Game info

Who: Arizona Wildcats (14-7, 5-3) at ASU Sun Devils (14-6, 5-3)

Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Watch: ESPN2

Listen: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM

Follow: @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook

Probable starters: Arizona

G Justin Coleman (5-10 senior)

G Brandon Williams (6-2 freshman)

F Brandon Randolph (6-6 sophomore)

F Ira Lee (6-7 sophomore)

C Ryan Luther (6-9 senior)

Probable starters: ASU

G Remy Martin (6-0 sophomore)

G Rob Edwards (6-4 junior)

F Luguentz Dort (6-4 freshman)

F Zylan Cheatham (6-8 senior)

C Romello White (6-8 sophomore)

How they match up

Series history

ASU has not beaten Arizona since the teams split two games each of the final two years of ASU’s Herb Sendek era in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The first four games were all decided by double figures before Arizona handed the then-No. 3 Sun Devils their first loss last season, 84-78 at McKale Center when Deandre Ayton had 23 points and 19 rebounds. Ayton also led Arizona to a 77-70 win at Wells Fargo Arena on Feb. 15, 2018, when he had 25 points and 16 rebounds.

This season

The Wildcats will host ASU in the teams’ regular-season finale on Saturday, March 9, at McKale Center.

ASU overview

With more depth and more versatility overall than last season’s perimeter-dominated crew, the Sun Devils have a bigger, more physical look with San Diego State transfer Zylan Cheatham and freshman Taeshon Cherry inside and, on the wings, Canadian freshman Luguentz Dort and Cleveland State transfer Rob Edwards.

Dort isn’t a great outside shooter, but he’s effective inside the arc and has the 248th-highest free-throw rate in Division I, measuring the amount of time he gets to the line against his field-goal attempts. Cheatham is an effective blocker, rebounder and scorer inside, hitting 56.4 percent of his two-point attempts while collecting 20 rebounds at UCLA last week.

Cheatham’s productivity takes pressure off Romello White, who was often ASU’s only true big on the floor last season. Cherry, once a USC commit who pivoted to ASU in the wake of the federal investigation, is a good shooter for his size off the bench, but he’s questionable Thursday because of a concussion.

High-motor sophomore Remy Martin ties it all together at the point, averaging 32.5 minutes a game while scoring 12.3 points with a 2.3-1 assist-turnover ratio. Kimani Lawrence has started 15 of 20 games as a forward, shooting 80 percent from the line.

The Sun Devils aren’t a great shooting team overall, but they play at the Pac-12’s second-fastest tempo behind UCLA, and they excel at getting to the line while also being strong on the glass. ASU picks up offensive rebounds at a 34.1 percent rate, the 32nd-best mark in the country, and has the 21st-highest free-throw rate. However, the Sun Devils hit only 67.4 percent of their free throws when they do get to the line.

He said it

“When you get 20 rebounds in a game ... that’s crazy.” Sean Miller on what Zylan Cheatham brings to the court, and how a combination of players has made ASU a threat. pic.twitter.com/6NtXGxcttr

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) January 29, 2019

“They’re deeper (than last season), have more forwards, more length on the court. I think Dort is one of the best freshmen in our conference, if not the country. He’s physical and strong; he reminds me a lot of Rawle Alkins the way he’s built, and for such a young player he’s got a great confidence about him that can permeate through their roster. ...

“Remy Martin gained valuable experience, he was a very good freshman on their team last year, and he’s picked right up where he left off and like Dort he has a lot of confidence, adds a lot to their team with playmaking, steals, scoring — he loves to take big shots. And Zylan Cheatham maybe has been the best addition to any team in our conference. When you get 20 rebounds or more in a game, that’s crazy. That’s to his credit. The fact that he’s averaging over 10 rebounds a game I think speaks to his talent, and he plays with a big motor.”

— UA coach Sean Miller

Key player: Zylan Cheatham

ASU

Remy Martin pushes the Sun Devils’ pace and Luguentz Dort can blow through a defense, but it’s Cheatham who could be the Wildcats’ most difficult matchup, especially if Chase Jeter is out again. The San Diego State transfer is mobile, savvy and ferocious on the glass.

