Both the Washington Huskies and Arizona State Sun Devils are below .500 in the Pac-12 standings and are hooking up in Tempe on Thursday looking to claw their way back into the middle of the conference race.
Washington Huskies (-2.5, 153.5) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils
The first time these two teams met, Washington got the 82-67 home win on Jan. 11 — shooting 13-of-25 from three-point range compared to Arizona State shooting just 4-of-17 from three-point range.
There should be less of a disparity in the 3-point shooting numbers on Thursday, though, with Washington’s 3-point shooting defense being much different when playing at home than on the road.
The Huskies are allowing teams to shoot just 29.4% from 3-point range at home, which ranks 54th in the nation. However, when playing on the road, they allow their opponents to shoot over 37.5%, which is good for 318th in the nation.
As for Arizona State, it allows opponents to shoot just 29.1% from 3-point range at home, which ranks 50th but that percentage climbs to 35.6% in road games. Overall, the Sun Devils rank 136th in the nation in points allowed on a per-possession basis but allow 14 points fewer per 100 possessions at home than on the road.
Arizona State should also be able to win the turnover battle as the team generates a turnover on 19% of its defensive plays, which ranks 35th in the nation. It also ranks 44th in the fewest turnovers committed per possession on offense. Despite losing by double-digits in the first meeting against Washington, Arizona State committed five fewer turnovers (10 to 15).
While the Sun Devils entered Wednesday ranked just 302nd in the nation in points scored on a per-possession basis, they are netting 9.6 points more per 100 possessions at home than on the road while the Huskies rank 155th in points allowed on a per-possession basis.
With the Sun Devils playing much better on defense at home coupled with the edge in the turnover department, they will avenge their loss earlier in the season to the Huskies on Thursday.
The Play: Arizona State +2.5
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