Matchup: No. 17 Arizona (20-6, 10-3) at No. 25 ASU (19-6, 7-6)

Where: Wells Fargo Center, Tempe

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Watch: ESPN

Listen: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM

Follow:  @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook

The last time

Deandre Ayton had 23 points, 19 rebounds and three blocked shots to help Arizona hand ASU its first loss of the season, 84-78 on Dec. 30 at McKale Center. Allonzo Trier added 23 points while making all 10 free throws he took while the Wildcats held ASU to just 37.9-percent shooting (including 8 of 25 3-pointers).

The last time at Wells Fargo

Arizona led just 30-29 at halftime but held the Sun Devils to just 28.6 percent shooting while gaining a 73-60 win in the regular-season finale for both teams on March 4. Rawle Alkins had 11 points and 15 rebounds while Trier had 19 points.

Overall

UA has won its last two games at Wells Fargo Arena, and is 5-3 at Tempe under Sean Miller. The Wildcats are 13-4 against ASU overall under Miller and lead the all-time series 151-82.

ASU is coming off three straight wins and has returned to the AP Top 25 after going 4-6 to start Pac-12 play and falling out of the rankings. The Sun Devils remain powered by guards Tra Holder, Shannon Evans, Remy Martin and Kodi Justice, while Romello White has been a solid anchor down low. But they have been starting slender freshman Vitaliy Shibel at power forward while moving Mickey Mitchell off the bench, along with backup center De’Quon Lake.

ASU continues to have a much more efficient offense (13th ranked, according to Kenpom) than defense (99) while the Sun Devils have the seventh-highest ratio of free throws shot compared with field goals.

“It’s recognizing how lethal they are and how quickly they can score points and utilize the 3-point shot. ASU also combines that with getting to the foul line, Tra Holder in particular. He can live at the foul line. Those are two problematic areas for us — defending the 3-point shot and playing 40 minutes without fouling. We’re after growth in both of those areas. We’ll be challenged in both of those areas for sure.” — UA coach Sean Miller

Having chosen to wear “0” in part because he was a childhood fan of former UA guard Gilbert Arenas, Holder was a menace to the Wildcats on Dec. 30 at McKale, not only hitting 4 of 8 3-pointers but also making 15 of 16 free throws. He’s averaging 5.9 trips to the line in Pac-12 play, and hits free throws at an 87-percent rate.

Few teams have a defensive answer for UA’s dominant freshman power forward but ASU really had no way to deal with Ayton at McKale Center. And since Ayton plays just as well in hostile road enviromments as he does at home, the Sun Devils may have just as tough a time with him this time around.

Thursday’s game will be played just after Valentine’s Day, which is maybe fitting for ASU coach Bobby Hurley.

The ASU coach is fully aware there’s not a lot of love lost between him and the Wildcat fan base, so much so that he joked about why that is during a news conference Tuesday.

“I’m such a great guy. Such a low-key guy,” Hurley said. “I keep my composure on the sideline and I should be, I don’t know ... they should love me just like our fans do.”

Bobby Hurley reads every tweet sent his way, including the not-so-nice ones from UA fans.

"They should love me, just like our fans do," he joked. pic.twitter.com/6XAUzyOh2E

— Shane Dale (@ShaneDaleABC15) February 13, 2018

Known as the snarling, intense face of Duke basketball as a player in the 1990s, Hurley said even rival fans grew to eventually appreciate his ways.

“So many North Carolina fans would say to me after my career, ‘Hey, you were one of my favorite Duke players, just because of how you played and competed,’" Hurley said. “So I’m just gonna wait for the day Arizona fans say that to me.”

Then Hurley paused a moment over that thought.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think it’s coming anytime soon.”

Hurley said he used to block fans on social media who posted “inappropriate language directed at me,” but is now OK with it.

“Now it’s anything goes,” he said. “I’ll read it all, too.”

Because of lagging fan interest, ASU officials in 2010 blocked off nearly 3,400 seats with a wall that featured the likenesses of several former Sun Devil greats.

Now, thanks to the Sun Devils’ success and subsequent fan interest this season, that wall is gone. ASU removed it in January, bringing capacity from 10,734 to about 14,100.

The Sun Devils have nearly filled all those seats up, too. They averaged 13,172 fans for their first six Pac-12 home games and Thursday’s game is sold out.

“We’re starting this,” ASU guard Kodi Justice said of the wall’s removal last month. “It’s a great honor.”

Even though ASU was ranked No. 3 when it played the Wildcats this season on Dec. 30, UA forward Rawle Alkins wasn’t sure how big the matchup really was.

“It’s not an ESPN game,” Alkins said before that game.

That first matchup was televised by the Pac-12 Networks, but the return game Thursday will be spread widely via the reach of ESPN, with Dave Pasch, Fran Fraschilla and Molly McGrath on the call.

“It’s crazy,” Alkins said Monday. “It’s an ESPN game, so that tells you how big it’s gonna be. They’re rolling with confidence now. They beat UCLA and USC. They have their full team. So I think it’s gonna be a great game, great atmosphere, a sold-out game, a great environment.”

If he didn’t decide to reclassify a year ago, Emmanuel Akot would be a senior at Utah’s Wasatch Academy, starring and getting ready for a big role at UA in 2018-19.

Instead, he’s preparing for what could still be a big role at UA in 2018-19 by coming off the bench and managing the knee tendinitis that has limited him as a freshman. The injury isn’t risky to play with, Miller has indicated, as much as it is a matter of managing the pain.

“He struggles some,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “It’s just his continued efforts in the weight room, learning how to take care of himself and communicating effectively. All of that’s probably lessened it so if he’s dealing with it, it doesn’t just derail him right now.

“And it’s something that he’ll get over as he continues to grow and get older, develop strength and flexibility. We’re obviously working hard with him on that.”

11

Assists by Parker Jackson-Cartwright to every turnover combined in six career games against ASU, his best ratio against a Pac-12 opponent.

45.3

Points ASU averages in the second half, the second-best in the nation behind only Villanova (46.2).

85.0

ASU’s scoring average, 12th best in the nation.

108

Average asking price in dollars for resale seats to Thursday’s game, according to VividSeats data as of Wednesday, making it the most expensive ASU home game since VividSeats’ tracking began in 2012.