Arizona State vs Arizona: Predictions, Odds, Best Bets (3/10/23) – NCAAB

Arizona State and Arizona face-off in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals. Arizona State is coming off a close win against USC, while Arizona is coming off a comfortable win against Stanford. My prediction is that Arizona covers the 7.5-point spread. Arizona should come into this game fired up after the way they lost last time to Arizona State, so there’s a big revenge factor with Arizona. Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this game!

Arizona State vs. Arizona Prediction

Arizona is coming off an okay at best win against Stanford, where the biggest bright spot was their front court dominating.

Azuolas Tubelis is Arizona’s best player and needs to be the difference in this game after not playing well last time they played. He leads the team in scoring at 20 points per game, rebounds at 9 per game, and steals at 1 per game. Oumar Ballo was great against Stanford at 24 PPG, and he averages 14 PPG. He’s also second in rebounds at 8.5 per game and he leads the team in blocks at 1.2 per game. Courtney Ramey and Kerr Kriisa are the two keys for the Wildcats in the backcourt. Ramey averages 11 PPG and Kriisa averages 10.4 PPG. He also leads the entire Pac-12 in assists per game at 5.3.

Arizona is one of the best offensive teams in the country. They’re top-5 in points scored at 83.5 per game, they’re top-5 in field goal percentage at 49.7, and they’re also top-10 in rebounds per game at 39.3. They also give up 72.3 PPG on defense.

On the other side, Arizona State has been very inconsistent, but they’re on the bubble still.

Desmond Cambridge Jr. is the primary scorer for the Sun Devils this season. He leads the team in scoring at 14 points per game and 1.7 steals per game for the season. DJ Horne is up next in scoring as a good sidekick. He averages 12.2 PPG. Devan Cambridge and Frankie Collins are next up in scoring on the perimeter. Cambridge and Collins average 10 PPG. Collins also leads the team in assists at 4 per game.

They’re better on defense than on offense this season. They give up 67 PPG and then score 71 PPG.

The last time these two played Arizona State won on a half-court buzzer-beater. Arizona is going to want to get revenge because of that. This game will be a close for awhile, but Arizona pulls away late and covers the spread.

Arizona State vs. Arizona Prediction: Arizona -7.5

Arizona State vs. Arizona Odds

Arizona is a 7.5-point favorite in Vegas and is at -340 on the money line. The over/under is also at 154. It makes sense that Arizona is favored by this much because they’re better than Arizona State overall and are going to have a big revenge aspect to this game. The over/under also makes sense because of how fast Arizona plays and speeds the game up in every game.

Arizona State vs. Arizona Key Matchups

Can Warren Washington matchup with Azuolas Tubelis? Can Courtney Ramey matchup with Desmond Cambridge Jr.?

Azuolas Tubelis vs Warren Washington

Azuolas Tubelis is one of the best players in all of college basketball this season. He averages 20 points, 5 assists, and 9 rebounds per game for the season. He’ll be matched up against Warren Washington most of the game, who averages 9 points, 1.5 assists, and 5 rebounds per game for the season. Washington is decent on defense, but this is a huge game. Tubelis is the biggest reason why I think Arizona covers 7.5 points from my prediction against Arizona State.

Desmond Cambridge Jr. vs Courtney Ramey

Desmond Cambridge Jr. has been the standout for the Sun Devils this year. He averages 14 points, 2 assists, and 4 rebounds per game for the season. He’ll be matched up against Courtney Ramey, who averages 11 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds per game for the season. Ramey really needs to get better on defense against Cambridge Jr. because of how hot he can get. Cambridge is the biggest reason why Arizona might not cover, but they’re still the pick because there’s not much after him.