Arizona Wildcats at Arizona State Sun Devils Betting Preview
31 December 2022
A pair of in-state Pac-12 rivals are going to end the 2022 calendar year with an important matchup on the basketball floor. The Arizona State Sun Devils are set to host the Arizona Wildcats, and this game should be a battle.
Arizona is coming into the Pac-12 opener with an overall record of 12-1 to begin the year, and they are ranked fifth in the country. The Wildcats have rattled off six straight wins, and they have beaten some great teams along the way.
Arizona State comes into this game trying to erase the memory of a 37-point loss to San Francisco on December 21st. The Sun Devils are still 11-2 on the year, but they will need to start winning games to get some of that momentum back.
The Arizona Wildcats come into this game as five-point betting favorites over their Pac-12 Conference rivals.
Arizona Crushing Teams With Offense
The Arizona Wildcats are scoring over 90 points per game this season, and they have been scoring against great teams. Arizona is shooting over 53 percent from the floor, and they always seem to get great shot attempts.
Azuolas Tubelis is averaging 20.1 points per game to lead the Arizona team, but there are other terrific scorers on this roster. Arizona is going to push the ball in transition, and they will take a lot of shots from deep.
The Wildcats are allowing over 72 points per game, but they are willing to sacrifice some defense if it means they can score more points.
Sun Devils Have to Defend
The fact that Arizona State allowed San Francisco to score 97 points in their most recent game has to be a bit of concern. Arizona State has held opponents to just 64 points per game this season, but that defense will have to play tremendously in this one.
Arizona State is shooting just 42 percent from the floor this season, and they don’t have the type of offense that can keep up with Arizona. The Sun Devils need to keep this game in the 70s to have a chance, but that’s hard to do against the Wildcats.
Guard D.J. Horne is leading the team with 12.5 points per game, but this team gets the job done by the committee. It will take the best effort of the year from Arizona State to win this game.
Wildcats Smash Sun Devils
Arizona State has a ton of things to figure out after their blowout loss to San Francisco, and they just won’t be able to find answers against Arizona. The Sun Devils should get off to a good start in this game against their rivals, but that energy is only going to take them so far.
Arizona is one of the best offensive teams in the country, and they are eventually going to get into a rhythm in this game. The Wildcats just have too many weapons, and they won’t have much of a problem beating Arizona State in this one.
Bet on the Arizona Wildcats -5.0 as they go on the road and pick up a double-digit win over the Arizona State Sun Devils.
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All Media on this page by Associated Press.
