A win would be monumental for tournament hopes
Arizona State (20-9, 11-7 Pac-12) travels to Los Angeles to face No. 4 UCLA (25-4, 16-2 Pac-12) in another pivotal game in ASU’s gauntlet to end the regular season. The Sun Devils are fresh-off one of the most miraculous finishes in school history in its 89-88 win over Arizona last week.
Game Details
- Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023
- Time: 7 p.m. MT
- Location: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, Calif.
- Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Arizona State listed as 11.5-point underdogs, with the over/under set at 133.5 points.
TV/Radio
- Watch: ESPN
- Listen: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM
Predictions
Kevin Redfern: Though ASU continues to play UCLA hard over the last few meetings, the hangover from Saturday’s win will manifest itself in a poor-shooting performance from the Sun Devils. Tyger Campbell’s production in the points department slowly halted following his season-high 22 points against ASU earlier this season, but he scored 14 and 18 in his last two games and is getting hot. Campbell takes over again, and the Bruins take it 70-62.
Spencer Gustafson: Can the road warriors do it again?
After replaying *insert whatever title you like here* for the millionth time on Twitter, we must move on to UCLA. The Pac-12-leading Bruins are a perfect 15-0 at Pauley Pavilion in the 2022-2023 season, and after a tight victory at Colorado, they boast a 25-4 record on the year. Arizona State, particularly Desmond Cambridge Jr., is going to have a big task trying to contain Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA’s leading-scorer at 17 points per-game.
It will have to go both ways, though. Cambridge Jr. is the biggest threat to knock down shots for ASU at 13.9 points per game, so that battle should be fun to watch tonight.
If the disparity in free throws can be any better than it was against Arizona, ASU has a real shot at another upset — though Arizona’s lack of production at the stripe saved the Sun Devils.
This game could go a long way in determining what the Sun Devils have to do in the Pac-12 tournament in order to make March Madness, so expect some fire and desire out of Bobby Hurley’s group tonight. 72-67, ASU.