Arizona State @ Washington St. preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 7, 2019 ) Washington St. 91, Arizona State 70

Arizona State may have saved its season with last Saturday’s thrilling win over rival Arizona, but there’s still little margin for error for coach Bobby Hurley’s squad. The Sun Devils look to build on the signature victory in Wednesday’s road matchup against Washington State, which is coming off back-to-back double-digit losses to Colorado and Utah.

Junior point guard Remy Martin scored 24 points and delivered key defensive stops in the 66-65 win over Arizona as the Sun Devils rallied from a 22-point deficit and avenged a 75-47 loss to the Wildcats on Jan. 4. “He’s a heck of a player, one of the best in the conference. One of the best players in the country,” Hurley told reporters. “He didn’t have a great shooting half in the first half, but you count on that guy in the second half to make big plays and help you win games and he did.” Martin has scored at least 20 points in seven straight games and averages 19.7 points to lead the Sun Devils, who are in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Pac-12 with Arizona and California. Hurley will need to be sure his team doesn’t suffer a letdown against Washington State, which is 9-2 at home and has shown improvement under first-year coach Kyle Smith.

TV: 11 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (12-7, 3-3 Pac-12): Senior guard Rob Edwards recorded 15 points and seven rebounds in the win over Arizona while junior guard Alonzo Verge Jr. secured the victory with a layup with 10 seconds remaining and finished with 13 points. Hurley also received a boost from freshman forward Jalen Graham, who grabbed seven rebounds and played valuable minutes while starter Romello White was limited to 24 minutes due to foul trouble. Junior forward Kimani Lawrence has seen a bump in playing time in conference play but was held scoreless in 19 minutes against the Wildcats.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (12-9, 3-5): Junior guard Isaac Bonton scored 21 points in last Saturday’s 76-64 loss to Utah and is averaging 17.2 points while shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from 3-point range over the last 10 games. Senior forward Jeff Pollard played through a hip injury in Saturday’s contest and was held to six points and one rebound in 28 minutes. Smith continues to be pleased by the development of sophomore forward CJ Elleby, who averages 18.4 points and 7.1 rebounds but fouled out for the fifth time this season last Saturday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Arizona State owns a 42-39 lead in the all-time series, but the Cougars have won three of the last five meetings.

2. Washington State is shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range over the last five games.

3. Arizona State has 24 wins when trailing at the half under Hurley in five seasons.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 72, Washington State 67