Arizona State (4-7, 1-4) vs. Arizona (11-3, 5-3)
McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, Arizona; Monday, 11 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Arizona looks to extend Arizona State’s conference losing streak to five games. Arizona State’s last Pac-12 win came against the Cal Golden Bears 70-62 on Dec. 3, 2020. Arizona is coming off an 84-82 win at Arizona State in its most recent game.
TALE OF TWO ROSTERS: Arizona State has relied on senior leadership this year while Arizona has been fueled heavily by freshmen. For the Sun Devils, seniors Josh Christopher, Alonzo Verge Jr., Remy Martin and Holland Woods have collectively accounted for 65 percent of the team’s scoring, including 80 percent of all points over its last five. On the other bench, freshmen James Akinjo, Azuolas Tubelis and Bennedict Mathurin have collectively accounted for 46 percent of Arizona’s scoring this season and 58 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.
PAC-12 IMPROVEMENT: The Wildcats have scored 82.5 points per game across eight conference games, an improvement from the 77.3 per game they recorded against non-conference foes.
CREATING OFFENSE: Akinjo has had his hand in 42 percent of all Arizona field goals over the last three games. Akinjo has 19 field goals and 20 assists in those games.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Sun Devils have recently gotten baskets via assists more often than the Wildcats. Arizona has 53 assists on 92 field goals (57.6 percent) across its previous three games while Arizona State has assists on 47 of 73 field goals (64.4 percent) during its past three games.
SECOND CHANCES: Arizona has posted an excellent offensive rebound percentage of 36.5 percent this year. That rate is the 13th-highest in the nation. The offensive rebound percentage for Arizona State stands at just 20.3 percent (ranked 321st).
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