The primary basketball model of the Territorial Cup since Arizona State and Arizona joined the Huge 12 unfolded in comparable vogue to so many matchups when the faculties have been members of the Pac-12, with the Wildcats on prime and tempers working sizzling.
The ultimate minutes of Arizona’s 81-72 victory in Tempe on Saturday afternoon featured one head-butt, two ejections, ASU gamers within the locker room earlier than the ultimate buzzer and infuriated coach Bobby Hurley refusing to shake arms together with his counterpart, Tommy Lloyd.
And that wasn’t all.
In his postgame feedback at Desert Monetary Enviornment, Hurley dinged the officers for not policing the trash speak, accused Arizona’s gamers of getting “no class” and indicated he wouldn’t vote for Wildcats guard Caleb Love for the Huge 12’s all-conference group.
Put one other means: Mark your calendars for March 4, when the Solar Devils go to Tucson. There’s no telling what might occur earlier than, throughout or after the rematch.
“Obviously, it’s disappointing, probably on all sides,” Lloyd stated of the ejections. “When tough things happen, we want to be a program that responds with class, and I don’t know if we did or didn’t. But it was a tough moment in an emotional game.”
ASU’s opinion of the Wildcats’ character grew to become clear with 30 seconds remaining, when guard BJ Freeman head-butted Love. After regaining his stability, Love yelled at ASU’s bench, which produced an ejection. The officers then tossed Freeman for the head-butt.
With a number of ticks left within the recreation, Hurley despatched his reserves to the locker room. When the buzzer sounded, he walked to mid-court, ordered his starters off the ground, then departed himself.
There have been no postgame handshakes.
“Right near our bench, it was relentless, constant chatter from a couple of Arizona’s players that wasn’t being policed properly. Of course, they’re going to be happy with winning, but it was done with no class, in my opinion.”
Largely, he was referring to Love, whose modus operandi towards ASU is to speak trash and flash the ‘forks down’ signal at each alternative.
“I do get a vote for all-conference,” Hurley famous. “And I can tell you who’s not getting a vote.”
Ought to a 23-year-old, fifth-year senior who’s getting paid to play simply hold his mouth shut and let his appreciable expertise do the speaking? You possibly can make that case, certain. Nevertheless it’s a rivalry recreation, Love isn’t breaking any guidelines and, nicely, ASU must ignore the antics and play higher.
“We were just competing,” Love stated of the interplay with Freeman. “It was a great atmosphere, great game and we came out on top.”
Did we point out the rematch is March 4?
(And sure, there might be additional safety. The Solar Devils all the time have additional safety at McKale Middle.)
Within the minutes and hours following Saturday’s furor, the main target was fully on Hurley — particularly, his resolution to depart the courtroom with out shaking arms with the Wildcats.
In our view, he obtained it half proper.
Hurley clearly believed sending his group to the handshake line was inviting a conflagration and took the required steps to forestall a melee at DFA.
It was an uncommon transfer, for certain. However Hurley had a greater really feel for his group’s temperature at that second than anybody else. And preserving gamers protected — his gamers and Arizona’s gamers — is the precedence.
His different precedence, in fact, is to signify Arizona State with dignity. And in that regard, he whiffed.
After ordering his gamers off the ground, Hurley ought to have discovered Lloyd, shaken arms, defined his actions and wished the Wildcats nicely.
He ought to have risen above the antics and feelings as a substitute of getting overwhelmed by them. It’s not like his counterpart, Lloyd, acted unprofessionally in any method.
However that’s Hurley. His conduct and temperament aren’t for everybody. (They aren’t for most individuals, to be sincere.)
And after ASU’s seventh loss previously 10 video games, Hurley has larger points than Arizona’s trash speak and Love’s choice for ‘forks down.’
The rematch might be fascinating. It’s the penultimate recreation of the common season for each groups. The Wildcats could possibly be enjoying for the No. 1 seed within the Huge 12 event, and the Solar Devils will certainly want a victory to boost their NCAA Event prospects.
Additionally, Hurley is perhaps teaching for his job.
And it will likely be the ultimate residence recreation for Arizona’s seniors, together with Love.
The 14,000 followers jammed into McKale on the primary Tuesday of March might be using Hurley the second he steps on the courtroom.
Our recommendation to the Huge 12: Ship your finest officiating crew.
Not the trio who labored the sport Saturday (Probability Moore, Brooks Wells and D.J. Carstensen). The Solar Devils gained’t view them as sincere brokers.
And undoubtedly don’t ship Tony Padilla, who has an disagreeable historical past with Hurley.
As a substitute, ship veteran officers who’re revered by each Hurley and Lloyd.
It’s one of the best ways to cut back the danger of rivalry feelings metastasizing into an incident that does, the truth is, put the gamers’ security in peril.
