run that secured Arizona State’s 15th win over a ranked opponent — second this season — in Hurley’s 11 seasons.
Self was hit ejected in the first half for arguing an offensive foul call against Peterson. Assistant Jacque Vaughn was also T’d up and Elmarko Jackson was hit with a flagrant foul for taking down Arizona State’s Allen Mukeba on a drive.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
