Bobby Hurley rooting for brother Dan's Rhode Island team over Duke

For Bobby Hurley, it's an easy choice: His brother over his alma mater.

The former Duke star told ESPN he will obviously be rooting for his younger brother, Dan, the head coach at Rhode Island, when the Rams face Duke on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

"It's not hard for me," said Bobby, whose Arizona State team lost to Syracuse on Wednesday night in the First Four. "I talk to Dan every day. He's my best friend, along with my wife."

Bobby said he won't be in attendance for the game, which will be played in Pittsburgh.

"I love Duke," he added. "But Dan's family."

Bobby Hurley starred for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1989 to 1993 and helped lead the Blue Devils to national titles in 1991 and 1992. Krzyzewski presented Bob Hurley Sr. -- a legendary, longtime high school coach at St. Anthony's in Jersey City, New Jersey -- at the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

"We love the Hurley family," Krzyzewski said.

"The Hurley family epitomizes the dignity of work, and, you know, we feel we do, too," he added. "So we get along really well. Look, obviously, we want to beat them, but it's an honor to play against them. And win or lose, you can be sure I'll hug him and wish him well if they beat us, and wish them well if we beat them. But we'll go after each other hard, I know that."

Dan hired Bobby as an assistant coach at Wagner in 2010, and then the pair went to Rhode Island in 2012 before Bobby left to become the head coach at Buffalo and then ASU.

Bobby Hurley said he and Dan spoke on Thursday shortly after Rhode Island beat Oklahoma in overtime, but it wasn't as much about Duke as a therapy session for Bobby.

"I don't need to give him advice," Bobby said. "He knows what they are. We spoke a little about how long they are in the zone, but we didn't talk technical. Dan's excited, he's living in the moment. He thrives in big-game environments like these."

Bobby added: "He was calling to help me pick up the pieces. He was making sure I understood what we accomplished at Arizona State this year."