Arizona State @ UCLA preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 10, 2018 ) UCLA 79, Arizona State 88

The honeymoon period is over for UCLA interim coach Murry Bartow, whose team has lost two in row following three straight victories. Bartow hopes to return to the win column Thursday when the Bruins face visiting Arizona State, which dominated the second half in last Saturday's impressive 78-64 victory over Oregon.

Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes is averaging a team-high 16 points in Pac-12 play for the Bruins, who need to bounce back from a dismal outing after shooting 5-of-22 from 3-point range and committing 20 turnovers in last Saturday's 80-67 loss to crosstown rival USC. The Bruins averaged 92 points in wins over Stanford, California and Oregon but slowed down dramatically in losses to Oregon State and USC, averaging just 66.5 points. Bartow needs more consistency from 7-1 freshman Moses Brown, who averages 11.3 points and 8.9 rebounds but was a non-factor against USC, finishing with two points in 20 minutes. Brown faces another strong test against Arizona State, which boasts one of the league’s most versatile players in senior forward Zylan Cheatham, who had 17 points and nine rebounds in the win over Oregon.

TV: 11 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (13-5, 4-2 Pac-12): Five players scored in double figures in the win over the Ducks – including freshman forward Taeshon Cherry, who had 15 points on five 3-pointers. “He has one of the best strokes I’ve seen,” coach Bobby Hurley told reporters. “He's got so much upside as far as where he can take his game if he keeps developing and getting better.” Junior guard Rob Edwards is averaging 12.2 points while shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc over the past nine games, while freshman Luguentz Dort is averaging 13 points in league play.

ABOUT UCLA (10-8, 3-2): Point guard Jaylen Hands averages a league-high 6.4 assists for the Bruins, who have lost six of their last nine games and are shooting a Pac-12-worst 61.1 percent from the foul line. Forward Chris Smith has cooled off considerably since averaging 9.7 points and six rebounds during the team’s first three conference games, and Bartow said Cody Riley and Jalen Hill could see more playing time in his place this week. One bright spot has been the play of guard Prince Ali, who is shooting 51 percent from the field and 48 percent from 3-point range in five Pac-12 contests.

TIP-INS


1. UCLA has won seven of the last nine games against Arizona State and owns a 68-20 lead in the series.

2. Arizona State leads the Pac-12 in scoring (79.1 points per game) while UCLA is third (78).

3. UCLA is 103-12 when leading at halftime since the start of the 2013-14 season.

PREDICTION: UCLA 88, Arizona State 85