Seen and heard in KC: On Hurley's farewell, K-State misery and Dybantsa's impact

So in that respect, nothing really changed this week. Hurley was in the unusual position of having to work under a contract that was due to expire after this season, and the Sun Devils’ season ended Wednesday when they lost 91-42 to Iowa State in a Big 12 Tournament second-round game.

So, before ASU athletic director Graham Rossini announced later Wednesday that Hurley’s contract indeed would not be renewed, Hurley reflected on his 11-year tenure at ASU.

“It's been a long road. It's been a special time,” Hurley said. “I had two of my kids graduate from ASU. I've had the opportunity to coach some fantastic young men and had some terrific moments over the years. It’s a great university, great administration, president.

“I don't have any regrets. I laid it out on the line the best that I could every night. That’s what I told the guys. I know they did it for each other this year and I did it until the last buzzer sounded.”

When the last buzzer sounded Wednesday, the Sun Devils were 17-16, having gone 4-16 in the conference regular season and 1-1 in the Big 12 Tournament. That modestly exceeded preseason expectations, when ASU was picked to finish last in the 16-team league, while ASU also played what KenPom rates as the 14th overall toughest schedule in Division I.

But beyond the wins and losses, Hurley said, was a group of guys he said provided him one of his most enjoyable seasons he had as the Sun Devils’ coach.

“It was a pleasure to coach these guys,” Hurley said. “They cared. They played their hearts out for me every game. They showed up to practice with a good attitude and worked hard and cared about each other, and those are the things that as a coach, you have tremendous appreciation for.”

Joined at a postgame press conference on Wednesday by guard Moe Odum and forward Allen Mukeba, Hurley said Odum was an “amazing” story because of the adversity he has overcome, while Mukeba has fought through diabetes to play at a high level.

“The guys that we put together were a lot of underdog type of guys,” Hurley said.

“These kids have tremendous character. They fought for each other all year. … We played a lot of quad one and quad two games. And for us to have a winning record, I think these guys should be proud of that. I'm very pleased with them, and I'll always have fond memories of coaching these guys.”

Beatdown

The Sun Devils’ season ended with a thud. They scored just 16 points in the first half against Iowa State and lost by a 49-point margin that was the biggest ever in a Big 12 Tournament game.

ASU shot just 31.9% and coughed up 23 turnovers that led to 25 Iowa State points. Odum had just two points on 1-for-6 shooting.

“I think our guys came out with a great level of energy and intensity from the start,” Iowa State coach TJ Otzelberger said. “We knew it was going to be important to try to speed them up and score from our defense, and our guys did a glreat job there.”

ASU had ranked sixth in turnover margin during the Big 12 regular-season game, at plus-0.5, but Hurley said Iowa State’s physicality was overwhelming.

“They really swarmed us,” Hurley said. “We got the ball in some really tough areas of the floor against a really good defensive team and you just can't afford to do that.”

‘Miserable’ at K-State

While Hurley went out expressing positive feelings, Kansas State interim coach Matthew Driscoll had a harder time of it.

He had to step into the head coaching seat when his good friend, Jerome Tang, was fired on Feb. 15.

“Absolutely miserable,” Driscoll said after K-State was eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament by BYU in the first round Tuesday, when asked to describe the experience. “Can't use another word than absolutely miserable. Every day, ulcers, not sleeping, not feeling good.”

Driscoll said he’s always been hard-wired to be organized and keep emotions in check, sending the ill feelings down deep throughout his body.

“It's been very hard to mourn or be emotional, and I even asked my psychologist, like, ‘Why aren't I emotional?’” Driscoll said. Tang is “one of my best friends. His daughter is my Goddaughter.

“But it's because he asked me to do something, and I told these dudes I'm going to do it. And when someone asks me to do something, that's the one thing I am: I'm consistent.

“So it's been miserable from that perspective. ..when somebody asks you to do something you say, ‘Yes.’ You do it. That's just the way I was raised.”

Dybantsa flattered

Arizona’s Jaden Bradley was named the Big 12’s Player of the Year, but BYU’s AJ Dybantsa was the one Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark lobbied on behalf of to win a national Player of the Year.

“It’s an honor,” Dybantsa said. “I feel like this is the best league in the world for college basketball and for him to recognize my talents and think I should be up there with one of the best players in the country, this means a lot.”

Big-boy ball

Briefly ranked at No. 25 in the Associated Press poll after beating Kansas on Jan. 3, UCF was still 14-2 when it hosted Arizona at home on Jan. 17. But after the Wildcats beat them 84-77 that day, they went 6-7 the rest of the regular season entering the Big 12 Tournament.

Nothing changed except the competition, the way UCF coach Johnny Dawkins put it.

“I didn't learn anything because I know the league is great,” Dawkins said. “Think about the teams in our league. Most of the teams went through different stretches, patches where they were winning a lot, then of all a sudden they're losing a lot. We definitely were nowhere near the only team that went through something like that. And it's because of the level of competition.”

Bubble popped?

Cincinnati’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament field dipped considerably after it lost to UCF in the second round on Wednesday, but Bearcats coach Wes Miller tried to make a case.

Cincinnati fell to 18-15, is ranked 43rd in KenPom, and 46th in the NET, with a “wins above bubble” rating of negative 0.91. In ESPN’s updated Bracketology report Wednesday, Cincinnati was listed as a “next four out” team.

“I'm not in the room with the selection committee, so I don't understand all the guidelines of it,” Miller said. “But if it's about the best teams at this point, we're one of the best teams in the country. We're an NCAA Tournament team.

“If it's about overall résumé, I'm sure that you can make some arguments that we're not. But we've won seven out of our last 10 Big 12 games (counting the Big 12 Tournament). … When's the last time somebody won seven out of 10 in the Big 12 and didn't play in the NCAA Tournament? Honestly?

“Again, I don't know what goes on. I certainly feel that we belong. … Certainly we'll hold out hope, but I realize (losing to UCF) was difficult. I think everybody in our locker room understands that.”

Cyclone forming

What Las Vegas was to Arizona, Kansas City is to Iowa State.

Even before the Cyclones faced Texas Tech in a quarterfinal game Thursday, their midday second-round game against ASU on Wednesday resulted in about three-quarters of the fans inside T-Mobile Arena wearing Iowa State gear. The rest were mostly dressed in blue, a split of curious fans of BYU and Kansas.

While Arizona was able to draw dominant crowds at the old Pac-12 Tournaments in Las Vegas, the Big 12 Tournament’s location is especially convenient for fans of Iowa State, Kansas and (in good seasons), Kansas State.

Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center is within a three-hour drive of Iowa State and many areas of that state, while it’s even closer to K-State and Kansas.

The big number

33.5: Points Dybantsa averaged in his first two Big 12 Tournament games, while shooting 57.8% from the field.

Quotable 

“As far as the wins and losses and the bad losses... My wife's going to be there supporting me after this, and she's here right now. My daughters love me. I have a granddaughter. You know, my son was on staff with me. I got to share a whole season with him. So that's what means the most to me.” — Hurley, about two hours before ASU announced his contract would not be renewed.