Washington St. @ Arizona State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 4, 2018 ) Arizona State 88, Washington St. 78

Thanks to an overtime victory over in-state rival Arizona last week, Arizona State finds itself once again back in the conversation as an NCAA Tournament bubble team. The Sun Devils, tied for third in the Pac-12 with USC and Oregon State, play four of their next six games at home starting with Thursday night's contest with Washington State.

The biggest challenge for ASU coach Bobby Hurley may be trying to keep his team from looking ahead to a Saturday night contest with first place Washington. The Sun Devils have won four of their last five games with the lone loss by two points, 69-67, at USC on a late 3-pointer by Bennie Boatwright. They bounced back five nights later with the emotional 95-88 overtime win over the Wildcats, ending a six-game losing streak to their bitter rival in front of the third-largest crowd in Wells Fargo Arena history. The atmosphere doesn't figure to be nearly as electric for Thursday night's contest against the Cougars, who bring in a five-game losing streak and have dropped 11 of their last 12 games.

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

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (8-14, 1-8 Pac-12): The Cougars were swept at home last week by the Los Angeles schools, including a 93-84 loss to USC on Saturday as the Trojans jumped out to a 16-4 lead and led by as many as 19 points in the first half while cruising to the victory. Senior forward Robert Franks had 25 points, six rebounds and four steals in the loss and leads the Pac-12 in scoring with a 21.4 average, which also ranks 23rd nationally. CJ Elleby, a 6-6 freshman forward, is the only other player averaging in double figures (15.6) for the Cougars, who are 0-7 in road games this season, including 0-5 in Pac-12 play.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (15-6, 6-3): Sophomore point guard Remy Martin had 31 points, including eight in overtime, to go along with eight assists and one turnover in the win over Arizona while forward Zylan Cheatham, a 6-8 transfer from San Diego State, finished with 11 points and 22 rebounds. Freshman guard Luguentz Dort, considered a potential first-round NBA pick, added 15 points and six assists and leads the team in scoring (16.0) and steals (27). Martin (13.3), Cheatham (11.8), guard Rob Edwards (10.6) and forward Kimani Lawrence (10.0) also average in double digits for the Sun Devils, who rank sixth nationally with an average of 42.5 rebounds per game.

TIP-INS

1. Cheatham, who grabbed seven rebounds in overtime alone against Arizona, is averaging 18.6 rebounds over his last three games.

2. Martin is shooting 47.8 percent (22-of-46) from 3-point range in Pac-12 play and has also dished out 60 assists (6.7 avg.) over those nine games.

3. Arizona State leads the series, 26-14, but Washington State has won two of the last three meetings, including a 91-83 victory on Jan. 29, 2017 in the last game played in Tempe.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 89, Washington State 76