Power Outage Cancels Game Against Florida A&M
On Tuesday, Arizona State announced that Desert Financial Arena, home to both the men's and women's basketball teams, had a reported critical power issue that forced the women's team to move their 12 pm game against UC Irvine.
Shortly after the conclusion of the women's game, the men's team was set to face Florida A&M at 3 pm Arizona time.
However, the Sun Devils will not be playing that game, according to SunDevilSource. No official announcement has been made from the school at this time.
It's unknown exactly what issues are going on, although some have speculated a pipe burst within the arena.
Devils Digest also reports the cancellation was a mutual decision between both teams.
The Sun Devils were hoping to rebound against the Rattlers following a tough loss to San Francisco at Desert Financial Arena on Monday night.
Sitting at 2-9, the Rattlers are 0-8 on the road this season. ESPN's Basketball Power Index gave Florida A&M only a 4.6% chance to win.
Florida A&M has only two starters that average 10 points or more: Guards MJ Randolph (19.2) and Jalen Speer (10.2).
Although the Rattlers shoot poorly from the three-point line (25.8%), the Rattlers do take good care of the basketball. Florida A&M has committed a turnover on only 17.8% of its possessions this season, which is the lowest percentage among all SWAC teams.
The Rattlers have turned the ball over only 12.4 times per game this season.
After forcing 21 turnovers against San Francisco, the Sun Devils were looking forward to bouncing back in a major way heading into a holiday break that will see Arizona State face USC, UCLA and Arizona in their next three games.
For now, however, the Sun Devils will have even fresher legs for those pivotal conference matchups thanks to the cancellation of the game against Florida A&M.
This article will be updated with any further information when provided.
UPDATE: Arizona State officially announces cancellation.