Utah at Arizona State
TEMPE, Ariz. (Interstat) — The Arizona State Sun Devils will look to complete a regular-season sweep and move above .500 when they host the struggling Utah Utes in a men’s NCAA Division I basketball game Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.
Arizona State (14-14) evened its record with a 72-67 home win over Texas Tech on Feb. 17 but has since dropped two straight on the road, including a 90-78 loss at TCU on Tuesday. The Sun Devils defeated Utah (10-18) 71-63 in Salt Lake City on Feb. 4, part of a challenging conference slate for both teams.
Utah arrives having lost eight of its last nine games, including a 75-59 home defeat to Iowa State on Tuesday. The Utes’ only victory in that stretch was a 61-56 road win at West Virginia on Feb. 18.
A key matchup will feature two of the conference’s top guards. Utah’s Terrence Brown is averaging 15.0 points per game over his last eight contests, including a 21-point effort against UCF and an 18-point performance against Iowa State. However, he was held to just six points in the first meeting with Arizona State.
For the Sun Devils, Maurice Odum is coming off a 21-point, 10-assist double-double in the loss to TCU. He scored 13 points and dished three assists in the Feb. 4 win over Utah and has averaged 18.4 points over his last five games.
Both teams have struggled for consistency in a tough league. Arizona State has shown a strong home-court advantage recently, winning two of its last three in Tempe. Utah, meanwhile, has found wins hard to come by anywhere, posting a 2-10 record since Jan. 20.
The game could hinge on which team controls the tempo. Arizona State will aim to leverage its home court and Odum’s playmaking to exploit a Utah defense that has allowed 71.3 points per game during its 1-8 skid. The Utes will rely on Brown’s scoring punch and seek a more efficient offensive performance than their 52-point outing against Houston on Feb. 10.
Following this contest, Arizona State hosts Kansas on Tuesday, while Utah returns home to face Colorado.