UC Irvine @ Arizona State preview

UC Irvine at Arizona State

Last Meeting ( Dec 28, 2013 ) UC Irvine 61, Arizona State 74

Arizona State is off to a sizzling offensive start, topping 90 points in three straight games for the first time since 1993. The Sun Devils will look to keep rolling Sunday afternoon when they close out their four-game season-opening homestand against UC Irvine.

Coach Bobby Hurley’s squad hit its highest mark yet Friday night in thumping Northern Arizona 97-62 to improve to 3-0. The Sun Devils shot 52.4 percent from the field, including 11-of-26 from 3-point range, and placed five players in double figures, led by forward Romello White’s 25 points in his second game with the program. Arizona State also forced the Lumberjacks into 24 turnovers, resulting in some easy baskets for the home team. “We’re just very much in attack mode at both ends,” Hurley said in his post-game news conference. “Guys have talent. We can trust what we have around the basket to throw it inside.”

TV: 2 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT UC IRVINE (2-2): The Anteaters were the media’s preseason pick to win the Big West Conference as they entered the year with five straight 20-win seasons, but it’s been an up-and-down start so far. UC Irvine began a five-game jaunt away from home Friday with a 71-49 loss at Kansas State in which the Anteaters shot 29.6 percent and committed 17 turnovers in hitting a season low in points. No players scored in double figures for UC Irvine, which is being led on the season by a trio of sophomores in forward Tommy Rutherford (10.8 points per game), guard Evan Leonard (10.0) and swingman John Edgar Jr. (9.5).

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (3-0): The 6-foot-8, 230-pound White, who sat out last season as an academic redshirt and then missed the opener this season due to a disciplinary suspension, has opened eyes so far, averaging a team-best 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 68.2 percent from the field. De’Quon Lake, a 6-9 junior-college transfer, is another frontcourt newcomer who has impressed with 18.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and an .880 shooting percentage. The starting backcourt of Shannon Evans II, Tra Holder and Kodi Justice provides excellent balance, averaging a combined 48 points, 14.3 rebounds and 13.7 assists.

TIP-INS

1. Arizona State is 3-0 all-time vs. UC Irvine, winning each game by at least 13 points.

2. The game is an on-campus contest in the Continental Tire Invitational, and both teams will be in Las Vegas later next week for bracket play, starting on Thanksgiving.

3. The Sun Devils are averaging 21.3 assists and 11.3 turnovers per outing.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 83, UC Irvine 68