No. 6 Arizona Basketball goes for the sweep against ASU

TEMPE, AZ - Back atop the Pac-12 Conference standings, No. 6 Arizona Basketball (21-6, 12-4) looks to earn the sweep against Arizona State (14-14, 8-9). 

After a tough loss to Washington State last week, No. 6 Arizona Basketball bounced back in a big way by beating the visiting Washington Huskies to stay alive in the Pac-12 Conference race. They even got a little help from rival ASU as the Sun Devils beat the Cougars.

Already having previously met just 11 days ago, these two teams are back in action as the Wildcats travel to enemy territory to take on Arizona State.

Once again, this is a game that Arizona is heavily favored in, but of course, nothing is ever guaranteed in college basketball, and we expect Arizona State to come in hungry for an upset, and look to rebound from their previous loss to the Wildcats. Plus, we know Arizona has seen its fair share of inconsistencies on the road.

Hopefully, we see our Wildcats ready to roll and focused from the tip in this one. If they do that, they should be able to win this one!

Getting to know the details about Arizona Basketball’s opponent, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Team: Arizona State Sun Devils

Conference: Pac-12 Conference

Current Record: 14–14 (8–9)

Head Coach: Bobby Hurley. Now in his 11th season as a head coach (9th with ASU), Hurley is currently 155–127 (79–85) with the Sun Devils with three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Before he arrived at Arizona State, Bobby was the head coach at Buffalo from 2013-15 where he was 42–20 (25–11) with an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015. Overall, he is 196–147 as a head coach.

2022-23 Record: Finishing the 2022-23 season with a 23–13 (11–9) record, the Sun Devils ended their year with a loss to TCU in the Round of 64. ASU did beat Nevada in the play-in game.

So with Arizona Basketball taking on Arizona State, here is how you can watch and follow our Wildcats!

Arizona Basketball vs Arizona State Information and Details:

Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Time: 8:00 P.M. MST / 7:00 P.M. PST

Television: Pac-12

Location: Desert Financial Arena – Tempe, AZ (14,198)

Spread: -12.0 Arizona (Don’t forget to sign up with Caesars Sportsbook or DraftKings to enhance your overall betting experience)

Overall Series Record: 158-87 Arizona. A lengthy and fierce rivalry, this is one of the oldest rivalries in college sports and dates back as early as 1913, when Arizona then beat Tempe Normal School by a 41-17 final.

Since then, this head-to-head rivalry has been fairly one-sided, with Arizona winning eight of the last 10 meetings.

Last Meeting: The last time these two teams met was just 11 days ago in Tucson, where the Wildcats came away with the largest win in rivalry history, beating the visiting Sun Devils by a 105-60 final.

Arizona Basketball Game Preview:

After rebounding with a big win over Washington, the Wildcats are back in action as they will look to continue their winning ways against a talented, but inconsistent Arizona State basketball team. 

As we saw the last time, the Sun Devils have the talent, but not necessarily the consistency in execution. Plus, we expect a bigger fight from ASU after getting walloped by 45 points just a week and a half earlier.

Led by veteran guards Frankie Collins and Jose Perez, the two are averaging 13.8 and 13.1 points per game, respectively. Meanwhile, Juniors Jamiya Neal and Adam Miller are also talented scorers, so this is a team that can score some points, as well as fill up a stat sheet.

This is an offense that isn't super consistent, but they are still currently averaging 70.2 points per game. And where they do tend to struggle is shooting the ball consistently. So far this year, they are shooting 42.1 percent from the field, including 31.0 percent from three.

Beyond that, the Sun Devils seem to lack ideal size down low which has led to struggles on the glass. ASU is currently surrendering a +4.7 rebound margin.

This is a game, that if Arizona can attack the bucket and get their bigs into early foul trouble, Arizona should be able to control the tempo. If the Wildcats can establish themselves quickly, we like their chances of coming away with the win in this one!

Hopefully, the Wildcats will be ready to go in this one and continue their winning ways. Wednesdays game against the Sun Devils is set for 8:00 P.M. Tucson time and will be broadcasted on Pac-12 Network.

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