No. 3 Arizona Basketball prepares for in-state showdown with ASU

Fresh off a loss to UCLA, No. 3 Arizona Basketball (16-2, 6-1) returns to action to take on rival ASU (6-11, 2-5) for an in-state showdown. 

Well, Tuesday evening did not go the way that many Wildcat fans had hoped; however, Saturday is a new day, and it is a great opportunity for No. 3 Arizona Basketball to get back on track as they take on rival Arizona State.

Despite their 16-point loss to UCLA, coming in, Arizona is considered the heavy favorite here, and rightfully so as the Wildcats will have the advantage from a talent and depth standpoint.

Beyond that, in their conference wins against the bottom half of the conference, the Wildcats have dominated, winning their first six games by an average of 22 points.

However, following their loss to UCLA, the Wildcats did show some weaknesses. And even with the Wildcats being the heavy favorites, anything can happen in rivalry games, so we still expect ASU to put up a bit of a fight in this one.

Hopefully, even with Arizona likely to be without a healthy Azuolas Tubelis, head coach Tommy Lloyd will be sure to have the Wildcats ready to rumble inside McKale and ready to get this team back on track!

Getting to Know the details of Arizona Basketball’s opponent, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Team: Arizona State Sun Devils

Conference: Pac-12 Conference

2020-21 Record: Finishing the year with an 11-14 (7-10) record in 2020-21, the Sun Devils finished in 9th place in the conference, ending their season with a Quarterfinals loss to Oregon in the Conference Tournament.

Head Coach: Bobby Hurley enters his 7th season with the Sun Devils, having compiled a 110-94 (52-62) record so far. Bobby is currently coaching his 9th season in the NCAA, making a previous stop with Buffalo from 2013-15, compiling a 152–114 record overall as a head coach.

Keys to the Game:

Don’t let Arizona State get their Confidence Going – The Sun Devils are not a good shooting team, shooting 46.3 percent from the field, including 27.7 percent from beyond the arc.

No sense in giving Arizona State good looks from the field or letting them get going in this one, otherwise, the more Arizona lets ASU hang around, the tighter this game will be.

Arizona has to come out early focused and ready to play, stifling ASU and not giving them any hope of staying in this one.

Attack the Paint – The Wildcats have the size advantage down low, and with the Sun Devils committing an average of 18 fouls and letting teams shoot an average of 18 free throws per game, this is a matchup that should favor Arizona significantly.

Arizona is an aggressive team when they want to be, and against ASU they need to attack the paint and put the pressure on the Sun Devils early. If the Wildcats do this, they are going to come away with the big win!

Bench Production – After Azuolas Tubelis went down to injury last week against Stanford, the Wildcats’ bench did a nice job in stepping up to pick up the production in that win, as well as their win against Cal

Against UCLA, virtually everyone struggled on Arizona. Now, this isn’t to say that ASU is the same level as the Bruins; however, the Wildcats’ bench will need to continue to step up with Tubelis still not at 100 percent.

If Arizona can replicate that level of production that they had against Stanford and Cal, then this one should be an easy win for Arizona.

Arizona Basketball versus the Arizona State Sun Devils game information and details:

Date: Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022

Time: 12:30 P.M. MST / 11:30 A.M. PST

Location: McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz. (14,655)

Spread: -21.5 Arizona (Also, don’t forget to use WynnBet to enhance your overall betting experience)

Television: CBS

Radio: 107.5 FM (Tucson) / 1290AM (Tucson) | Arizona IMG Sports Network

Team Records:

No. 3 Arizona Wildcats (16-2, 6-1): After dropping their first Pac-12 game of the season, Arizona returns home for a conference battle against in-state rival Arizona State in what should be a game in which the Wildcats will be heavily favored.

Arizona State Sun Devils (6-11, 2-5): Coming off a 22-point loss to No. 15 USC, things don’t get any easier for Arizona State as the Sun Devils return to action against rival Arizona in what should be a big showdown in Tucson on Saturday afternoon.

Head-to-Head Record (since 1949-50): Since 1949-50, Arizona and ASU have met 148 times, and the Wildcats have had the advantage over the Sun Devils, currently owning an 84-64 lead. The Wildcats have won 9 of the last 12 matchups, including two straight wins.

Last Meeting vs. Arizona: The last time the Wildcats played the Sun Devils was in Tucson. Arizona came away with the big win, defeating ASU 80-67.

My Prediction: Arizona 84 ASU 61 – Arizona’s length and athleticism make this a challenging game for Arizona State. The Sun Devils have gotten some good wins this year; however, they are an inconsistent team that has had to deal with some adversity of late.

With the Wildcats coming off a loss to the Bruins in which they did not play well, I expect Arizona to be focused and ready for business in this one. Look for a big Arizona win!