Something has got to give as the No.6 Nevada Wolf Pack take on the No.20 Arizona State Sun Devils in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at the Staples Center late Friday night. The game is, perhaps, the most important nonconference game of the season for both teams as they each enter the game undefeated. Of course, only one team will leave that way.
This game will be the first real test for either highly rated team. Arizona State did do well in their tournament in Las Vegas while Nevada fared well in its own Sin City tourney. Still, this is another step up for both programs.
On Friday night, we’ll see which team can remain undefeated. Can Nevada maintain its top-10 ranking and climb back into the top-5 with a key win? Or, will the Sun Devils get a statement win in their quest to take another step forward on their up-and-down season from a year ago?
NCAA Basketball Betting at Bookmaker.eu
Nevada Wolf Pack vs. Arizona State Sun Devils
Date and Time: Friday, December 7, 2018, 11:59 a.m. ET
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Wolf Pack vs. Sun Devils TV Coverage: ESPN2
These are two reasonably balanced teams with both ranking in the latest top-25 and each sporting similar overall numbers through the early portion of their respective schedules.
For Arizona State, they come into play just a few PPG behind Nevada offensively and defensively. While they’re not quite as accurate shooting the ball, they’ve proven to be more efficient rebounders early helping them start the year 7-0. Nevada, meanwhile, is shooting nearly 50-percent from the floor, leading to a 20 PPG differential in their first eight on the year.
The Sun Devils have had a strong start to the year behind a much more balanced team than the one that showed well in the nonconference schedule last year before crashing back to earth in the Pac-12.
Arizona State has a great group of veteran players along with an elite recruiting class and pair of solid transfers. Everything seems to have come together to point to this season for the Sun Devils, at least in terms of talent.
Freshman guard Luguentz Dort has been absolutely fantastic on the season, averaging 21.7 PPG while adding 6.6 RPG, too. He’s already got a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Long Beach State and came within a rebound of two more. He’s scored at least a dozen in every game this season and has already had three 25+ point games.
Remy Martin and Rob Edwards are supposed to join Dort on the outside, but they’ve both sat out of late due to injury. Without them, the guard position is a bit lacking outside Dort, leaving the front court to take up a bigger role.
On the inside, the Sun Devils have one of the nation’s top recruits in Taeshon Cherry. He’s been good and has at least 14 points in each of this last three games as he continues to improve. He’s got 9.0 PPG in the first seven overall.
Kimani Lawrence, Zylan Cheatham, De’Quon Lake, and Romello White add height inside the paint and plenty of talent as well. The defense has improved as a result with better blocking. Cheatham is nearly averaging a double-double with 12.4 PPG and 9.6 RPG. He’s notched a double-double in his last two games. He had a triple-double against Texas Southern with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and was an assist away from another one against Omaha.
On the other side of the court in this one, the Wolf Pack returned four of five starters from last year’s team and have added Jordan Brown and Trey Porter have been added to the mix to help fill out the frontcourt alongside Jordan Caroline.
The front court isn’t quite as deep in Nevada as it is for Arizona State, but Caroline has 18.5 PPG, 10.0 RPG and has been a big presence. Senior Tre’Shawn Thurman has been a good defender inside with good enough shooting. Porter and Brown add depth.
On the outside, however, is where the Wolf Pack stand out. Caleb and Cody Martin anchor the wings and Jazz Johnson has been a good performer early, too, with 56.9-percent from the floor and nearly the same from three.
Caleb Martin has 19.9 PPG this year while Cody Martin has been instrumental in setting up his teammates with 6.3 APG.
Live Betting
Offensively, Nevada ranks second to Gonzaga in efficiency this season, well ahead of the pace of the Sun Devils despite a relatively similar PPG total between the two teams. Defensively, however, Arizona State has the slight edge. Their size and presence up front is a big part of that.
Keep an eye on the pace of play in this game. The Wolf Pack will want to keep the pace up and lean on their superior shooters to land them the win while Arizona State will try and rely more on defense and take advantage of their height by winning the rebounding battle.
Watch to see if Nevada can do enough rebounding the ball and blocking shots inside to keep the Sun Devils’ frontcourt honest. Provided the Wolf Pack can do that, look for them to come out ahead and cover the spread in this neutral court matchup. Be sure to take advantage of all the exciting live betting opportunities at BookMaker.eu in what promises to be an interesting game.
Key Player
Dort is the key player to this game. The young guard has had a fantastic start to his college career for the Sun Devils and is their biggest backcourt threat.
Nevada is stacked at the guard position with a number of high percentage shooters. Arizona State doesn’t stacked up either shooting from the floor or from deep. Dort is the one player that offers a bit of a threat there.
Can Dort hang tough with the likes of Caleb and Cody Martin on the outside? The Sun Devils stack up well under the basket, but they’re a bit short on the outside due to injuries. In the end, there’s a lot riding on the shoulders of their talented freshman guard.
Wolf Pack vs. Sun Devils Live Betting
The Wolf Pack are a better shooting team, stacked with talent on the outside. Arizona State has a slight edge inside the paint, but Nevada should be able to hold their own enough on the boards while dominating the perimeter on their way to a win on Friday.
The neutral court helps keep either team from breaking away. Look for a close, well fought battle with the Nevada ultimately doing enough inside behind Caroline to allow their backcourt to shine through and pull out the victory in this college hoops showdown.
Look for the better shooting to win out and give Nevada a big nonconference win.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Nevada 81, Arizona State 76
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
