Arizona State vs UCF Prediction and Preview

Read below for a full Arizona State vs UCF prediction and preview.

Arizona State looks to get back in the win column after two consecutive losses as it takes on UCF on Tuesday night at Desert Financial Arena. It is the second consecutive season that the Sun Devils will play a home game at 9:00 p.m. MST. It is also the Maroon and Gold’s first ever meeting against the Knights.

General Information:

Teams: Arizona State (10-5, 1-3 Big 12) and UCF (11-4, 2-2 Big 12)

Tip Time: 11:00 p.m. EST

Watch: ESPNU

Listen: ESPN 620 AM (KTAR)

Latest on UCF basketball:

The Knights have seesawed to start conference play this season. It started with an 87-83 road win to Texas Tech, one of the nation’s top 25 teams according to KenPom. They returned home to get trounced 99-48 by No. 11 Kansas. The second home game was an improvement, edging out Colorado 75-74, before heading to State 48 last weekend, losing 88-80 to Arizona last Saturday.

Despite the close battle, the Black and Gold could not cash in from beyond the arc, going 22.9% on their three-point attempts. Nonetheless, they won the battles in points off turnovers (18-9), points in the paints (36-32), second chance points (23-12), and fast break points (13-8).

“I thought our guys did a really good job of continuing to fight,” UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the game. “Even though we got down in this type of environment; it can get ugly quick. I thought our guys did a good job of showing some composure when we were down and just trying to chip away at the lead, and I thought we were able to chip away in the first half. We fell short, and you have to tip your hat to Arizona.”

Spearheading Dawkins’ side is Keyshawn Hall, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder. The junior guard/forward arrives in Space U after playing at UNLV his freshman year before being a regular starter at George Mason last season. He has posted double figures in the past six games, notching 22 points against Arizona, which is tied for his most in Big 12 play.

Following Hall in points are senior guard Darius Johnson and fifth year guard Jordan Ivy-Curry, who both average over 14 points a game. Ivy-Curry heads to Orlando after two stints at UTSA, while Johnson starts his fourth season with the Knights.

Latest on Arizona State basketball:

Despite forcing overtime after being down by 15 points, the Sun Devils fell 72-66 in overtime to Baylor on Saturday night, picking up back-to-back losses for the first time this season.  It was also the first time that a major sport at Arizona State (football, men’s basketball, baseball) had lost at home. After finishing non-conference play 9-2, they have lost three of the past four games.

“This league will be an adjustment,” Arizona State basketball head coach Bobby Hurley said after the game. “This league is strong and we gotta get used to being ready to do better. This was another case where we played two separate halves.”

Senior guard/forward BJ Freeman led the way with a season-high 22 points and four rebounds. It was the third time in four games that the UW Milwaukee transfer led the team in points.

However, the Maroon and Gold must start turning great performances into wins if they want to make the NCAA tournament. Going into the Baylor game, they were one of the first four teams out of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s bracket.

Arizona State vs UCF prediction: Sun Devils by 7 (89-82)

Tuesday night’s game is expected to be high scoring, with the Knights giving up the most points per game amongst Big 12 teams. That will work well for Arizona State, who will have a healthier Joson Sanon on the court and potentially Trevor Best, as it looks to rebound from Saturday night’s defeat.