Arizona Eyes History in Heated Rivalry Clash at Arizona State
There’s a lot on the line this Saturday when No. 1 Arizona heads into Tempe to face in-state rival Arizona State.
The Wildcats aren’t just looking to stay perfect-they’re chasing history. At 21-0 overall and 8-0 in Big 12 play, Arizona is on the verge of the best start in program history and a chance to tie the school’s longest-ever winning streak, a 22-game run that dates all the way back to 1914-1917.
But standing in their way is a Sun Devils squad that, while struggling lately, has already proven it can hang with the Wildcats. Arizona State (11-10, 2-6 Big 12) has dropped four of its last five, including a tough 79-76 loss at UCF on Tuesday-a game they led by 12 with just six minutes to go. That kind of collapse stings, and head coach Bobby Hurley didn’t sugarcoat it.
“It’s brutal to lose,” Hurley said. “We probably played near the level that we played at Arizona... but it’s time to capitalize and try and win these kinds of games.”
Arizona, meanwhile, is coming off its most dramatic win of the season-a nail-biting 86-83 road victory over No. 13 BYU on Monday.
The Wildcats built a 19-point second-half lead before BYU stormed back with a furious 12-2 run in the final minute. But Arizona held firm, showing the kind of poise and resilience championship teams need when the pressure’s on.
“It’s a big-time finish for us,” head coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We’ve been talking a lot since the summer about how some games will come down to getting one stop. We haven’t been in a lot of those, so it was great to experience that and have it come out our way.”
Freshman guard Brayden Burries was electric in that win, dropping 29 points, while Jaden Bradley added 26. Burries, who’s averaging 15.2 points per game, has been on a tear since a quiet outing in the first meeting with Arizona State on Jan.
- In that game, Burries scored just six points on 3-of-7 shooting and missed all three of his attempts from deep.
Since then? He’s averaging 20.4 points over four games, shooting a blistering 50% from both the field and three-point range.
“I feel like we are just getting better each and every day,” Burries said. “We have the best freshmen on our team in the whole nation… It’s just about continuing to have that growth mindset.”
One of those standout freshmen is Koa Peat, who’s averaging 14.5 points and will be playing in front of a hometown crowd in Tempe. The Phoenix-area native has been a key piece in Arizona’s balanced attack, which has overwhelmed opponents all season. The Wildcats aren’t just winning-they’re dominating, with an average margin of victory north of 21 points.
But if Arizona’s expecting a walk in the desert, they might want to revisit how the first matchup played out. Arizona State pushed them to the brink in Tucson, trimming the lead to just three points with under a minute to go after a clutch Maurice Odum three. It took a Bradley jumper and a pair of Tobe Awaka free throws to finally put the game away.
Odum has been the engine for the Sun Devils all season, leading the team with 17.2 points and 6.6 assists per game. He’s the kind of guard who can shift momentum in a heartbeat, and he’ll need to be at his best if Arizona State wants to pull off the upset.
Another name to watch is freshman center Massamba Diop, who held his own against Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas in the last meeting. Diop finished with 16 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting night, while Krivas was mostly quiet, scoring just four points and attempting only one shot from the field.
Arizona State may be under .500 in conference play, but they’ve shown flashes of the kind of team that can go toe-to-toe with the best. For Arizona, the stakes are clear: a win means tying a century-old record and inching closer to a perfect regular season. But rivalry games have a way of throwing records out the window.
Expect intensity. Expect emotion. And don’t be surprised if this one goes down to the wire again.