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Weekend Preview: Arizona better be ready to play against their in-state rival

Jahii Carson

Who’s Getting Upset?: No. 7 Arizona at Arizona State (Sat. 2:30 p.m. FSN)

I know. My first instinct would be to laugh too, but at this point you should know that the Sun Devils have a squad out in Tempe this year. Jahii Carson, the nation’s most-underappreciated point guard, is the real deal. He’s as athletic as anyone in the country, he’s impossible to keep out of the lane and he can score off the bounce and find his teammates if they’re open.

But he’s far from the only option that Herb Sendek has offensively. Carrick Felix has been one of the most improved players in the Pac-12, averaging 15.2 points and 8.2 boards this season, providing a perfect compliment along Arizona State’s front line to shot-blocker Jordan Bachynski, he of the first ever triple-double in Sun Devil history.

As Jon Gasaway spelled out in his Tuesday Truths column this week, Arizona has been a long way from impressive this season. All their meaningful wins have been close games; they’re a team that thrives on the last-minute comeback, which is a dangerous way to play. Especially on the road. Especially against an in-state rival.

Who else is on upset alert?


  • No. 25 Marquette at Cincinnati (Sat. 7:00 p.m. ESPNU): The Golden Eagles have won three games in Big East play this year: two went to overtime, one came when Greg Whittington missed the third of three free throws with 2.3 seconds left on the clock. Cincinnati has been on the losing end of a couple close games. Both teams have a loaded perimeter attack, but the difference is that Marquette has a scoring presence on the block in Davante Gardner. Regardless, if you like tough, physical basketball, this will be the game for you.

  • No. 15 San Diego State at Wyoming (Sat. 7:30 p.m.): Wyoming may be playing without Luke Martinez for an extended period of time, but they still have Leonard Washington on the roster, and they are still going to be hosting the Aztecs in a game that they need to help boost their tournament resume. You see, with how tough the MWC is this year, if a team wants to make the NCAA tournament or compete for a good seed in the MWC tournament, they are going to have to win their home games; there aren’t many easy road trips in that league this year.

  • Oklahoma at No. 16 Kansas State (Sat. 4:00 p.m. ESPN3): Oklahoma is slowly but surely starting to play like the team that many of us thought that had chance to sneak into the NCAA tournament this season. They also have a terrific defender in Buddy Hield to matchup with Rodney McGruder. Road trips aren’t easy, but expect Oklahoma to give K-State a fight.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.