Arizona State vs. Nevada: 2018-19 College Basketball game preview, TV schedule
Nevada faces their toughest test of the season to date with the Arizona State Sun Devils. Which team suffers their first defeat of season?
TV Schedule: Friday, November 7, 11:59 pm ET. ESPN2
Arena: Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
The Nevada Wolf Pack came into this season with the highest expectations in program history, ranked in the preseason top-10. And based on the team’s first eight games of the season – those views have been spot on.
Nevada is now one of 11 remaining unbeaten teams in the country at 8-0, coming off a pair of impressive road wins against Loyola-Chicago and USC. The offense failed to reach 80 points in either game for the first time this season but saw their defense go up a notch against good competition, allowing just 61 points against the Trojans. Jordan Caroline, who’s averaging a double-double on the season, had 24 points and 11 rebounds in that victory.
The No. 5 team in the country is in the midst of a Pac-12 gauntlet in December before conference play begins in the Mountain West. But their next opponent might be the toughest they face all season, including arguably the most talented individual player the Wolf Pack players will deal with.
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Arizona State (7-0) also hasn’t lost to start the season, coming off an 83-71 win over the upset-minded Texas Southern Tigers. All five starters scored in double figures in that win, but it’s usually been a one-man show for the Sun Devils.
Luguentz Dort had 18 in the last game, which is short of his 21.7 ppg average on the season. Easily tops on the team, the 6’4 freshman has allowed Head Coach Bobby Hurley to effectively replace the three starting guards from a year ago. The No. 20 Sun Devils has a similar style to Nevada, scoring over 85 ppg while having multiple double-digit scorers outside of the lead guy, just like how the Wolf Pack has plenty of offense outside of leading scorer Caleb Martin. He and Dort will be the premium matchup to watch on the perimeter, while both Caroline and ASU’s Zylan Cheatham (who has faced Nevada before as a member of the San Diego State Aztecs) will be banging down low in the post.
This game has major implications for both programs down the road. Arizona State may be the best team Nevada faces all season, so this could be that signature win for the Wolf Pack to get a protected seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament. For the Sun Devils, this also will be the best opponent they’ll face all year as well. And considering how weak the Pac-12 looks overall again combined with what happened to ASU last season after their 12-0 start, they need a signature victory themselves.
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This game looks to be a back-and-forth battle, with a ton of offense being involved. But while Dort has the ability to drop 30 in this one, so does the senior-laden duo of Cody Martin and Caroline. One reason why everyone has been so high on the Wolf Pack is the total amount of college experience they have. That’ll come in effect in this game, where they pull out a close win in the end.