The No. 8-ranked Arizona Wildcats (12-1) will attempt to extend a seven-game winning streak when they take on the Arizona State Sun Devils (10-3) at Wells-Fargo Arena. The game starts at 2:00 pm ET on Sunday, Jan. 3 and will air on FS1.
The Sun Devils were victorious over Cal State Bakersfield 75-59 the last time they played. Tra Holder led all scorers on the team with 23 points on 4-for-8 shooting. The Wildcats are coming off an 85-70 win over Long Beach State in their last outing. Allonzo Trier shot 5 for 9 and led in scoring with 20 points.
Over the last five games, Holder has been playing at a high level for the Sun Devils. During that stretch, he has averaged 18.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.6 three-pointers.
Arizona State is a four-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 138 points. The Sun Devils look to build on their records of 10-3 Straight Up (SU) and 7-5 Against The Spread (ATS).
On the other side, the Wildcats head into the game with records of 7-6 ATS and 12-1 SU. Arizona is one of the top shooting teams in the country, hitting .480 of its shots from the floor. The Arizona defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking 16th in Division I with only 61.9 points allowed per game. Teams don’t seem to hit many three-pointers against the Wildcats, who are 10th in the country in terms of three-point field goals allowed at 65 this season. The Wildcats are a terror on the defensive glass, averaging an impressive 29.5 defensive rebounds per game.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time Arizona State and Arizona played, Arizona State won, but Arizona still leads the head-to-head record over their most recent games, 7-3 SU. Additionally, Arizona leads the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. Arizona held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once in the last five game, while Arizona State wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ari, ATS Winner – Ari, O/U – Under
Notes
Arizona State is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games.
Arizona State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Arizona State is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Arizona.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona State’s last 6 games when playing Arizona.
Arizona State is 7-14 SU in its last 21 games when playing at home against Arizona.
Arizona averages 78.9 points per game (ranked 78th). Arizona State, on the other hand, allows 68.1 points per game (ranked 116th).
Ranked 63rd, the Arizona Wildcats have an offensive rating of 112.3. The Arizona State Sun Devils rank 101st with a defensive rating of just 97.5.
Arizona has an average field goal percentage of 48.0%. Arizona State is undefeated (2-0) when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Arizona State Sun Devils and the Arizona Wildcats both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Arizona State is 240th and 227th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Arizona ranks 80th and 39th in these categories.
Arizona State ranks 52nd in rebounds per game with 40.2 and Arizona ranks 35th with 41.4 rebounds per game.
The Arizona State Sun Devils make an average of 5.5 steals per game. When the Arizona Wildcats allow 5 or more steals, they are a formidable 5-1.
