Arizona State vs Villanova: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
Arizona State and Villanova will do battle to determine the winner of the 2020 2K Empire Classic Tournament.
TV schedule: Thursday, November 26, 9:30 ET. ESPN (Approx)
TV Arena: Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut
When the initial field for this year’s 2K Empire Classic was announced, there was a ton of excitement for a potential top-3 matchup between the Villanova Wildcats and Baylor Bears. However, a positive test for head coach Scott Drew ended up pushing Baylor out of the event, with the Rhode Island Rams replacing them.
Arizona State, who was originally slated to see Baylor, used its elite offense to push out to an early lead on the Rams, having a double-digit lead in most of the first half. However, Rhode Island, let by Antwan Walker (21 points) and Jeremy Sheppard (19 points), made a comeback in the second half to put the game in doubt.
Still, the Sun Devils were able to prevail in the end, 94-88. Star guard Remy Martin led all scorers with 26 points, while freshman Marcus Bagley contributed with 16, 10 of them coming from the free throw line. As a team, Arizona State made 34 of 46 from the charity stripe.
The No. 18 ranked Sun Devils will be taking on No. 3 Villanova, coming off a closer than expected 76-67 win over Boston College. The Wildcats never were able to push ahead fully but in the final minutes, used their experience and talent advantage to win. Forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl led all scorers with 18, while the starting perimeter trio of Caleb Daniels, Justin Moore, and Collin Gillespie combined to score 43 in a balanced effort.
Between those three for the Wildcats and the starting trio of Martin, Joshua Christopher, and Alonzo Verge Jr. for Arizona State, this will be one of the better perimeter battles in all of college basketball. The difference will be in the frontcourt, with the Sun Devils not having any real answer for Robinson-Earl on the inside. He could easily go for 20+ in this one.
Next. Preseason top-25 power rankings for 2020-21. dark
While Kansas vs Gonzaga will have most of the attention in today’s slate of games, this primetime matchup of ranked teams will be just as good. Expect there to be a lot of points scored in this one, with the Wildcats getting just a bit more to win this event.