The Northwestern Wildcats take on the Arizona State Sun Devils. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Northwestern Arizona State prediction and pick. Find how to watch Northwestern Arizona State.

The Northwestern Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils are both inconsistent and enigmatic teams. They can be great when at their best, they can be horrible when at their worst, and one never knows which version of each team will show up on any given day.

Northwestern is good enough to beat No. 1 Purdue and bad enough to lose at home to Chicago State. The Wildcats took down a team which is likely to be a No. 1 seed, and they lost to a team which belongs in the bottom third of the more than 350 Division I men's college basketball programs in America. How's that for a Jekyll and Hyde profile? The biggest win and the very worst loss in the country this season might both belong to the same team: Northwestern. The Purdue win seemed to give NU a foothold in the NCAA Tournament and a huge advantage going into Selection Sunday in 2024. The Chicago State loss erased that leverage and has brought Northwestern back to square one.

Arizona State can be extremely good when everything is going right. The Sun Devils have twice rallied from double-digit deficits in the final six minutes of regulation time to win games, against SMU and UMass-Lowell. Yet, that fact also brings up the point that ASU was trailing by double-digits after 34 or more minutes. This team goes through very big up-and-down cycles and does not play steady basketball. Coach Bobby Hurley will try to solve this problem as the season moves along.

This game is in Phoenix at the Footprint Center, the Phoenix Suns' home arena. It is not being played on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe. It will be interesting to see what kind of environment exists in the building. Keep in mind that the second game of the doubleheader in Phoenix is Alabama versus Arizona. This means some U of A Wildcat fans in the arena for the second game might root against ASU in this first game.

Here are the Northwestern-Arizona State College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Northwestern-Arizona State Odds

Northwestern Wildcats: -3.5 (-110)

Arizona State Sun Devils: +3.5 (-110)

Over: 136.5 (-110)

Under: 136.5 (-110)

How To Watch Northwestern vs Arizona State

Time: 8:30 pm ET / 5:30 pm PT

TV: ESPN2

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Northwestern Could Cover the Spread

The Wildcats are good enough to beat Purdue. That should tell you this team has some real weapons and legitimate high-end potential. The Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament last season and have most of that roster back intact for this season. The loss to Chicago State was extremely puzzling, but Northwestern bounced back from that awful loss by beating DePaul on the road. That win over DePaul might have gotten this team back on track by enabling all the players to relax and avoid panicking after the Chicago State debacle.

Arizona State does not have the consistent offense needed to exploit and expose Northwestern. The Sun Devils can't be trusted at that end of the floor, and NU is poised to take advantage of that.

Why Arizona State Could Cover the Spread

The Northwestern team coming into Phoenix for this game was outplayed and outworked by Chicago State. If a team can be smoked by Chicago State, it can certainly lose to Arizona State. ASU is an underdog getting a few points in Phoenix. That looks like a great line to pounce on.

Final Northwestern-Arizona State Prediction & Pick

These are unreliable teams, and when you have unreliable teams, you should stay away.

Final Northwestern-Arizona State Prediction & Pick: Arizona State +3.5