Why Bobby Hurley was half right for having Arizona State avoid handshakes after loss to Arizona

The first basketball version of the Territorial Cup since Arizona State and Arizona joined the Big 12 unfolded in similar fashion to so many matchups when the schools were members of the Pac-12, with the Wildcats on top and tempers running hot.

The final minutes of Arizona’s 81-72 victory in Tempe on Saturday afternoon featured one head-butt, two ejections, ASU players in the locker room before the final buzzer and infuriated coach Bobby Hurley refusing to shake hands with his counterpart, Tommy Lloyd.

And that wasn’t all.

In his postgame comments at Desert Financial Arena, Hurley dinged the officials for not policing the trash talk, accused Arizona’s players of having “no class” and indicated he would not vote for Wildcats guard Caleb Love for the Big 12’s all-conference team.

Put another way: Mark your calendars for March 4, when the Sun Devils visit Tucson. There’s no telling what could happen before, during or after the rematch.

“Obviously, it’s disappointing, probably on all sides,” Lloyd said of the ejections. “When tough things happen, we want to be a program that responds with class, and I don’t know if we did or didn’t. But it was a tough moment in an emotional game.”

ASU’s opinion of the Wildcats’ character became clear with 30 seconds remaining, when guard BJ Freeman head-butted Love. After regaining his balance, Love yelled at ASU’s bench, which produced an ejection. The officials then tossed Freeman for the head-butt.

With a few ticks left in the game, Hurley sent his reserves to the locker room. When the buzzer sounded, he walked to mid-court, ordered his starters off the floor, then departed himself.

There were no postgame handshakes.

During his news conference, Hurley offered his opinion on the Wildcats:

“Right near our bench, it was relentless, constant chatter from a couple of Arizona’s players that wasn’t being policed properly. Of course, they’re going to be happy with winning, but it was done with no class, in my opinion.”

Mostly, he was referring to Love, whose modus operandi against ASU is to talk trash and flash the ‘forks down’ sign at every opportunity.

“I do get a vote for all-conference,” Hurley noted. “And I can tell you who’s not getting a vote.”

Should a 23-year-old, fifth-year senior who’s getting paid to play just keep his mouth shut and let his considerable talent do the talking? You could make that case, sure. But it’s a rivalry game, Love isn’t breaking any rules and, well, ASU needs to ignore the antics and play better.

“We were just competing,” Love said of the interaction with Freeman. “It was a great atmosphere, great game and we came out on top.”

Did we mention the rematch is March 4?

(And yes, there will be extra security. The Sun Devils always have extra security at McKale Center.)

In the minutes and hours following Saturday’s furor, the focus was entirely on Hurley — specifically, his decision to leave the court without shaking hands with the Wildcats.

In our view, he got it half right.

Hurley clearly believed sending his team to the handshake line was inviting a conflagration and took the necessary steps to prevent a melee at DFA.

It was an unusual move, for sure. But Hurley had a better feel for his team’s temperature at that moment than anyone else. And keeping players safe — his players and Arizona’s players — is the priority.

His other priority, of course, is to represent Arizona State with dignity. And in that regard, he whiffed.

After ordering his players off the floor, Hurley should have found Lloyd, shaken hands, explained his actions and wished the Wildcats well.

He should have risen above the antics and emotions instead of getting overwhelmed by them. It’s not like his counterpart, Lloyd, acted unprofessionally in any manner.

But that’s Hurley. His conduct and temperament aren’t for everyone. (They aren’t for most people, to be honest.)

And after ASU’s seventh loss in the past 10 games, Hurley has bigger issues than Arizona’s trash talk and Love’s preference for ‘forks down.’

The rematch will be fascinating. It’s the penultimate game of the regular season for both teams. The Wildcats could be playing for the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament, and the Sun Devils will surely need a victory to enhance their NCAA Tournament prospects.

Also, Hurley might be coaching for his job.

And it will be the final home game for Arizona’s seniors, including Love.

The 14,000 fans jammed into McKale on the first Tuesday of March will be riding Hurley the moment he steps on the court.

Our advice to the Big 12: Send your best officiating crew.

Not the trio who worked the game Saturday (Chance Moore, Brooks Wells and D.J. Carstensen). The Sun Devils won’t view them as honest brokers.

And definitely don’t send Tony Padilla, who has an unpleasant history with Hurley.

Instead, send veteran officials who are respected by both Hurley and Lloyd.

It’s the best way to reduce the risk of rivalry emotions metastasizing into an incident that does, in fact, put the players’ safety in peril.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to wilnerhotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow me on the social media platform X: @WilnerHotline