KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The question was inevitable, but Mo Odum didn’t want to hear it.
After ASU held off Baylor 83-79 to win its first-round Big 12 Tournament game Tuesday, the Sun Devil guard interrupted coach Bobby Hurley when he was asked about reports Monday saying he would be fired as ASU’s head coach.
Hurley has faced that sort of speculation all season, since ASU has been letting him coach out the final year of his contract, so he began to address the latest buzz during his postgame press conference.
“I talked with…” Hurley said, when Odum quietly turned toward him, then faced the audience.
“Next question,” Odum said.
Hurley went on anyway.
Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley motions to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
“Yeah, I talked with the team and you saw the reports,” Hurley said. “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. I'm just doing my job and coaching this team and enjoying these moments with this group right now."
After Hurley answered, Odum was asked if the reports made him play any harder. After all, last week Odum was unabashed in his support for Hurley, saying he was “the greatest coach that’s ever coached me… I don’t care what anybody says.”
Odum didn’t like that question, either.
“No,” he said. “We play the same regardless. Next question.”
Baylor had tried to make Odum have a tough day of it. They kept the ball away from him early, and Odum didn’t even take a shot before halftime. But ASU, with five other players scoring in double figures, led 44-35 and by up to 15 early in the second half.
“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,” Hurley said. “It's a testament to the guys coming along, different guys helping us.”
The game almost got away from the Sun Devils, however. Baylor chipped ASU’s lead to just three points, 67-64, with 5:47 to go, and cut it to 83-79 with 1.9 seconds left after the Bears’ Cameron Carr hit three free throws after he was fouled beyond the arc.
The win moved 12th-seeded ASU (17-15) into a second-round game Wednesday against fifth-seeded Iowa State (25-6), with the winner of that game to face fourth-seeded Texas Tech on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
“What we're trying to do is win five games in a row,” Hurley said. “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.”
