Pac-12 Basketball: UCLA vs. Arizona State preview, prediction and TV schedule

UCLA wants to end the Pac-12 Basketball regular season on a positive note. And the Bruins will have a great chance to do so  when they start their regular season stretch run against the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe.

TV Schedule: Thursday, Feb. 23. 9:00 p.m. ET. ESPN2

Arena: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Arizona.

Fifth-ranked UCLA (24-3, 11-3 conference) will likely not win the Pac-12 regular season title, but they can sustain their momentum heading into postseason by finishing strong. The Bruins currently sit third in the Pac-12 standings, two games and-a-half games behind the Arizona Wildcats and a game-and-a-half in back of second place Oregon Ducks. There are four games remaining.

UCLA will play at Arizona  following their game against ASU. The Bruins close the season with home games versus Washington and Washington State. If the Bruins are able win at least two more games, they will finish with the most regular season victories in coach Steve Alford’s four-year tenure. They also need just five more victories to give Alford his most wins with the program.

UCLA enters the game against ASU on a five-game winning streak. The Bruins are coming off a 102-70 victory over arch-rival USC on Saturday, snapping a four-game losing streak against their crosstown rivals. Bryce Alford led UCLA with 26 points as all five starters reached double-figures.

UCLA is going for a season-sweep of ASU, defeating the Sun Devils 102-80 on Jan. 19. The Bruins lead the all-time series 69-19, including going 19-5 since the start of the 2004-05 season.

UCLA

The Bruins are a high-flying electric offensive juggernaut. The Bruins leads the nation in several offensive categories, including points, field goal shooting percentage,assists and assists to turnover ratio.  They also have the 12th most three-pointers made with 278.

UCLA plays six players 25 or more minutes a game, and all six are averaging double-figures. Freshman and National Player of the Year candidate Lonzo Ball is the Bruins top player. Ball has produced eight double-doubles, and is averaging 15.6 points along with 7.6 assists and 6.1 boards. He is shooting 55.5 percent from the floor as well as 43.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Senior guards Bryce Alford (16.2 ppg, 2.2 apg) and Isaac Hamilton (14.3 ppg, 2.9 apg) are dangerous shooters, particularly Alford — who has 88 triples on the season. Sophomore guard Aaron Holiday (13.0 ppg, 4.4 apg) has been fantastic off the bench.

UCLA are not just guard heavy. Freshman forward T.J. Leaf (16.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.1 bpg) can do it all. The 6’10” rookie, who has 11 double-doubles, can score inside and out as well as being a good passer as well as a rim protector. 7’0″ junior center Thomas Welsh (10.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg) is a quality big man. Reserve frontcourt players Ike Anigbogu and G.G. Goloman have been solid rim protectors.

Arizona State

ASU (13-15, 6-9) are 4-4 in their last eight games. The Sun Devils are coming off a 86-71 loss to Washington State as they were outscored 43-22 in the second half. Junior Shannon Evans II paced the Devils with 21 points while senior Torian Graham chipped in 18, including four three-pointers.

“I don’t know if we ran out of steam as the game progressed,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said. “We felt great about our first half, how our offense guarded but we couldn’t sustain it in the second half.”

Arizona State need two more wins to match last year’s win total. The Sun Devils already have one more conference win than they did in coach Bobby Hurley’s first year. They have three tough home games left in regular season with contests against USC and Arizona in addition to UCLA. The Devils are 8-5 at home.

ASU are a dangerous offensive team, ranking 53rd in the nation in scoring (79.3). The Sun Devils have three players producing over 15 points a game. Graham, who is second in the conference in scoring, is averaging 18.5 points while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from long-distance. The 6’5″ guard has scored in double-figures in 26 of 28 games, which includes 11, 20-point games — he tallied 26 in the last meeting against UCLA.

Guard Tra Holder has improved dramatically from last year. The 6’1″ junior has struggled with his shot over the last three games, still he is averaging 17.6 points along with three assists for the season.

Evans, who transferred from Buffalo, has done a great job leading the Sun Devils offense. The 6’1″ point guard has a scorer’s mentality, posting nine 20-point games, though he also is capable of facilitating the offense.

Senior forward Obinna Oleka is also compiling double-figures with 12.1 points along with 9.7 rebounds. Oleka has 13 double-doubles, which includes a 10 point and 12 carom effort in the last meeting against UCLA. Freshman guard Sam Cunliffe and junior guard Kodi Justice have been productive off the bench.

ASU’s biggest issue this season has been on the defensive end. The Sun Devils are the worst defensive team in the league, permitting 81.6 points a game and allowing opponents to shoot 47.9 percent from the floor.

Prediction: UCLA 95, ASU 75

This game should be a fun game to watch though the Bruins should run away with the victory. UCLA is averaging over 92 points a game and has scored at least 90 points five times during conference play. More importantly, the Bruins have tightened their defense over the last couple of games. 9 of their last 11 wins have been by double-digits.

ASU is 0-6 against ranked teams this year. The Sun Devils best hope of pulling off an upset is that they get hot from the field and are able to force the Bruins to turn the ball over. The Devils rank first in the conference in turnover margin as they force 14.0 turnovers a game.