The Brief

Seventh-ranked Iowa State routed Arizona State 91-42 in the Big 12 tournament second round — a 49-point margin that set a conference tournament record — prompting Arizona State to announce hours later that coach Bobby Hurley’s contract would not be renewed after 11 seasons. Elsewhere, UCF kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a 66-65 overtime escape against Cincinnati, while 15 of 31 conference tournaments have now crowned champions ahead of Selection Sunday on March 15.

The Report

Iowa State dismantled Arizona State with a thoroughness that left little ambiguity about the state of either programme. The Cyclones built a 45-16 halftime lead — tying the Big 12 tournament record — and never relented, with Milan Momcilovic scoring 21 points, Joshua Jefferson posting a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double, and Blake Buchanan adding a season-high 17. Arizona State managed one three-pointer on 19 attempts, committed 23 turnovers, and collected three technical fouls, including one on Hurley himself during a chaotic first-half sequence that saw Iowa State convert five of six free throws on a single possession.

The Sun Devils’ 42 points marked the first time a Big 12 team had been held below 50 in a tournament game since Houston in the 2024 championship. Arizona State’s backcourt duo of Moe Odum and Pig Johnson combined for just eight points.

Hours after the final whistle, athletic director Graham Rossini announced the programme would not extend Hurley’s contract. “While we will not be extending his contract, we are so grateful for the 11 years,” Rossini said. Hurley, a two-time national champion at Duke and the NCAA’s all-time assists leader, finishes at Arizona State with a 185-167 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances. He will be placed on paid administrative leave through June. “I don’t have any regrets,” Hurley said after the loss. “I laid it out all on the line.”

In the evening session, UCF mounted a comeback from eight points down with 2:16 remaining in regulation to defeat Cincinnati 66-65 in overtime. Jamichael Stillwell’s 17-point, 15-rebound effort anchored the Knights, who dominated the paint 38-10 despite making just three of 24 three-pointers. Riley Kugel’s game-tying bucket with 1:02 left in regulation forced overtime, and John Bol’s free throw sealed it. UCF’s at-large tournament odds now sit at 84 per cent — their first March Madness appearance since 2019 is within reach.

BYU continued its resurgence with a 68-48 demolition of West Virginia, led by freshman AJ Dybantsa’s 27 points — a night after his 40-point performance broke Kevin Durant’s Big 12 tournament freshman scoring record. TCU rallied past Oklahoma State 95-88 behind David Punch’s 26 points.

The quarterfinals on Thursday feature Iowa State against Texas Tech, top-seeded Arizona against UCF, Houston against BYU, and Kansas against TCU. Across the wider landscape, the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and Big East tournaments are all in full swing, with Northwestern’s 74-61 win over Indiana likely ending the Hoosiers’ NCAA Tournament hopes. Selection Sunday is three days away.

The Angle

The speed of Hurley’s exit tells you more than the margin of defeat. Eleven seasons, three tournament appearances, 185 wins — and the announcement came the same afternoon, worded with the careful warmth institutions reserve for decisions that were made long before the pretext arrived. The 49-point loss was not the reason. It was the permission.

What Hurley built at Arizona State was intermittently impressive and structurally incomplete — a programme that could beat Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse one season and lose its home crowd the next. His own January admission, “We failed. I’m failing. I can’t get through to the team,” was unusually honest for a coach still drawing a salary. The Big 12’s expansion to 16 teams raised the floor for survival in a way that mid-table programmes cannot bluff their way past. Hurley’s ASU was built for a conference that no longer exists.