Arizona will win if …
The Wildcats play exactly how they played in last season’s game at ASU — well, the second half. That’s when the No. 15 Wildcats (20-4, 9-2 Pacific 10 Conference) forced the ball down the Sun Devils’ throats, breaking the game open by running and disallowing ASU to set up their match-up zone defense.
And this year, ASU has less experience while Arizona goes 10 deep.
Arizona State will win if …
They get a few lucky breaks. In such rivalry games, it won’t matter that Arizona is No. 1 in the conference and ASU (9-14, 1-10 Pac-10) is a far-and-away last. It’s quite possible this game could come down to a few possessions, and if the balls bounce ASU’s way or the Wildcats hand anything to them, there’s no denying the Sun Devils could pull off the upset.
Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt if the Sun Devils could find their shooting stroke. They’re only connecting on 43 percent of their field goals.
Key players
Kevin Parrom, Arizona
Per usual, Parrom will be the bad guy against ASU, and that role will be a more prominent one in Tempe. He’s coming off the best game of his career, and head coach Sean Miller said Wednesday that he considers Parrom an addition to this year’s team after the forward missed games battling injuries last season.
Jamelle McMillan, ASU
Not averaging spectacular numbers with seven points and four assists, it’s essential the Sun Devil point guard controls the tempo by slowing down the game to keep the deep Wildcats from running ASU out of its own gym and limiting the number of possessions for Arizona.
Fun facts
- Don’t look now, but Miller’s winning percentage at Arizona is already at 67 percent. That’s approaching the record from his five years at Xavier University, where he amassed a 71 percent winning percentage.
- Point guard Momo Jones and forward Kevin Parrom scored 25 of Arizona’s 31 points in the three overtimes at California last Saturday.
- UA forward Derrick Williams has scored in double figures for 52 consecutive games.
— Kevin Zimmerman
