Arizona @ Arizona State preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 4, 2020 ) Arizona State 47, Arizona 75

After moving back into the Pac-12 race with a pair of impressive home wins last week, No. 21 Arizona looks to carry the momentum into Saturday’s road matchup against rival Arizona State. The teams opened conference play against each other on Jan. 4, when Arizona dominated the paint and cruised to a 75-47 win over the stunned Sun Devils.

Arizona has been led by the trio of freshmen stars Nico Mannion, Josh Green and Zeke Nnaji for much of the season, but upperclassmen such as junior forward Ira Lee and senior guard Dylan Smith provided quality minutes in last week’s wins over Utah and Colorado. Lee turned in his best performance of the season in last Saturday’s 75-54 win over the Buffaloes, finishing with six points and seven rebounds while playing stellar defense in a season-high 26 minutes. “His energy, his physicalness — he set the tone for us, especially in the second half,” coach Sean Miller told reporters. “He just played very, very hard; he finished around the basket, he rebounded at both ends. Ira is one of our most consistent practice players, and when you’re like that, sometimes you really can break through in games. He had a big day.” Lee will look to build on his strong outing against the Sun Devils, who snapped a two-game losing skid with last Saturday’s impressive 83-64 win over Utah.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network

ABOUT ARIZONA (13-5, 3-2 Pac-12): Nnaji was named Pac-12 freshman of the week for the third time this season after averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 59.1 percent from the field during a sweep of Utah and Colorado. Nnaji, Mannion and Green combined for 37 points in the win over the Buffaloes while senior guard Max Hazzard wrapped up a strong homestand with nine points in 16 minutes. Forward Stone Gettings is expected to make his third straight start in place of 6-10 center Chase Jeter, who averages 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds but is listed as day-to-day due to back spasms.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (11-7, 2-3): Junior guard Remy Martin is averaging 24.3 points in the past six games for the Sun Devils, who forced 18 turnovers in the win over Utah and lead the Pac-12 in steals at 7.94 per game. Senior guard Rob Edwards scored a team-high 24 points against the Utes and is averaging 12.6 points while shooting 50 percent (14-of-28) from 3-point range in conference play. Martin and Edwards can be counted on for consistent production, but coach Bobby Hurley will need more scoring from players such as junior forward Romello White in order to get past the Wildcats.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Arizona is 15-11 against the Sun Devils over the past 13 seasons.

2. Martin is the only Pac-12 player since 1996-97 to open conference play with five straight games of 20-plus points.

3. Arizona leads the conference in scoring at 81.6 points per game.

PREDICTION: Arizona 78, Arizona State 67