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Hurley: Those who doubt UA 'need to wake up'

Posted at 12:30 PM, Feb 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-18 14:30:38-05

Despite all of their regular-season success and conference championships, the Arizona Wildcats haven't advanced to the Final Four since 2001.

After UA's 99-61 rout of the Arizona State Sun Devils on Wednesday, ASU coach Bobby Hurley thinks this year's Wildcats are primed to end that skid.

"This is a team that's capable of making a deep run"

"There are people out there that follow college basketball that don't think that they're a Final Four team. Well, they need to wake up," Hurley said after the game.

"With their guard play and the experience and the size and the wings, there aren't a lot of holes in what they do, and they have a good plan and they're coached well."

The Wildcats had way too much size for the Sun Devils on Wednesday, and the statistics reflected that. UA out-rebounded ASU by a 48-25 margin, led by senior Kaleb Tarczewski's career-high 15 boards. The Wildcats also out-shot ASU from the floor, 57 percent to 32 percent.

Hurley said many people believe the Pac-12 doesn't have top-tier, Final Four-caliber teams. He said those people are flat-out wrong.

See also: Bobby Hurley "felt helpless" during UA's victory

"That needs to be addressed with the Pac-12, because people nationally don't think that this conference has teams at the top of the league that are capable of playing deep in the tournament. I think that they're mistaken about that," he said.

"I just think that people look at our conference and say, 'They're good top to bottom, but they don't have an elite team.' Well, we've played some elite teams this year and I've watched a lot of college basketball ... This is a team that's capable of making a deep run, as is Oregon and some other teams in our league."