Arizona State @ Washington preview
Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion
Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) Washington 63, Arizona State 75
Halfway through the Pac-12 season, there’s no bigger disappointment than Washington, which finds itself in the conference cellar at 2-7. The Huskies, picked to finish third in the Pac-12 preseason poll, will try to right themselves over the regular season’s final full month, beginning with Saturday night’s home date with Arizona State.
Washington is reeling, having lost four straight, with three of the losses decided in the final minute. The latest defeat was Thursday night’s 75-72 setback against visiting Arizona, which closed the game on an 11-3 run, held the Huskies to one field goal over the final 6:30, and went ahead for good on a 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining. “We’re making mistakes on both ends, and we’re allowing it to kind of fester,” said Washington coach Mike Hopkins, who has seen his team squander late-game leads in six of its seven conference losses. “I keep telling the guys you’ve got to have a short-term memory in this thing. … Be loose, have fun. We’re going to make mistakes, but (we) have got to move on and learn from it.” Arizona State also will be trying to shake off a crushing defeat as the Sun Devils lost their Northwest road trip opener 67-65 to Washington State on Wednesday night as CJ Elleby hit the winning 3-pointer with four seconds remaining.
TIME: 10:30 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network
ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (12-8, 3-4): The Sun Devils saw a two-game win streak come to an end with Wednesday’s loss in Pullman, and a season-high 21 turnovers and an 8-of-15 performance at the free-throw line were two of the primary culprits. A 12-point outing from guard Remy Martin didn’t help either as the junior, who entered the contest as the Pac-12’s leading scorer (19.7 per contest), finished with fewer than 20 points for the first time in his last eight games. Guard Alonzo Verge Jr. (12.2 points), forward Romello White (10.7) and guard Rob Edwards (10.4) also are averaging double figures for ASU, with White pulling down a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per outing.
ABOUT WASHINGTON (12-10, 2-7): Like Martin, Huskies leading scorer Isaiah Stewart (17.9 points) is coming off one of his worst offensive showings of the season, hitting only 3-of-13 shots and finishing with nine points in the loss to the Wildcats. Washington nearly made up for it by connecting on a season-high 14 3-pointers in the contest, with leading scorers RaeQuan Battle (14 points) and Nahziah Carter (13) combining to go 7-of-14 from long range. Carter and forward Jaden McDaniels are averaging 12.5 points apiece to join Stewart in double figures, while the latter paces the Huskies on the glass with 9.0 rebounds per contest after snaring 11 against Arizona.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Washington has won 11 of the last 15 meetings in the series, but Arizona State won the only matchup a season ago, winning 75-63 in Tempe.
2. Arizona State continues to struggle on the glass and from 3-point range, ranking last in the Pac-12 in rebound margin (minus-2.3) and 3-point accuracy (30.6 percent).
3. Washington’s current four-game skid is the longest in Hopkins’ three seasons as coach.
PREDICTION: Washington 68, Arizona State 64