The Arizona Wildcats and the Arizona State Sun Devils will meet this afternoon in the Pacific Life Pac-10 Tournament at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Today's get together marks the third time the two squads have squared off against each other this season. The Sun Devils won the first two meetings by a combined eight points. The contest is set to tip off at 3:00pm ET and will be televised nationally on FOX Sports Net.
NCAA Basketball Predictions: Arizona vs Arizona State at SBGglobal.com have the Sun Devils listed as a -4 against the spread favorite.
Arizona State struggled at the end of the season, winning just one of their last four games. The weak finish dropped them to third place in the final Pac-10 standings with an 11-7 conference record and a 22-8 overall mark. On a positive note, the Sun Devils were able to secure a win in their last regular season outing, besting California 83-66 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.
Herb Sendek's team hit 53 percent of their field goal attempts in the victory and connected on eight of their 19 attempts from beyond the arc. Four Sun Devils scored in double figures, led by senior forward Jeff Pendergraph's 27. Guard James Harden hit for 20 while his backcourt mate, Derek Glasser, dished out 11 assists. Cal was off the mark from downtown, hitting on just 5-of-19 from three point range.
Arizona State is 3-1 in neutral site games this year and they are averaging 69.6 points per game while allowing 59.8 in return.
The Wildcats, like the Sun Devils, faltered down the stretch, losing four of their last five games. They concluded regular season play with a 9-9 record in Pac-10 action (fifth place) and a 19-12 overall tally. They too, however, were able to get a critical win to close out the year by getting past Standford 101-87 in Tucson.
Arizona shot the lights out against the Cardinal as they hit 35-of-50 from the field for a staggering 70 perecent. They also went 10-of-16 from beyond the arc for a cool 62.5 percent. Three Wildcats — Chase Budinger, Nic Wise, and Jordan Hill — combined for 75 points. Budinger led the team with 28 and the Wildcats handed out 26 assists as a team in the big win.
The Wildcats have not played in a neutral site game this season, but they are just 2-9 away from the McKale Center. They are averaging 72.7 points per game and they allow 68.5 per contest.
SBGglobal.com's NCAA Basketball Predictions: Arizona vs Arizona State
Arizona Wildcats +4 (-110)
Arizona State Sun Devils -4 (-110)
