The UCLA Bruins will look to get back to their winning ways when they take on the Arizona State Sun Devils down in Tempe. Will the Bruins secure a win on the road? Or will the Sun Devils notch that elusive win No. 3 in conference play? Check out our preview below of this UCLA-Arizona State Pac-12 college basketball game.
UCLA’s impressive six-game win streak ended in Thursday’s 76-66 road loss to the Arizona Wildcats. The Bruins had a slow start that allowed Arizona to build a 12-point halftime lead. UCLA made a gallant run in the second half but its effort was not enough to pull off a come-from-behind victory. Nevertheless, UCLA remains a sturdy test for any team. Jules Bernard led the Bruins against Arizona with 15 points and he will look to keep it going against a lowly Arizona State team that’s struggled to collect wins in Pac-12 play. The Bruins’ defense could be especially problematic for Arizona State, as UCLA is ninth in the nation with 89.1 points allowed per 100 possessions.
UCLA is 4-1 against the spread in its last five games.
As mentioned, the Sun Devils are not winning a lot of games in conference play. They are 0-4 straight up in their last four Pac-12 games after losing to the USC Trojans at home last Thursday to the tune of a 58-53 score. If anything, at least the Sun Devils managed to cover the spread as 6-point home underdogs versus No. 19 USC. Although they lost, the Sun Devils held USC to just 30 percent shooting from the field and had 11 blocks to just four by the Trojans. Arizona’s rim protection is the best in the conference. In fact, the Sun Devils are tops in Pac-12 with a 13.9 defensive block rate (13.9%).
Arizona State is 4-1 against the spread in its last five home games.
