Harden is huge in Sun Devil win

Pac-10 player of the year James Harden had 27 points and eight rebounds, and No. 23 Arizona State beat Arizona 68-56 Thursday in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, putting the Wildcats' long NCAA tournament streak in jeopardy.

Ty Abbott added 11 points and Jeff Pendergraph had 10 points and nine rebounds for fourth-seeded ASU (23-8), which advanced to Friday night's semifinals. The Sun Devils have an NCAA tournament berth locked up, no matter the outcome.

Jordan Hill had 20 points and 13 rebounds for fifth-seeded Arizona (19-13), which has appeared in 24 straight NCAA tournaments, the longest active streak and second-longest behind the 27-year streak by North Carolina from 1975-2001.