Utah @ Arizona State preview

Utah at Arizona State

Last Meeting ( Feb 16, 2019 ) Arizona State 98, Utah 87

The start of conference play has been a struggle for Utah and Arizona State as they’ve each lost three of their first four Pac-12 games and are tied with UCLA at the bottom of the standings. Either the Runnin’ Utes or Sun Devils, though, will get a much-needed win Saturday night as they clash in Tempe, Ariz.

The Utes have dropped three straight after tipping off Pac-12 play with a home win over Oregon State. The latest loss came Thursday night as host Arizona blitzed Utah with eight 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes to take a 52-28 halftime lead en route to a 93-77 victory. Arizona State, meanwhile, was back home Thursday after earning a split on its two-game trip to Oregon and jumped out to an early 12-3 lead over visiting Colorado. But the 21st-ranked Buffaloes pulled even by halftime and then opened the second half with a 16-4 run on the way to a 68-61 road win.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network

ABOUT UTAH (10-6, 1-3 Pac-12): Leading scorer Timmy Allen (19.9 points per game) bounced back from a season-worst seven-point showing with 16 points to match Riley Battin for the team lead versus Arizona. However, the Utes’ other two players with double-digit averages, guards Both Gach (11.8) and Rylan Jones (10.6), combined for 13 points on 4-of-17 shooting. Utah was outrebounded (38-32) for the third straight game, and defense continues to be a problem as Arizona scorched the Utes with 15 3-pointers in 29 attempts to help drop Utah’s conference-worst points-allowed average to 72.1.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (10-7, 1-3): Guard Remy Martin and forward Romello White combined for 44 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists Thursday, but that meant the rest of the team only contributed 17 points, 25 boards and three assists in the loss. Martin continues to pace the squad with 19.5 points per outing and has scored at least 20 points in each of his last five games. White (11.1 points, team-leading 9.6 rebounds) and guard Alonzo Verge Jr. (12.4 points) also are averaging double figures, but the latter has struggled mightily in Pac-12 play, averaging 5.5 points on 18.9-percent shooting.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Utah has struggled against Arizona but has fared much better against ASU, winning seven of the last nine meetings.

2. Behind White’s 10 boards, Arizona State managed to outrebound Colorado, which entered the game as the conference leader in rebound margin, but the Sun Devils continue to bring up the rear in the Pac-12 with a minus-2.5 margin on the boards.

3. Since opening the season with a 79-74 win at Nevada, the Utes have dropped all three of their true road games, losing by an average of 25.7 points per contest.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 76, Utah 73