ASU has won six straight Pac-12 games. How?

Bobby Hurley pumped his fist. His face looked like an Arizona sunset. His white button-down shirt was coming untucked. Those are the details. There may have been an earthquake, Hurley wouldn’t have noticed.

He let out a scream of both euphoria and relief. Remy Martin pointed to his coach then kept his hand in the air for a high-five. Hurley happily obliged, then turned his body and shook Oregon coach Dana Altman’s hand, going down the line of Ducks.

He made a beeline for the locker room. It almost looked like the indelible moment after he was ejected from his first Territorial Cup. He waved his arms. He slapped outstretched hands. He jumped. He screamed. All to thunderous applause.

This scene, though, was one Hurley could have only imagined on that January afternoon over four years ago. The Sun Devils knocked off No. 14 Oregon, 77-72. Fans were excited, of course. But they also weren’t so stunned by the result that they felt the need to storm the court.

That’s progress. That’s a transformation

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This time of year breeds hours and hours of talk about polling. It’s a census year and, more notable, an election year. A night before ASU’s upset victory, President Donald Trump had a rally in Phoenix. The Democratic debates were airing at the same time. While it’s fresh, here’s another polling question:

At ASU right now, who has a higher approval rating than Bobby Hurley?

You could make a case for a few names within the football program. Herm Edwards, Antonio Pierce, and Jayden Daniels come to mind. After that, who? Thursday was an interesting day for the school. Maybe more tumultuous than interesting.

In the afternoon, a report broke that an ASU booster had sexually harassed wives of a few within the basketball program, calling into question if the administration, namely Vice President of University Athletics, Ray Anderson, had acted properly in the handling. Less than an hour later, it was announced star wrestler Zahid Valencia was suspended indefinitely for a failed drug test.

Thursday cooled some of the heat around Arizona State -- at least, temporarily. Credit Hurley for that. Credit his team -- maybe the best one he’s ever had. Talent-wise? There could be a debate. You could even argue that Hurley’s other teams have had better stretches. But none in conference play. None this late in the year.

“We just are more locked in. We know that we actually need these games,” guard Rob Edwards said. “We don’t want to be sitting and watching the TV screen, waiting to see if we are going to get our name called for the tournament.

“We’re trying to get the job done right now so that’s secure.”

The Sun Devils have now won six straight -- that hasn’t happened in almost four decades. Barring a scenario where they lose out, ASU will likely make its third-straight NCAA Tournament -- that hasn’t happened since the early 1960s. The win over the Ducks also positioned the Devils a half game behind Colorado for the conference lead. They have a realistic chance at winning the Pac-12 regular-season title -- that hasn’t happened …

Ever.

All of that is crazy. All the history that this ASU team has the chance to rewrite. Yes, this team. You know, the one that lost to St. Mary’s by 40 in December. The one that fell in Tucson by 28. The one that, in mid-January was 10-7 -- back when it couldn’t shoot, when the thought of it being part of March Madness drew laughter.

“This is just staying in the battle, staying in the moment. This is as good as we’ve done, just to stick with the group,” Hurley said. “Sometimes when you start like that, you can lose the season. We never lost the season.”

No, they didn’t. Instead, somehow, they turned it around.

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On Thursday, Rob Edwards (24) and Alonzo Verge (26) combined for 50 points. Two months ago, people questioned if Edwards could break a five-game slump -- where he scored 10 combined points and went 1 of 18 from beyond the arc. Or if Verge, a junior college transfer, was going to ever acclimate himself to Division I basketball.

“I knew Zo had to show up the way I had seen for months and what I saw in junior college,” Hurley said. “I just kept sticking with it, it was a matter of time. And if you add him to Remy and Romello (White), I knew we’d be dangerous.”

That they’ve become. They’ve answered questions at every turn. About their talent, their shooting, their determination, all of it. But how did the ASU from late December morph into this? What changed? What clicked?

Hurley: “I’ve said it before, Remy has such a strong will to win that he won’t let us lose … Romello White is a warrior, he’s battled every game .. And then the emergence of Verge and all the hustle plays.”

Martin: “Making plays. I think everyone is just starting to make plays. Guys are starting to hit shots and make big-time shots and stepping up and playing defense. We’re just making the shots we were supposed to hit back then.”

Forward Mickey Mitchell: “I said (after the Washington loss, the team’s last), offense is going to come. Earlier on in the season, we were getting familiar with everyone, where we were going to be. (Now, we’re) just playing off each other. It’s clicking.”

Forward Elias Valtonen: “I think we put more into practice like they were games. We really learned to play with each other better and how to share the ball. And, on the defensive side, it’s carried us.”

Forward Jalen Graham: “I don’t even know. We just clicked all together. And we've been playing hard -- playing hard on defense. And we bought into coach and bought into the team … There (had been) more selfish play and then we bought into coming together.”

Forward Taeshon Cherry: “Once we lost to Washington State and coach Hurley started getting on us and showed that he really cared about it and cares about us. I think that’s when the switch flipped. We showed it against Washington and we just carried it from there.

“And we’re building on it -- we’re getting better and better.”