Bobby Hurley returned to Duke for the first time since winning two national championships there as a renowned player. This time, he came back as head coach of Arizona State. As significant as the return was, the Sun Devils gave him little reason to be pleased with their exhibition game. Instead, it was a complete shock for Hurley.

The team lost its grip from the beginning and fell apart in a disastrous second half. They were outscored by 40 points in the final 20 minutes, ultimately losing 103-47 to No. 7 Duke in their 2024-25 debut. “We got our a** kicked, and it was with their All-American and best player playing only half the game too. Hats off to where they are and ‘oh, sh**’ to where we are,” Hurley shared in a post-game conference.

For Hurley, it wasn’t just the defeat but the team’s performance that left him feeling disappointed. ASU was dominated by Duke in every possible way, getting outscored 22-6 in the paint and 10-0 in fast-break points in the first half alone. Even in scoring, Duke made more three-pointers (17) than ASU’s total field goals (16).

“It’s not like I didn’t play the guys that shouldn’t have been on the floor… I wasn’t experimenting tonight, and this just happened to us,” Hurley added. The head coach had set up a challenging nonconference schedule for ASU’s rebuilt team, starting this Sunday night in Durham, but it all turned into disappointment with a loss against Duke, leaving Hurley with raised eyebrows. But he’s not done yet.

Hurley has some advice for ASU

For him, the recent matchup is one to analyze so that the team can improve for upcoming games. According to Hurley, it’s an “ultimate wake-up call” for ASU’s roster. They need to get a lot better ahead of their next game against a Santa Clara squad coached by ASU’s former head coach, Herb Sendek, in Las Vegas.

“If we don’t advance from this, then we don’t have a lot of hope this year. If we’re not a completely different team on opening night, then we learned nothing from this,” Hurley added. Offensively and defensively, the head coach has a lot of work ahead with this roster. And if you’re wondering why, it’s because they have really tough competition ahead.

As hard as it may be to believe, the Sun Devils will face three Big 12 teams that rank higher than Duke in the AP Top 25. In fact, the team will play seven games against teams ranked in the Top 10. The implications for ASU are clear: in their first Big 12 season, the Sun Devils will face top teams that could humiliate them if they don’t improve.