Men's hoops closes season with Ducks and Beavers

March 03, 2008

SUN DEVIL DATA: The Arizona State's men's hoops team, 18-10 and 8-8 in the Pac-10 under second-year coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a>, closes the regular season at the Oregon Ducks on Thursday (March 6) at 5:30 p.m. PT and then travels to Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers on Saturday (March 8) at 2:30 p.m. PT. FSN Arizona will pick up the OSU Saturday game and the Oregon Sports Network will carry the Thursday matchup. The Sun Devils picked up a solid win against USC on Saturday to close their Pac-10 home schedule at 5-4 after going 9-27 in Tempe the previous four seasons. ASU, picked to finish ninth in the Pac-10 preseason media poll, is 20-13 in its past 33 games after starting last year 6-19. It has clinched a winning season with four freshmen making 78 starts (tops in the Pac-10), playing more than 45 percent of the minutes and posting more than 50 percent of the points. ASU has won its share of close games (7-2 in games decided by 10 points or less, best in the Pac-10, after going 4-17 last year), makes its free throws (.742 percentage is currently fifth-best in school history and second best in past 21 seasons) and is led in scoring by ASU's most famous southpaw since Phil Mickelson, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a>, who has 14 20-point games on the year, topping Ike Diogu's ASU freshmen record of 12 set in 2002-03. The 18-year old Harden (born this past August) is the youngest player in the Pac-10 as his 17.9 points per game is second-best in ASU freshmen history.<separator></separator>WORTH MENTIONING: The Sun Devils are 4-3 in the second half of the Pac-10 with wins at Arizona and at Washington and home wins vs. NCAA-bound Stanford and USC. Freshman <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a> has been seeing quality minutes, as he is averaging 26.1 minutes per game in that time, and in his past six games he is averaging 10.8 points and has made 15 three pointers. He had 15 points in the win over seventh-ranked Stanford on Feb. 14, 15 at Washington on Feb. 23 and 10 in March 1 win vs. USC. He has 65 points in his past six games after scoring 42 in the first 22 games. In the second half of the Pac-10 season (past seven games), four Sun Devil freshmen have played 52 percent of the minutes, scored 54 percent of the points and made 40 three-pointers.<separator></separator>YOU READ THIS BEFORE: Sun Devils are just one of eight teams with four wins over top 25 RPI teams (collegerpi.com) as of Monday (March 3), as it is 4-5 with wins are over #6 Xavier, two wins over current #23 Arizona and the Feb. 14 win over current No. 17 Stanford. Other teams with four RPI top 25 wins are UCLA (6-1), Louisville (5-2), UCONN (5-3), Duke (4-1), Stanford (4-1), Wisconsin (4-2) and Purdue (4-3). Other Pac-10 records vs. the top-25 include Arizona (2-6), Washington State (0-6), USC (2-7), Oregon (2-5), California (1-6) and Washington (2-6).<separator></separator> ANOTHER SOLID NOTE: ASU and UCLA are the only Pac-10 teams to have wins over RPI top-25 teams outside the league, as UCLA defeated current #14 Michigan State 68-63 in addition to ASU¹s Xavier victory. ASU¹s wins over Xavier and Stanford are especially impressive when you consider that Xavier has gone 17-2 since losing at ASU 77-55 on Dec. 15, with its only losses against Tennessee and at Temple. The Musketeers are on an 11-game win streak. Stanford's 72-68 overtime loss at ASU on Feb. 14 is its only loss in the past 11 games.<separator></separator>HERE IS ONE YOU DID NOT KNOW: Only three teams in the nation have played nine games against RPI top 25 teams as of Monday: ASU (4-5), Marquette (3-6) and USC (2-7).<separator></separator>TURNAROUND INFO: ASU is attempting to become just the fifth team in 30 years of Pac-10 play to go from a last-place finish (2-16 last year) to a .500 record in conference play the next year. Washington State did it last year as Tony Bennett earned National Coach of the Year...ASU¹s 10-game turnaround in overall wins from last year (ASU was 8-22 overall in 2006-07) is currently the best by any major conference team and tied for third overall. UNC-Wilmington (7-22 to 19-12) and Wagner (11-19 to 22-7) lead the way, with Iona and Cleveland State also having 10-game turnarounds as of Monday.<separator></separator>2008 NCAA BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT (MARCH 3, 2008) Team Record (2006-07)--Record (2007-08)--Wins Improved UNC-Wilmington 7-22---19-12--+12 Wagner 11-19--22-7--+11 Arizona State 8-22--18-10--+10 Iona 2-28--12-19--+10 Cleveland State 10-21 20-11 +10 <separator></separator>LAST PLACE PAC-10 TEAMS TO REACH .500 IN LEAGUE THE FOLLOWING SEASON Washington State from 3-15 in 1980-81 to 10-8 in 1981-82 California from 5-13 in 1987-88 to 10-8 in 1988-89 Stanford from 2-16 in 1992-93 to 10-8 in 1993-94 Washington State from 4-14 in 2005-06 to 13-5 (NCAAs) in 2006-07 <separator></separator>A LOT OF MINUTES: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> are both beyond the pace set by <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/scott_byron00.html">By… Scott</a> in 1979-80 for Sun Devil freshmen minutes played in the 18 Pac-10 games. Harden is averaging 35.9 minutes per game in the 16 league games while Abbott is at 34.5. