Moe Odum’s 33-point day drives ASU to snap losing streak

By Tinley Sweeney

TEMPE, Ariz. – In a must-win conference game, the Sun Devils pick up their 11th win on the season, snapping their three-game losing streak, defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats 82-68 in their only meeting of the season. 

Arizona State took Wednesday’s loss in stride and turned it into motivation for today’s win.

“Take the positives we can take out of this, and we have to figure out a way to get ready to play again real soon,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said. 

Offense fueling the crowd at Desert Financial Arena

With under 7 minutes to go in the second quarter, the Bearcats cut the lead to just 3 points, showing the Sun Devils’ fight to keep the lead. Arizona State also got two big threes from senior guard Moe Odum, pushing the momentum back to the home crowd. 

“I am tired of having the lead and just giving it up,” Odum said.

Odum was the driving force behind this offense with 33 points. He shot over 50% from three and 58% from the field. 

“Possible to turn things around, plenty of schools done did it,” Odum said. “Had a rough stretch and turned it around, that’s what I have been preaching to the team.” 

Stronger performance from Arizona State’s defense, steps up against a confident Cincinnati offense. 

After a dip in their defensive performance in the last game, Arizona State stepped up, holding a hot Cincinnati team to 26% from the 3-point line. The Sun Devils applied pressure to the Bearcats’ offense, getting 17 points off 15 turnovers. 

“We didn’t run and close out to a guy that doesn’t shoot three,” Hurley said. “The guys that were guarding individual players knew, we are gonna help more heavily help off this individual player.” 

In a tough conference like the Big 12, Arizona State is looking to put together a win streak as it goes on the road to take on UCF on Jan. 27 against a likely tournament team.