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Arizona Vs asu 🏀 Game Preview/Discussion Thread 1/14/26 at 830pm FS1
The No. 1 Arizona Wildcats (16–0, 3–0 Big 12) enter Wednesday's matchup against Arizona State riding a perfect start and national momentum in the Territorial Cup rivalry. Arizona has been dominant on both ends of the floor, averaging over 90 points per game while holding opponents to roughly 68 points. The Wildcats' depth has been a major strength, led by Koa Peat (about 15 points and 6 rebounds per game), Brayden Burries (approximately 15 points per game), Jaden Bradley (around 14 points and nearly 5 assists), and Motiejus Krivas, who anchors the paint with close to 11 points and 8 rebounds per contest.
Arizona State (10–6, 1–2 Big 12) comes into the rivalry game looking to gain traction in conference play and challenge its in-state rival. The Sun Devils average about 80 points per game and are led offensively by guard Moe Odum, who contributes roughly 16 points and 6 assists per night. Massamba Diop provides a physical presence inside, averaging around 14 points per game while protecting the rim with nearly 2 blocks per game, and ASU will rely on balanced scoring and defensive intensity to keep pace with Arizona's fast tempo and depth.
In a rivalry that dates back to 1913, the Wildcats hold a commanding 163–87 all-time series lead over the Sun Devils. Arizona has won the majority of recent meetings and often controlled key statistical categories such as rebounding and shooting efficiency. Still, rivalry games bring added emotion and unpredictability, and with conference positioning and statewide bragging rights on the line, Wednesday's matchup sets the stage for another high-intensity chapter in one of college basketball's longest-running in-state rivalries.
Let's talk about the Wildcats Vs sun devils!
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Can we revive the old "look alike" threads? I'll get it started later...
Quote from: KansasCityCats on January 13, 2026, 01:29:03 PMCan we revive the old "look alike" threads? I'll get it started later...
Wut?
ASU is early on our slate. I don't think the schedulemeisters thought much of them against us.
This is all the more reason to not mess up in January.
We owe @BYU one. It is paramount we can survive undefeated and win that game.
Once February comes, I think we are the most "setup" team in the nation.
As in setup to fail.
Recency bias is a thing.
We play 9 games once Feb turns over including the final two which are in early March.
But of those 9 games, 6 are vs Elite Teams that are worthy of 1 2 and 3 seeds.
Yes it is an opportunity to test our strength and grit, but we will be in Mission Critical.
Everyone will "need" the win. We will need it. They will need it.
Playing 6 games vs Kansas x2, BYU, Texas Tech, Houston, and Iowa St in a short time is obtuse.
No game is a "must win" at the moment. Arizona proved itself in the OOC schedule and there will be a significant amount of upsets throughout our balanced conference; last night' blowout of KU over ISU was a perfect example.
As long as we don't lose 6+ games, the Cats will have a solid seed, compete for the conference title and prepare for the real tournament.
As far as tonight is concerned, I wouldn't worry about assu at home. They have one solid guard, one promising young big man and a lot of guys that wish they could shoot. Perhaps they'll be a threat in tempee, if their outside shot goes down (but it's unlikely).
Quote from: KansasCityCats on January 14, 2026, 07:49:58 AMNo game is a "must win" at the moment. Arizona proved itself in the OOC schedule and there will be a significant amount of upsets throughout our balanced conference; last night' blowout of KU over ISU was a perfect example.
As long as we don't lose 6+ games, the Cats will have a solid seed, compete for the conference title and prepare for the real tournament.
As far as tonight is concerned, I wouldn't worry about assu at home. They have one solid guard, one promising young big man and a lot of guys that wish they could shoot. Perhaps they'll be a threat in tempee, if their outside shot goes down (but it's unlikely).
Actually, tonight was a Must-Win as we got fully exposed. Tonight was a perfect example of what happens when Krivas gets dominated. We don't have any depth and we have to attempt some different strategies. Tommy waited a long time to see if things would sort themselves out. It never happened. Krivas didn't get into the game down the stretch. Another gutsy call in a close one by Tommy. He knew he couldn't trust the refs and that ASU would attempt 2's on Krivas. I think that with 5min left or so, you can feel safe to not just allow free layups with 4 fouls, but Tommy didn't risk it and relied heavily on hero ball.
Thankfully it came through. Awaka really stepped up. The refs finally caught onto the Gortat Seal and it led to some defensive problems.
It is always good to learn from mistakes while winning.
Now they have a long flight to figure out how they won't get embarrassed again @UCF.
EVERY game until February comes is a Must Win.
We will have a major stack of opponents basically all at once to finish the year.
It will be harder than the BIG12 Conference as everyone involved will be fighting for the Big12 Title with no Opt Outs nor resting.
It will also be harder than any 6 games the Bracket Makers can possibly put together in March Madness too.
So the only hope now is we take revenge @UCF. Avoid stumbles in McKales vs Cincy and WVU, then get our Big Revenge game @BYU for the Tony Padilla Bag Man scam of last year. Then work toward polishing off ASU once and for all @ASU which is a big deal after what transpired tonight.
Take care of that business and we will have a puncher's chance aka an outside chance at a 3 seed, maybe 2 unless we win the BIG12 Title.
Sloppiness isn't considered "stumbling". Michigan and Iowa State stumbled, as a loss negatively affects their tournament resume.
Diop had a great game. Bobby's shooters stepped up and it still wasn't enough to win.
"Must win" assumes that we don't achieve a goal if we fail. We can lose a handful of games and still be a #1 seed and/oe win the conference. No need to overreact to a win against your rival.
Player impact
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Quote from: CactusCat on January 15, 2026, 08:33:12 AMPlayer impact
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Deli did Nothing last night. Being on the floor watching other guys dominate doesn't mean Impact.
Awaka was a Saurus out there last night. He deserved 4x the Impact Grade.
and Koa Peat too.
If this is a measure of +/- that is a joke.
Quote from: arxpert on January 15, 2026, 05:15:54 PMQuote from: CactusCat on January 15, 2026, 08:33:12 AMPlayer impact
(https://i.ibb.co/DHv1HsrH/20260115-072421.jpg) (https://ibb.co/DHv1HsrH)
Deli did Nothing last night. Being on the floor watching other guys dominate doesn't mean Impact.
Awaka was a Saurus out there last night. He deserved 4x the Impact Grade.
It means that Delly was a good luck charm.
That beard must've stabilized the chaos.