Arizona State's men's basketball head coach Herb Sendek's nine-year tenure in Tempe has ended today following a 9:45 a.m. meeting between Arizona State's Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson and Sendek.

Arizona State concluded its 2014-15 season with an 18-16 mark and a 9-9 Pac-12 record. ASU defied the pre-season predictions which had pegged the Sun Devils to finish ninth in the Pac-12 preseason media poll, as they ended the regular season in fifth place. However, ASU was upset by 12th seeded USC, a game that saw the Trojans go on a 21-4 run in victory.

That contest is believed to be the turning point in the administration's approach towards Sendek's job status, despite the fact that last December the Arizona Board of Regents extended the coach's contract by one year to June 30, 2017. A 20-win season by Sendek or a NCAA tournament berth would have extended his contract by an additional year.

Sendek leaves Tempe with a 159-137 mark, and in his nine years at the helm he took the Sun Devils to two NCAA Tournaments and four NIT appearances, including this year where ASU beat Connecticut and lost to Richmond.

ASU is expected to owe Sendek $2.4 million which is the sum of his last two years under contract.

The Sun Devils will have a strong nucleus of players coming back this coming season, including four starters in Tra Holder, Gerry Blakes, Eric Jacobsen and Savon Goodman.

Stay tuned here at DevilsDigest.com for all the latest on ASU's coaching search.