Arizona State @ Colorado preview

Arizona State at Colorado

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2017 ) Colorado 77, Arizona State 78

Arizona State suffered its first loss of the season Saturday in falling 84-78 on the road to rival Arizona. Now, the sixth-ranked Sun Devils face a different road challenge with a two-game, high-altitude trip, beginning with Thursday night’s contest at Colorado in Boulder.

Two nights later, Arizona State will be in Salt Lake City to take on Utah and with both locales boasting elevations of more than 4,300 feet, coach Bobby Hurley has been cutting short his team’s recovery time in practice this week in preparation for the thinner air. “You can try to pretend that it doesn’t exist, but it does,” Hurley told the media Tuesday. “Playing the (Utah) Jazz and (Denver) Nuggets as an (NBA) player, I didn’t get tired too often, but it does have an effect on you.” Thursday’s game will be the second contest of a three-game trip for the Sun Devils while the Buffaloes will be back on their home floor for the first time since Dec. 15 after losing to Iowa (80-73) in South Dakota and opening Pac-12 play on the road at Oregon and Oregon State. Colorado suffered double-digit losses in both of those contests and have dropped six of eight overall since opening the season 6-0.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (12-1, 0-1 Pac-12): In Saturday’s loss, the Sun Devils hung close throughout, but wound up shooting a season-low 37.9 percent from the floor, including 32 percent in the second half when they hit only 3-of-15 3-pointers. Still, despite failing to reach 80 points for only the third time this season, Arizona State is averaging a conference-best 90.7 points (fifth-best nationally) and has six players averaging at least 9.2 points, led by senior guards Tra Holder (Pac-12-leading 22.0 per game) and Shannon Evans II (17.0). Forward Romello White (13.8 points, team-most 8.6 rebounds) and guards Kodi Justice (13.0 points) and Remy Martin (10.2) also are averaging double figures, but White and Justice struggled against Arizona, combining for only eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.

ABOUT COLORADO (8-6, 0-2): The Buffaloes’ only win since Dec. 6 was a 112-103 double-overtime victory over visiting South Dakota State, but they’ve since dropped three straight, including the 76-57 and 77-62 losses to Oregon State and Oregon, respectively. Freshman point guard McKinley Wright leads the squad with 16.0 points and 4.9 assists and has scored in double figures in every game aside from a 7-point outing against the Beavers on Friday. Senior swingman George King (13.2 points, team-most 7.9 rebounds) and guard Namon Wright (11.6 points) also are averaging double digits, but the Buffaloes rank last or next-to-last in the conference in scoring (74.4), field-goal percentage (44.4) and 3-point percentage (32.6).

TIP-INS

1. The teams have split their 10 games since Colorado joined the Pac-12 with each winning on its home floor in each of the last six meetings.

2. The Buffaloes are off to a 0-2 Pac-12 start for the second straight season after dropping their first seven conference games a year ago.

3. Taking care of the ball will be key as Arizona State is pacing the Pac-12 with a 4.6 average turnover differential while Colorado is 11th at a minus-2.4.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 82, Colorado 74