Bobby Hurley refuses to shake hands in ugly ending to Arizona-Arizona State rivalry game
Frustration boiled over for the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday.
Trailing rival Arizona 81-72 with 30 seconds left in the game, Arizona State senior BJ Freeman headbutted Caleb Love, setting off a wild sequence that resulted in both players being ejected.
Love, who scored a game-high 27 points, was initially the only player ejected. After being headbutted by Freeman he was assessed a technical foul by an official, who clearly missed what had unfolded between the two players.
After reviewing the play, the officials ejected both Love and Freeman. It's unclear why Love was ejected. The replay shows Love being headbutted, then being held back by teammate Carter Bryant.
How love gets the same punishment as Freeman is insane
— Matt Kavanagh (@mattkavanagh95) February 1, 2025
Bobby Hurley Refuses to Shake Hands
Instead of deescalating the situation, ASU head coach Bobby Hurley poured fuel on the fire by pulling his players off the floor with the clock still running and refusing to shake hands with Arizona.
It was an ugly scene for the Sun Devils, who fell to 12-9 and 3-7 in the Big 12.
Hurley walked out to half court to grab Basheer Jihad and Adam Miller and prevent them from shaking hands with the Wildcats. Hurley then turned and gave a dismissive wave to Arizona's team as he walked off the court.
After the game, Hurley blamed Arizona's players for escalating the situation.
"If you were right near our bench, it was relentless, constant chatter from a couple of the Arizona players, that was not being policed properly," Hurley said. "It was done with no class in my opinion."
Watch the postgame scene:
Bobby Hurley pulls his team off the court and doesn’t shake hands with Tommy Lloyd 😳 pic.twitter.com/Xox4mVuYoy
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 1, 2025
Arizona Rolls To Win
The ugly ending overshadowed another impressive win by the Wildcats, who improved to 15-6 and 9-1 in the Big 12.
Arizona dominated the Sun Devils on the boards, outrebounding them 52-38. Freshman Carter Bryant was brilliant off the bench, finishing with 8 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks.
Jaden Bradley scored 14, Henri Veesaar added 11 and KJ Lewis finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
