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Friday’s Pregame Shootaround: Opportunity knocks for Arizona State

carson

GAME OF THE NIGHT: No. 2 Arizona at Arizona State, 9:00 p.m. (ESPN)

No. 2 Arizona remains ahead of the pack in the Pac-12 by two games, but there may be some teams who sense an opportunity now that Brandon Ashley’s out for the year. However Arizona’s won its last two games after falling at Cal, with freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson one of the reasons why they’ve been able to adjust. He averaged 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in wins over Oregon and Oregon State, and he’ll be a key figure moving forward for the Wildcats.

As for their in-state rivals, tonight represents a great resume-building opportunity for Herb Sendek’s Sun Devils. Arizona State looks well-positioned to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009, with point guard Jahii Carson and center Jordan Bachynski leading the way. But the difference-maker may be senior guard Jermaine Marshall, who missed the first meeting due to a hip injury. The Penn State transfer’s averaging 15.6 points per game, giving Arizona State a needed perimeter scorer. If he has a solid night, the Sun Devils are more than capable of winning this one.

WHO’S GETTING UPSET: No. 23 SMU (-5) at Rutgers, 7:00 p.m.

Last month the Mustangs earned a comfortable 70-56 win over Rutgers in Dallas, and from a talent standpoint Nic Moore and company should win the rematch. But funny things can happen at The RAC, and with the weather forcing a one-day delay this could be one of those scenarios. Myles Mack and company have won their last two home games, and if he and Kadeem Jack show up the potential for an upset is there.

MID-MAJOR GAME OF THE NIGHT: Harvard at Columbia, 7:00 p.m.

After dropping a seven-point decision to Yale last Saturday the Crimson look to rebound with a win at Columbia. And this begins a key stretch for Tommy Amaker’s team, as they’ll play their next four games away from Cambridge. The problem against Yale for Harvard: their defense. The Bulldogs shot 51%, and a similar effort against Columbia could lead to trouble. The Lions are led by Alex Rosenberg and Maodo Lo, and they’re also shooting 38% from beyond the arc on the season.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR:

1) No. 13 Louisville visits Temple (6:00 p.m., ESPN2) in a game that was originally scheduled to be played on Thursday. The Cardinals have won six of their last seven games, with Russ Smith leading the way for a team that trails Cincinnati by a game in the loss column.

2) Iona looks to maintain its two-game lead atop the MAAC with a win over Monmouth. The Gaels won the first meeting 89-71 just ten days ago, with Sean Armand scoring 22 points and David Laury III adding 21 and 12 rebounds.

3) Mercer hosts Lipscomb, and the Bears’ weekend schedule was thrown for a loop due to the inclement weather. Instead of the originally scheduled Thursday/Saturday split, Bob Hoffman’s team will host Northern Kentucky on Sunday.

4) Yale looks to move to 6-1 in Ivy League play with a win over Penn, but they aren’t the only team with hopes of winning the league. There’s also 4-2 Brown, which needs to get hot in order to keep pace with the Bulldogs and Harvard, with both having already beaten the Bears.

5) The Southern Conference no longer has divisions, which makes the race for seeding in next month’s conference tournament even more important. Chattanooga hosts Western Carolina with the Mocs leading the Catamounts by a game in the loss column. Will Wade’s team has lost three of its last four after starting SoCon play 8-0 (one of the three losses was a non-conference loss to Eastern Kentucky).

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