Key player: Justin Coleman

ARIZONA

While Arizona had weaknesses all the way around in losses at USC and UCLA last weekend, Coleman gave the Wildcats only 2-for-10 shooting, with four assists to four turnovers. The Wildcats need more production and an infusion of confidence from their senior point guard Thursday.

They’re getting used to this

Upon arriving at ASU in the spring of 2015, ASU coach Bobby Hurley started putting together schedules that included two-game series with Kansas and Kentucky, other games with Creighton and Purdue, plus one this season against top 10 newcomer Nevada.

That means that the buzz over Thursday’s in-state showdown won’t be anything new for the Sun Devils.

“We have been in a lot of big games,” Hurley said. “The rivalry will have some extra juice and having our crowd. ... There are a lot of great things that go along with playing a program that has the track record and success that Arizona has. So it is on the same level as to when we had Kansas here just in terms of the magnitude.”

Miller said Hurley’s tough scheduling “says a lot about him,” while complimenting his one-time USA teammate in the 1991 World University games.

“What it’s done has given him the opportunity to win and grow, and build his program,” Miller said. “I think they play an exciting style of basketball as well. I think it’s a job well done. … As coaches, sometimes you want to make sure we tip our hat to a guy who does a good job. Doesn’t mean you don’t want to win, but his work speaks for itself.”

UA forward Ira Lee, a native of Phoenix who moved to Southern California when he was 12, said Hurley has done a “great job” since taking over the Sun Devils.

“They haven’t had a show like that in a long time,” Lee said.

Cheatham’s heartache

Rest Easy baby bro, I promise you gone live through me. Can’t believe you really gone but I gotta keep pushing ckuhz I know you know would want me to. The memories we made will last forever and I know you watching over me... #LongLiveTK pic.twitter.com/xe4fjPHDnV

— Zylan Cheatham (@1KingZ4) December 31, 2018

Among its rash of off-court concerns this season, the Pac-12 lost a potential player of the year (Oregon’s Bol Bol) to a foot injury, saw UCLA’s Shareef O’Neal undergo surgery to correct a major heart issue — and had Zylan Cheatham help put his brother to rest before a game.

The morning of Jan. 12, Cheatham attended the services for his brother, Wanyaa Stewart, who was shot to death the evening of Dec. 29 near Mill Avenue and Baseline Road in what police said was a homicide.

Then he hopped on a plane and played against Stanford just hours after the funeral ended.

“It was the toughest thing I ever had to deal with,” Cheatham told the Arizona Republic after the Stanford game. “To see my younger brother laying there, lifeless.”

According to The Athletic, Cheatham and Stewart had the same dad, and Stewart was just 10 months younger. They were close as they grew up in south Phoenix, but Cheatham moved on to play basketball at Phoenix’s now-defunct Windward Prep and said his brother stayed behind.

“Unfortunately, he got into gangs and just kind of running with the wrong people,” Cheatham told The Athletic. “It was a very unfortunate situation but he chose that path. It was really tough accepting it, but even knowing what he was doing, you just never expect something like this to happen.”

Zoned out

While Miller has made his preference for man-to-man defense pretty clear over his near-decade at Arizona, there have been a couple of disadvantages lately as many of his Pac-12 peers lean more heavily on the zone.

For one, Miller said last week, it is getting harder to scout other teams’ offenses because video of games usually show those offenses facing zones.

Meanwhile, Hurley said he welcomed the idea of facing a man defense for a change.

“We may finally see a team that plays man defense again unless Sean decides to do something that we do not expect,” Hurley said. “That is nice. We are actually looking forward to that. We have faced a lot of zone lately.”

After last week’s misadventures in LA, the Wildcats have the Pac-12’s seventh-most efficient defense, allowing 103 points per 100 possessions.

Numbers game

2

Players nationally who are averaging a double-double in points and rebounds while also averaging at least three assists: Cheatham and Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ.

5

ASU players with a wingspan of at least 6-11: De’Quon Lake (7-2), Cheatham (7-0.5), Romello White (7-0.25), Vitaliy Shibel (6-11.75) and Kimani Lawrence (6-11.5).

15.3

Percent of possessions Arizona has turned the ball over in Pac-12 play, tied with USC for the lowest percentage in the league.

43.3

Arizona’s two-point shooting percentage in Pac-12 games, the worst in the conference.