Arizona State @ Utah preview
Jon M. Huntsman Center
Last Meeting ( Jan 3, 2019 ) Utah 96, Arizona State 86
With only a third of the season remaining, the fight for a coveted top-four Pac-12 finish is heating up. Arizona State and Utah would be among that top quartet if the season ended today, and they meet Saturday night in Salt Lake City to conclude their home-and-home series.
The Runnin’ Utes have won seven of their last nine games after Thursday night’s 83-76 victory over Arizona. The Wildcats led 44-40 with a little more than 15 minutes to play, but Utah took control with a 29-9 run over the ensuing nine minutes and drained 12-of-14 free throws down the stretch to beat Arizona for only the second time since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. “This is the time of year where it is kind of the survival of the fittest, and we talked about just staying in the fight,” Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak said in his post-game news conference. “I thought some of their shots started to come up short, we rebounded them, got out in transition and we had a number of guys who played really well.” That wasn’t quite the case for Arizona State on Wednesday night in Boulder as the Sun Devils were outshot 56-38.2 percent in the second half of a 77-73 loss to Colorado – their third defeat in their last five outings.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (16-8, 7-5 Pac-12): Wednesday’s loss left the Sun Devils only a half-game ahead of fifth-place Oregon and a game ahead of four other teams, including Colorado, in the tight Pac-12 midsection. Freshman guard Luguentz Dort scored 21 points and Zylan Cheatham added 12 and 10 rebounds against the Buffaloes, but Arizona State couldn’t overcome Colorado’s strong second half and 38-26 scoring advantage in the paint for the game. “We couldn’t generate any stops,” Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley said afterward. “That led to them getting some easy baskets. They drove the lane, (and) they drove right down the heart of our defense.”
ABOUT UTAH (14-10, 8-4): Senior guard Sedrick Barefield continues to pace the Utes with his average of 16.2 points per game and had 15 against Arizona, but the night belonged to reserve guard Parker Van Dyke (23 points, including 7-of-10 3-pointers) and 7-footer Jayce Johnson (17 points, 10 rebounds) as both hit career scoring highs. Van Dyke has connected on 12-of-20 3-point attempts over his last two games, including the game-winning trey from deep at the buzzer to stun UCLA 93-92 last Saturday. Forwards Timmy Allen (11.7) and Donnie Tillman (10.3) join Barefield as the only Utes with double-digit averages while Johnson leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per outing.
TIP-INS
1. With Utah’s 96-86 road win Jan. 3, the Utes have won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams.
2. In that Jan. 3 victory, Utah overcame a 17-point deficit and wound up hitting 16-of-30 3-point attempts, including a combined 11-of-19 for Barefield and Tillman who scored 46 total points. G Remy Martin had 22 points and six assists to pace the Sun Devils in defeat.
3. Arizona State freshman F Taeshon Cherry had eight points and three rebounds in 20 minutes versus Colorado after missing three of the Sun Devils’ previous four games with a concussion.
PREDICTION: Utah 79, Arizona State 76