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But ASU players still didn’t even go there.

Instead, after Arizona edged ASU 89-82 thanks in part to a double-double from Gilbert native Koa Peat and 25 points from Tobe Awaka, the Sun Devils walked the other way through a roped off area along the east sideline, then exited the floor through the south tunnel the Wildcats usually use — while the Wildcats became the ones who actually walked near the Zona Zoo.

Criss-cross. No harm, no foul.

Potential conflict avoided.

“I have no idea how that came up. I was surprised,� UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. “But I'm like, 'Oh, that's a heck of an idea.' Somebody should have thought of that earlier. UCLA probably agrees with that a few years ago.�

Yes, the Bruins and Mac Etienne probably would. Etienne was the UCLA center who, in an apparent response to heckling UA officials later expressed regret over during a heated 2021-22 game at McKale, was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly spitting toward the student crowd as he walked out the northeast corner of McKale Center.

Etienne later pleaded not guilty to the charge in Pima County Justice Court and ultimately agreed to a diversion program that resulted in his case management conference being dismissed.

Two years later, the Wildcats and Bruins left the Pac-12, and their rivalry hasn’t been renewed at McKale since.

But the ASU rivalry never went away, with the Big 12 having made sure to schedule the Wildcats and Sun Devils twice each season on each other's home floors, even as the 16-team conference is playing just 18 games this season.

So, predictably, on Wednesday, that meant ASU coach Bobby Hurley was greeted with chants of “Bobby you suck� from the Zona Zoo just a few minutes after the McKale public-address announcer warned fans against derogatory behavior.

Lloyd had figured something like that could happen.

“We have a decent relationship, and I just told him, 'Bobby, whatever our fans are saying to you, you don't deserve,'" Lloyd said. "I want to let him know from one coach to the next ... that I respect him as a human being and a person and a coach. Whatever our fans are saying, that's just part of fandom. It's not real.

“So I thought that’s a brilliant idea to take him out the other side. We don't need anything with one of our students, or one of them, impacting two teams that are trying to build these seasons.�

Besides, there was plenty of tension between the lines Wednesday, anyway.

In what was the undefeated Wildcats’ closest call since they won 71-67 at UConn on Nov. 19, Arizona and ASU played a game that featured offsetting technical calls, an appeal for a flagrant foul to be called that wasn’t, and a delay of game called against a dunking player.

Not to mention, plenty of emotional words you could hear depending on where you were in the arena — and plenty of body language you could see from anywhere.

It started right away. A sellout and noisy UA crowd rode the Sun Devils and Hurley early while the teams played a one-possession game for nearly all of the first half.

When the game was tied at 18 midway through the first half, ASU forward Allen Mukeba fouled UA guard Brayden Burries as he drove to the basket during a play when both of them eventually picked up technical fouls.

Peat fell under the basket during the play, and when Mukeba extended his arms in an apparent offer to lift him off the floor, Peat waved him off — though Peat said after the game that it wasn't because of anything that was said.

“I was just on the floor from a hard fall, so I was kind of taking my time to get up,� Peat said.

Meanwhile, Burries contacted Mukeba, with both players given offsetting technical fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Just over a minute later, with ASU still having not shot any free throws to that point, Hurley appealed to officials to see if UA center Motiejus Krivas committed a flagrant foul during a tangle with ASU’s Santiago Trouet, but officials ruled no flagrant was committed.

In the second half, ASU guard Bryce Ford was called for a delay-of-game penalty, apparently for how he disposed of the ball after a dunk that pulled the Sun Devils to within 68-63 with 8:21 left.

But by then, Arizona had begun a streak of 11 straight made field goals, capped by a 3-pointer from Ivan Kharchenkov and a short jumper from Peat that made it 75-63 with seven minutes left.

In between those two shots were two turnovers from ASU guard Mo Odum, who was otherwise almost singlehandedly willing the Sun Devils back in the game.

A transfer from Pepperdine who has become ASU's leading scorer and engine at point guard, Odum was just 2 of 10 in the first half, but scored 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting after halftime.

Odum had a chance to cut UA’s lead to two points with 54 seconds left when he hit a 3-pointer and drew a foul, but he missed an ensuing free throw.

On UA's next possession, a 12-foot jumper from Jaden Bradley with 27 seconds left put UA up by five, and Tobe Awaka hit two free throws with 19 seconds left to make the final score.

That was enough to move the Wildcats to 17-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big 12, despite the fact that they trailed at halftime for only the second time this season — they also did against Alabama — and despite the fact that ASU (10-7, 1-3)  led for nearly 10 minutes in the game.

Arizona had trailed for a total of just 14 seconds in its previous five games.

Afterward, Lloyd said the Wildcats didn’t have “hubris,� that they knew games wouldn’t always come easy, and Peat, who starred for four years at nearby Gilbert Perry High School and considered playing for the Sun Devils, credited ASU.

“They were well coached. They made a lot of big shots, a lot on a broken plays and they shot the ball well from 3,� Peat said. “They’re a good team. I don't think we played our best first half, but it's a good learning moment for us. I think we're gonna keep getting better from it."

The way Lloyd explained it, Peat was among those with a lesson learned. After making just 2 of 8 field goals in the first half, Peat hit 9 of 15 in the second half and wound up with 24 points.

"Obviously, Koa understands what this game means maybe more than other guys, so he had to adjust to it a little bit," Lloyd said.

"One of the things we talk about a lot in our program is the undisciplined want of more. Maybe early in the game, he was a little too aggressive and got sped up a little bit in an effort to help our team. Maybe he was a little bit undisciplined with it. He really reeled that in in the second half."

Then, by the end of the second half, Peat was able to walk off the floor without a worry.

And, for once, so could the visiting team.

Arizona is not believed to have swapped McKale exits with an opponent before, with visiting teams having always been asked to walk off the floor next to UA students, and it's possible the setup could be used for some other games.

But Lloyd said he had no idea if it would become a regular thing, whether just for big games or any other games.

“I would hope Arizona fans are classy enough to not make it a regular thing and respect our competition and respect our opponents,� Lloyd said. “If we get beat, you tip your hat to them, and you move on.