The Arizona State Sun Devils will look to avoid being the latest in a line of west coast powerhouses to either lose or get a close call from rising a Big West program against UC Riverside on Thursday.
UC Riverside at Arizona State (-10, 142)
UC Riverside returns 7-foot-1 center Callum McRae, who had 9.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and a block per game during the 2019-20 season. After missing all of last season, he returned with 13 points and four rebounds in the team’s 66-53 season-opening loss to San Diego State.
Arizona State may not be at full strength for this game with four players questionable due to health and safety protocols, including Boston College transfer Jay Heath, who was the top scorer for Boston College with 14.5 points per game last season. Without him, the Sun Devils shot 7-of-26 from 3-point range in their season opener against a Portland team with a new coach and five new starters from a season ago.
Last season, UC Riverside defeated Washington by 15 points and took a USC team to overtime that had three of its top five scorers from back from the previous season.They also defeated Nebraska on the road by 19 points
Arizona State’s 6-20 against the spread record since the start of the 2020-21 season is the worst cover percentage for any team that has played at least five Division I games the past two seasons. On Thursday night, ASU will be the next power conference team that will have trouble with UC Riverside.
Pick: UC Riverside + 10