The Arizona State Sun Devils are unlikely to make March Madness 2022 via the at-large berth route, but that’s not going to discourage them from giving everything they got in this rematch against the UCLA Bruins on Monday. Will Arizona State take down the Bruins again? Or will UCLA avenge their loss to the Sun Devils earlier this February? Check out our preview below of this Arizona State-UCLA Pac-12 college basketball game?
Arizona State is humming. The Sun Devils are on a three-game win streak, having defeated the Washington State Cougars, Oregon Ducks, and Oregon State Beavers in succession. They are going to need all the momentum they have generated from that stretch going into this rematch with the high-powered UCLA squad. But the Sun Devils might also know the secret in beating the Bruins. Arizona State beat the Bruins in an epic triple-overtime thriller at home early this month, 87-84. Defense has been an asset for Arizona State this season, and it made that clear to the Bruins in that game, as UCLA shot just 37.2 percent from the field and went only 5/22 from behind the arc. On the season, the Sun Devils are 28th nationally with an opponents’ field goal percentage of just 40.2. In conference play, they are second overall with an opponents’ effective field goal percentage of 45.2.
Arizona State is 6-4 against the spread in its last 10 games as the road team.
UCLA got the job done last Saturday even without Johnny Juzang. The Bruins defeated the Washington Cougars with ease, 74-57, at home for their second win in a row since a loss to the USC Trojans on Feb. 12. A sore hip forced Juzang to sit out the Cougars game, but Jaylen Clark and David Singleton had no problem covering for him, as they scored 25 and 22 points, respectively. It remains uncertain as of this writing whether Juzang will be available to play this Monday, but there are enough offensive weapons on the side of UCLA to help the team mitigate the potential absence of its star player. The Bruins have a well-balanced offense and defense that is both ranked in adjusted efficiency in Pac-12 play.
UCLA, which has not allowed more than 56 points to any of its last two opponents, is 5-0 against the spread in its five most previous outings.
