Wildcats on Six-Game Win Streak
The No. 5 Arizona Wildcats go for a seventh straight victory when they take on the host Arizona State Sun Devils in a Pac-12 contest on Saturday. Arizona has been on a roll since its only loss of the season to Utah on Dec. 1, though it is tied with three other teams for fifth place in the Pac-12 standings.
Arizona State had its nine-game winning streak snapped with a loss to San Francisco on Dec. 21 but is unbeaten in conference play and sits a half-game behind the first-place Utes. Both teams would love to deliver a blow to their rival, so before you do your betting online on this contest, check out our in-depth preview.
Let’s check the latest college basketball odds, stats, injury reports, and college basketball lines for Arizona Wildcats vs Arizona State. We’ve plenty of NCAA basketball odds for you to consider.
Arizona Hoping To Resume Hot Play
The Arizona Wildcats haven’t played since Dec. 22, routing visiting Morgan State for their sixth straight win. In those games, Arizona allowed over 70 points just once — in a 14-point win over then-No. 14 Indiana — and won by double-digits in all but one game.
Junior forward Azuolas Tubelis has led the scoring attack for Arizona, averaging 20.1 points, including a 26-point performance against Morgan State. Tubelis is also a beast on the boards, averaging 8.7 per game to rank second on the team.
Junior Oumar Ballo is the second part of the Wildcats’ Twin Towers. The 7-0 center is averaging 17.8 points, a team-high 9.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks, shooting 74.2% from the floor.
Senior guard Courtney Ramey has been heating up, averaging 12.0 points over the last three games. Ramey is up to 11.7 points per game on the season, hitting 45% from beyond the 3-point arc.
Arizona State Looks for Bounce-Back Performance
The Arizona State Sun Devils likely didn’t feel too good about themselves after their last pre-holiday performance, as they were blown out by San Francisco by 37 points on Dec. 21. The Sun Devils shot just 27.9% from the floor, including 19.2% from 3-point range, while allowing the Dons to hit 57.1% of their shots, including 51.7% of their 3-point attempts.
“They made shots early in the game and our defense was not there,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said after the loss to San Francisco. “We had a hard time making free throws and getting offense. They had a huge advantage and we were chasing. I think it’s on me. It’s on the staff to get these guys ready to play and we didn’t do that overall.”
Junior guard DJ Horne had 12 points and three steals. He paces the Sun Devils in scoring at 12.5 points per game, though he’s shooting just 36.5% from the floor.
Senior guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. is contributing 11.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest. He had 23 points in the Sun Devils’ win over San Diego on Dec. 18 but missed the team’s loss to San Francisco due to a non-COVID-19 illness. He’s expected to be ready to go for this one.
Arizona vs Arizona State Head-To-Head
The Arizona Wildcats are on a four-game winning streak against the Arizona State Sun Devils, including a pair of wins last season. Arizona has won the last two times they’ve traveled to Tempe, Ariz., for a game.
The Wildcats have an all-time lead of 71-39 in this rivalry. The college basketball lines for Saturday’s game favor them to add to that advantage with a road win.
Arizona vs Arizona State Game Information
Game: Arizona (12-1, 1-1 Pac-12) vs Arizona State (11-2, 2-0 Pac-12)
Location: Allen Fieldhouse
Day/Time: Saturday, Dec 31, 2:00 p.m. ET
Arizona vs Arizona State Live Stream: TBS.com
Arizona vs Arizona State Betting Lines
Arizona vs Arizona State Prediction
The Arizona Wildcats are one of the more talented teams in college basketball, while the Arizona State Sun Devils are trying to piece together their offense. The depth and height of the Wildcats win out in this one.
When making your college basketball picks, take Arizona to win and cover on the road.
