TV channel, playing 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 in Big 12 Conference play.

The Sun Devils had an impressive non-conference season, going 9-2 with their only losses coming to top-10 teams Florida and Gonzaga. But they have 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 Saturday but scored just 5 points in Arizona State’s 72-66 overtime loss to Baylor. According to coach Bobby Hurley, Sanon re-injured 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 ASU rallied from a 15-point deficit to force overtime vs. Baylor. But they haven’t been able to muster the full 32 minutes in their last two games.

Currently sitting as no. 55 in the NCAA NET Rankings and is listed as one of the “first four outs” in ESPN’s updated NCAA Tournament projections, and 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 at 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 in Big 12 play.

ASU could also make a run and get back into the NCAA Tournament picture. Wins over Cincinnati, West Virginia and Iowa State would all be Quad 1 wins and would significantly increase 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 game against 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 PM MST/10 PM ET | Tuesday, January 14

Where: Desert Financial Arena | Tempe, Arizona

Live streaming: Watch Arizona State-UCF live next 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

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