Read below for a full Arizona State vs Kansas prediction and preview.
Arizona State and No. 11 Kansas look to build off weekend wins as they face off at Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. It will be the 12th meeting between the two sides, and the first as conference opponents. The Sun Devils hold the edge 6-5, taking the past two games. They won 95-85 in Lawrence on Dec. 10, 2017 before beating the Jayhawks, ranked No. 1 at the time, 80-76 on Dec. 22, 2018 in Tempe.
“We were off to a great start, playing with a lot of confidence, playing at a pretty high level,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley said about the 2017 matchup at Allen Fieldhouse. “You never know what you’re getting into when you go to a place like that against a team like that.”
General Information:
Teams: Arizona State (10-3, 1-1 Big 12) and Kansas (10-3, 1-1 Big 12)
Tip Time: 9 p.m. EST
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (KTAR)
Latest on Kansas basketball:
The Jayhawks, who started as the preseason No. 1, had an almost perfect response to their 62-61 upset loss to No. 21 West Virginia, routing UCF 99-48 on the road last Sunday. It was the school’s largest road victory against a Division I program. Bill Self’s players hauled in 63 rebounds, the most in a game since March 24, 2002 against Oregon and the most ever in a Big 12 contest.
Graduate center Hunter Dickinson, who was named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List earlier this week, led the way with 27 points in 23 minutes. Sunday’s performance helped Dickinson, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, become the only active NCAA Division I player with over 2,400 points and 1,200 rebounds. He is also one of two players in the Big 12 currently averaging a double-double.
Overall, five Jayhawks reached double figures, with three of them coming off the bench. Junior guard Rylan Griffen had a season-high 14 points, freshman forward scored 12 points and junior guard AJ Storr finished with 11 points.
Bill Self’s side is also great at sharing the ball, averaging 19 assists per game, which is second in the Big 12. They also boast the conference’s best assist to turnover margin at 1.86.
Latest on Arizona State basketball:
The Sun Devils got back in the win column last Saturday with an 81-61 victory over Colorado. They got out to a commanding lead within the first 12 minutes, and held on until the end of the game. Senior guard Julian Hammond III, the Buffaloes leading scorer, to zero points and all the other starters to zero figures.
Four players reach double figures in the absence of leading scorer Joson Sanon, who was out with a lower leg injury. The veterans led the charge, with senior guard/forward BJ Freeman and senior forward Basheer Jihad posting 19 and 17 points respectively. Freshman forward Jayden Quaintance had 11 points, while freshman guard/forward Amier Ali, notched 10 with Freeman out for the last eight minutes due to an ejection.
“We got a really good freshman core,” Quaintance said. “We got a lot of competitors. Everybody wants to win, everybody wants to be on the floor and play and impact winning. We’re gonna be able to do a lot of big things.”
Hurley said that Sanon will be a game-time decision on Wednesday after being a “partial participant” in the last two practices. Hurley and the coaching staff will decide tomorrow afternoon following shoot around at Allen Fieldhouse.
“He’s healed really quick and he’s worked really hard with his rehab to even have a chance to play tomorrow,” Hurley said. “He desperately wants to play.”
The Maroon and Gold also denied a report from Barstool Arizona on Instagram that said the program failed to pay its players through “expected extra NIL” because of a now-cancelled docuseries about the team. Sanon responded to the post with a cap emoji, calling the report false. While Quaintance’s father, Haminn, posted on X saying it was “fake news.”
“We honor our commitments here,” Hurley said. “We’ve had great people support our NIL like the Hobbs family, like Nap Lawrence, just to name a few. Those guys have been great to me and trying to put together this team and really develop a strong NIL…There’s great momentum in what we’re doing here.”
Arizona State vs Kansas prediction: Jayhawks by 12 (80-68)
This score could swing depending on if Sanon will play. Regardless, he has not reached double figures since Dec. 3. An experienced front court for Kansas should set the pace early against a young Arizona State team that has yet to pick up a win in a hostile environment this season.