UVa opponent preview: Arizona State
After a 10-point season opening loss to Colorado, the Sun Devils have found their stride recently which included a 15-point win over a good St. John’s squad Saturday afternoon. Arizona State has scored at least 71 points in every game this season and at least 80 points in their last three games, all wins. A very guard oriented lineup will be a challenge for a good defensive backcourt of Kihei Clark and Casey Morsell. Remy Martin is a shifty, good-shooting guard for the Sun Devils who dropped a game-high 19 points in their win over St. John’s. Martin fell right on his average of 19 per game this season and is joined in the backcourt by Rob Edwards who is tallying 16 points per game. The Sun Devils will need to do something that has been hard to do against Virginia this season which is shoot well from the perimeter, as the ‘Hoos held UMass to 5-26 from beyond the arc in their semifinal matchup. Arizona State is connecting on just 31.6 percent of their triples this season and made just 5 of their 19 attempts against the Red Storm. A quick, hard-hitting offensive attack is what the Sun Devils will look to bring to a UVa defense that is surrendering just a little over 42 points per game this season.
Why Arizona State will win: The Sun Devils’ experienced guards get penetration and inside scores early, freeing up open three-point attempts. The ability to speed up a Virginia team that wants to keep the game to fewer possessions, allows Arizona State to get the game to the pace they want.
Why Virginia will win: The Cavaliers’ get a better game from Mamadi Diakite and continue to get stops on the defensive end, including forcing Arizona State to quick outside shots. UVa outrebounds their sixth straight opponent to start the season and are able to connect on some outside shots.
Score Prediction: UVa 64, Arizona State 54
Check out Episode 3 of The Locker Room Access podcast as we Scout UMass, talk to future Wahoos Jabri Abdul-Rahim and Carson McCorkle and we catch up with Justin Anderson