Arizona State @ Utah preview

Arizona State at Utah

Last Meeting ( Jan 7, 2017 ) Utah 88, Arizona State 82

Arizona State finished the non-conference season riding high at 12-0 as one of the last unbeaten teams in the Division I ranks, but the start of Pac-12 play has delivered a pair of defeats in as many outings. The sixth-ranked Sun Devils will try to get back on course Sunday night when they visit Utah.

Dropping a hard-fought 84-78 decision last Saturday at No. 16 Arizona in the Pac-12 opener was understandable, but following it up Thursday with a 90-81 overtime loss to Colorado is more concerning as Arizona State set a season low in field-goal percentage (35.5 percent) for the second straight outing, including a 9-of-34 showing from 3-point range. Still, on another level, third-year Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley took it as a complement when Colorado fans rushed the court to celebrate Thursday’s win in Boulder. “If you would’ve asked before I got to Arizona State if I would have seen a situation where there was a court storm after our game because an opponent beat us, I might have thought you were crazy,” Hurley said in his postgame news conference. “That’s the job our team has done this year to make the game that meaningful.” Utah, meanwhile, is off to a 2-1 conference start and is looking to earn a split on its current homestand after falling 94-82 to Arizona on Thursday night.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (12-2, 0-2 Pac-12): The Sun Devils had not hit less than 43.9 percent of their shots in any game during their 12-0 start, but have shot 37.9 and 35.5 percent, respectively, in their back-to-back conference losses, including 17-of-59 from 3-point range, while also losing the rebounding battle in both games. Guard Tra Holder, the Pac-12’s leading scorer at 22.1 points per game, has held up his end of the scoresheet with 55 combined points in the last two contests, but the team’s next three leading scorers – forward Romello White (12 total points) and guards Shannon Evans (18) and Kodi Justice (22) – have struggled over the last week. The team is getting a depth boost as freshman forward Kimani Lawrence (1 point, 1 rebound in 4 minutes) made his season debut Thursday after missing the first 13 games with a fractured foot.

ABOUT UTAH (10-4, 2-1): Against Arizona, the Runnin’ Utes did erase a 17-point deficit to tie the game at 70 and then again at 77 with 3:45 remaining, but the Wildcats scored 17 of the final 22 points to close out the road win. Guard Sedrick Barefield scored 20 of his season-high 23 points in the second half and joins forward David Collette (13.6 points per game), guard Justin Bibbins (13.1) and forwards Tyler Rawson (11.4) and Donnie Tillman (10.2) in double figures with his 11.5 average. Utah did have the sole Pac-12 scoring-defense lead entering Thursday’s game, but the 94 points surrendered were a season high as the Utes had no answer inside for 7-1 Arizona freshman DeAndre Ayton and his game-high 24 points and 14 rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. Utah has won five straight in the series and is 7-3 vs. Arizona State since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, including a 5-0 mark in Salt Lake City.

2. Despite scoring 78 and 81 points in their last two games, the Sun Devils still are averaging a Pac-12-best 90 points while Utah is tied with Oregon State in allowing a conference-low 68.6 points per outing.

3. The Utes will have an edge if a free-throw contest breaks out as they lead the Pac-12 and are tied for ninth nationally with a 78.2-percent accuracy rate.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 80, Utah 78