ASU men's basketball flew into the Southwest Maui Invitational a respectable 4-1 with its only loss to then-No. 19 Gonzaga. During a tournament full of nail-biting finishes, the Sun Devils went 2-1, concluding with an 88-75 loss to USC in the final and moving to 6-2 on the season.
"Really proud of these guys, how we performed in the four games here in Hawaii over the last week or so, and (senior guard) Moe (Odum) had an outstanding tournament," head coach Bobby Hurley, the Maui Invitational co-MVP back in 1992, said after the championship loss, per Doug Franz.
Odum's play was one of the largest bright spots for the program. The Pepperdine transfer averaged 26.3 points in the three-game stretch, with a monster 36-point performance to lead the Sun Devils to an 87-86 victory over Texas on Nov. 24. The hot hand continued with 26 against Washington State during a 100-94 win the following day.
The senior's 36 against the Longhorns was the first 36-plus point game by a Sun Devil since Alonzo Verge Jr.'s 43 against Saint Mary's in 2019. Odum punctuated the night, scoring a game-winning three with just seconds left on the clock. Senior guard Anthony "Pig" Johnson added 17 points on 5-6 shooting, but it was Odum's show offensively.
In spite of the heavy load, Odum was able to consistently come through. Hurley's trusted point guard made 16 of 18 free throws in addition to a season-high six threes to eke out a one-point win.
Despite playing less than 24 hours later, Odum followed that performance with 26 points against Washington State. This time around, though, the offense came through in a more balanced attack.
Junior guard Bryce Ford poured in 18 on 64% from the field, and freshman center Massamba Diop chipped in with a productive 12 points, five boards and two blocks. All eight Sun Devils to play 10 or more minutes finished with at least six points, and four ended in double-figures.
As a team, ASU had by far its most efficient game of the season with 59/48/79 splits. For all of the offensive quality, the Maroon and Gold left a lot to be desired defensively. The Cougars shot above 50% from the field and from deep themselves, and kept pace for the majority of the game behind freshman guard Ace Glass' 40-point showout.
Their toughest test came in the Invitational's final against undefeated USC. The Trojans haven't cracked the AP Top-25 yet, but rank inside the top-30 on KenPom’s nationwide rankings.
ASU kept up with USC in the first half, with both sides tied at 43. However, that momentum didn’t carry over as the Sun Devils shooting plummeted in the second period.
ASU fell from 52% in the first half to 32% shooting following halftime, as USC pulled away late behind a torrid 60% mark from the field for the game. The Sun Devils seemed to feel the fatigue of playing three games in three days, and it showed as ASU didn't score a field goal through nearly the final five minutes of play.
"We ran out of steam," Hurley said, per Doug Franz. "We fought to get back a couple times and even with 12 minutes left, we're down eight or seven, and I told the guys, 'Hey, this is our time now, we've been here before,' and it just wasn't meant to be tonight."
The on-court results might have been bittersweet, but the cross-country journey provided an additional opportunity for the Sun Devils to connect outside the hardwood floor. Odum's experience didn't just translate to canning 15 threes across the tournament, but helping bring his team closer together.
"It was a really good experience," Odum said, per Doug Franz. "Just connecting with them, bonding with them, taking walks on the beach as a team, talking about life, talking about our goals as a team (and) individually, just seeing where everybody's mind is at before the game."
Edited by Jack McCarthy, Henry Smardo and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at pvallur2@asu.edu and follow @PrathamValluri on X.
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Pratham Valluri is a sports reporter at The State Press. He is a junior majoring in sports journalism with a business minor. He’s in his 5th semester with The State Press working previously as an opinion writer.
