How to watch, stream UCF vs. Arizona State men's basketball: TV channel, game time, predictions
The Arizona State men's basketball team is picking up the pieces and trying to put them back together after a 1-3 start to Big 12 Conference play.
The Sun Devils had an impressive nonconference season, going 9-2 with their only losses to top-10 teams Florida and Gonzaga. But they've struggled to find their footing in the Big 12, partly because leading scorer Joson Sanon has been sidelined with an ankle injury.
Sanon returned to the lineup on Saturday, but scored just 5 points in Arizona State's 72-66 overtime loss to Baylor. According to coach Bobby Hurley, Sanon reinjured his ankle and will miss the Sun Devils matchup with UCF (11-4, 2-2) on Tuesday night.
Without Sanon in the lineup, Hurley has gone with a seven-player rotation of Alston Mason, Adam Miller, BJ Freeman, Basheer Jihad, Jayden Quaintance, Shawn Phillips and Amier Ali. That group raced out to a 42-36 first-half lead over Kansas, and rallied ASU from a 15-point deficit to force overtime vs. Baylor. But they have been unable to string together a complete 32 minutes in their past two games.
Currently sitting at No. 55 in the NCAA NET Rankings and listed as one of the "first four out" in ESPN's updated NCAA Tournament projections, Tuesday night's game is a must-win for Arizona State (10-5, 1-3).
After UCF, the Sun Devils next three games are at Cincinnati, at West Virginia and back home vs. Iowa State. Those are all Quad 1 games — and ASU could easily lose all three. If the Sun Devils lose to UCF, they could be looking at a 1-7 start to Big 12 play.
ASU could also get on a run and get right back back into the NCAA Tournament picture. Wins over Cincinnati, West Virginia and Iowa State would all be Quad 1 victories and would significantly boost the Sun Devils NET ranking.
Arizona State enters Tuesday's game as 3.5-point favorites, and ESPN's FPI gives the Sun Devils a 69.4% chance to beat UCF.
Here are details on how to watch, stream and follow Arizona State's Big 12 matchup vs. UCF on Tuesday:
Arizona State vs. UCF TV Channel, Live Stream, Predictions
Who: Arizona State vs. UCF in Big 12 men's basketball
When: 8 p.m. MST/10 p.m. ET | Tuesday, January 14
Where: Desert Financial Arena | Tempe, Arizona
Live Stream: Watch Arizona State-UCF live on fuboTV (Start your free trial)
TV Channel: ESPNU
ESPN FPI Prediction: Arizona State has a 69.4% chance to win
Our Prediction: Arizona State 84, UCF 77
Live Updates, Highlights: Follow the game on Arizona State On SI for live updates, in-game analysis and big-play highlights throughout Wednesday's matchup