Halftime Report

Massachusetts is on the road but looking no worse for wear. After one quarter, neither squad has the contest in the bag, but Massachusetts leads 33-31 over Arizona State.

If Massachusetts keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 6-7 in no time. On the other hand, Arizona State will have to make due with an 8-3 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

Arizona State Sun Devils @ Massachusetts Minutemen

Current Records: Arizona State 8-2, Massachusetts 5-7

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What to Know

Massachusetts has enjoyed a five-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They and the Arizona State Sun Devils will compete for holiday cheer at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at MassMutual Center. The Minutemen are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 75.4 points per game this season.

Last Wednesday, Massachusetts beat Northeastern 77-72.

Massachusetts' success was spearheaded by the efforts of Jaylen Curry, who posted 24 points in addition to five steals, and Daniel Rivera, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds. What's more, Curry also posted a 50% field goal percentage, which is the highest he's posted since back in January. Another player making a difference was Malek Abdelgowad, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Meanwhile, after a string of six wins, Arizona State's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. The game between them and Florida wasn't a total blowout, but with Arizona State falling 83-66 on the road it was darn close to turning into one.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jayden Quaintance, who went 5 for 9 en route to 14 points plus eight rebounds and four steals. Quaintance is also crushing it when it comes to blocks: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Adam Miller was another key player, going 5 for 9 en route to 18 points.

Massachusetts' win bumped their record up to 5-7. As for Arizona State, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-2.

Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Massachusetts hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 75.4 points per game. However, it's not like Arizona State struggles in that department as they've been averaging 78.6. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

Massachusetts is hoping to beat the odds on Saturday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, careful betting on Massachusetts: they have a less-than-stellar 4-7 record against the spread this season.

Odds

Arizona State is a big 9.5-point favorite against Massachusetts, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Sun Devils as a 8.5-point favorite.


The over/under is 151 points.

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