Arizona State men's basketball team preps for showdown against No. 5 UCLA, then USC

The Arizona State men's basketball team should have a pretty good scouting report on its next opponent, No. 5 UCLA. Yes, the Sun Devils play the Bruins at least twice a year but they also have a couple of players who are quite familiar with the catalyst of the Bruins' attack in senior point guard Tyger Campbell.

Fifth-year senior Desmond Cambridge Jr. played on the same AAU team with Campbell, while ASU point guard Frankie Collins has worked out with him and even lived with him for a few months.

The Sun Devils (15-3, 6-1) and Bruins (16-2, 7-0) will square off at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Desert Financial Arena with the game airing on FS1. UCLA sits in first place with ASU one game back. All are excited about the showdown.

ASU is 8-1 at home with the lone loss coming to rival Arizona.

"I'm super excited. I was a Duke fan growing up. So I knew about all the bluebloods and all that. So I watched UCLA as well and so this is one of those games you don't have to get worked up for. You're already anxious," said Cambridge, named Pac-12 Player of the Week for his role in ASU's sweep of the Oregon schools last week.

That AAU team Cambridge played on with Campbell was called WACG All Stars (We All Can Go) and it also included Marvin Bagley.

Cambridge is hoping his team's trademark defense can slow down the veteran Bruins playmaker.

"He was always a good point guard but all the skills, just increased," Cambridge said. "He can really run a team, figure out what their team needs in turmoil, when they're not playing well. He can facilitate, shoot, get to any spot on the court. He's a really good player, point guard but we play pretty good defense so we're going to try and make it a hard time doing whatever he wants to do."

Like Cambridge, Collins is new to the Pac-12, transferring here from Michigan. He recalls watching the game between the two teams last year at Desert Financial Arena on television. It was won by ASU in triple overtime, 87-84.

Collins said his uncle Monty Buckley, who played at Cal, trained him and Campbell together so he too is looking forward to this contest.

"It will be fun to play against him," Collins said. "They're playing well and we're playing well. I'm excited about this one for sure."

Read more: College basketball week ahead: UCLA, USC come to Arizona

That triple overtime thriller isn't the only good game the two have played under the respective head coaches, Bobby Hurley at ASU and Mick Cronin at UCLA. In the 2020-2021 season, ASU lost both but they were thrillers, 81-75 in overtime and 80-79 with the latter decided by two free throws by UCLA's Jaylen Clark with one second left.

In the 2019-2020 season, the game at Pauley Pavilion went to UCLA 75-72 on a 3-pointer by Jaime Jaquez at the buzzer. Both of those seasons were losing ones for ASU so this season's meetings loom more important.

ASU has had a knack for pulling out close games. it is 7-1 in games decided by two possessions or less. One of those games was on Saturday as ASU slipped past Oregon State 74-69.

"It's mostly us staying together," Collins said, of the pattern of winning close games. "We have been able to find a way just by being a close team and defending." We know we're the underdog but we like that."

The contest features two teams that pride themselves on defense. UCLA is ranked No. 13 out of 352 Division I teams in scoring defense, giving up just 59.8 points per game while ASU is giving up 65.6. The Sun Devils are eighth in field goal percentage defense (37.685) while UCLA is at 40.9.

Cronin recognizes how Hurley's team has worked together unselfishly.

"He (Hurley) has done a great job putting his team together. You don’t just go sweep the Oregon's the way they did, especially the way they did. They looked like the original Golden State Warriors at Oregon. When you saw the score, you thought maybe Oregon didn’t play well and then you watch the film and I’ve never seen anything like that. Their display of shooting was unbelievable. So, a lot of challenges, their players being the real challenge—they’ve got quickness, they’ve got veterans, old veterans that are obviously having a lot of fun playing together. Probably the most unselfish Arizona State team I’ve seen."

Cambridge says he learned from ASU's one conference loss. He said it's important to stay in the moment and not be too excited.

"I definitely take a page from that Arizona game. I think I was overly prepared, ready for that game. You can overthink a game and what you're going to do. It can take away from being in the moment and just being ready to play," he said.

The week likely should be a pivotal one in the Pac-12. After facing UCLA, the Sun Devils will gear up for an 8 p.m. game on Saturday against USC (13-5, 5-2), which sits third, one game behind ASU. USC will face Arizona (15-3, 4-3) on Thursday, meaning four of the top five teams are going head-to-head on both days.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State men's basketball prepares to face No. 5 UCLA, then USC