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a> averaged 32.2 minutes last year.<separator></separator>ASU FRESHMEN MINUTES PER GAME (PAC-10 GAMES) 1. 35.9, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> 2007-08 2. 34.5, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a>, 2007-08 3. 34.2, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/scott_byron00.html">By… Scott</a> 1979-80 4. 33.3, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/diogu_ike00.html">Ike Diogu</a> 2002-03 5. 32.2, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a>, 2006-07 <separator></separator>CURRENT TOP-10: ASU is one of just four teams that has wins over at least two teams in the current Associated Press top-10, as Stanford is seventh and Xavier eighth in the March 3 poll. Texas has beaten #3 UCLA, #4 Tennessee, and #5 Kansas, Duke beat #10 Wisconsin and #1 North Carolina and Tennessee has wins over #2 Memphis and #9 Xavier.<separator></separator>CLOSE GAME UPDATE: Last year, ASU was 4-17 in games decided by 10 points or less, but this year the Sun Devils are a Pac-10 best 7-2 with wins over LSU (87-84 in Maui), Montana State (66-62), Oregon (62-54), Arizona twice (64-59 in OT and 59-54 in Tucson), at California (99-90 in double OT) and vs. seventh-ranked Stanford (72-68 in OT). Its only losses in that category was a 56-55 heartbreaker to sixth-ranked Washington State on Jan. 26 and 76-73 loss to Cal on Feb. 16. ASU lost its only overtime game last year but is 4-0 this year with the wins over LSU, Arizona, at Cal and vs. #7 Stanford. The four overtime wins is the most by an ASU team since 1985-86 as the Sun Devils were 4-2, while the school mark is 5-0 by the 1980-81 team. Also, ASU was 3-12 in two-possession games last year (six points or less or OT) but is 6-2 this year.<separator></separator>PAC-10 TEAMS WITH AT LEAST FOUR OVERTIME WINS IN ONE SEASON (1978-79 TO PRESENT) Arizona State (4-0 in 2007-08) California (4-0 in 2006-07) USC (4-1 in 2003-04) Arizona State (4-2 in 1985-86) Arizona State (5-0 in 1980-81) <separator></separator>IN THE LAST ROAD GAME: The Sun Devils shot 13-of-25 (.520) from the three-point stripe at Washington on Feb. 23, its best long-range mark in the past 43 road games dating to a 12-of-22 (.545) performance at California on Feb. 7, 2004.<separator></separator>HARDEN ON DEFENSE: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> is trying to become just the fifth freshman to lead the Pac-10 in steals. The others are Jason Kidd of Cal (3.8 spg/1993), Baron Davis of UCLA (2.4 spg/1998) and USC's Errick Craven (2.1 spg/2002) and Gabe Pruitt (1.9 spg/2005). He currently is tied second at 1.86 per game, .05 behind junior Darren Collison of UCLA. He also had 17 blocks, seventh on the ASU freshmen list, just four behind <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/smith_tommy00.html">To… Smith</a> (17 in 1999-2000) for the sixth spot. His 52 steals already is tied for eighth-best in Pac-10 history for a freshman.<separator></separator>PAC-10 FRESHMEN STEALS 1. Jason Kidd, Cal, 1992-93, 110 2. Brevin Knight, Stanford, 1993-94, 77 3. Errick Craven, USC, 2001-02, 68 4. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/house_eddie00.html">Ed… House</a>, ASU, 1996-97, 59 5. Gary Payton, OSU, 1986-87, 58 6. Gabe Pruitt, USC, 2004-05, 56 7. Brandon Granville, USC, 1998-99, 54 8. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a>, ASU, 2007-2008, 52 8. Justin Dentmon, UW, 2004-05, 52 8. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Cal, 1995-96, 52 <separator></separator>DON'T COUNT THE DEVILS OUT: The Sun Devils came back from double-digit deficits in two recent big wins, as it put the brakes on a five-game losing skid in dramatic fashion on Feb. 10 in Tucson, falling behind 22-6 but coming back to take a 13-point second-half lead and winning 59-54 to sweep Arizona for the first time since 1994-95 (and notch first win in Tucson since March 11, 1995). Then on Feb. 14 against seventh-ranked Stanford, ASU was down by 14 in the second half and by seven with 1:49 left before a rally put the game into overtime as ASU won 72-68. On Feb. 14 against California, ASU jumped out to a 26-17 lead but Cal closed the gap to 31-30 at the half and ASU uncharacteristically shot just 7-of-14 (.500) from the foul line in a 76-73 loss. But ASU made seven three-pointers in the final 1:11 to chop an 11-point deficit to three.<separator></separator>TEAM STUFF: ASU's scholarship roster has an interesting mix as it includes one senior, one junior, five freshmen, sophomore transfer and three sophomores who played 87.3 minutes per game last year...ASU ranks second in the Pac-10 in steals (6.93), fourth in turnover margin (+1.18) and is tied for third in turnovers per game (12.6)...ASU is third in field goal percentage defense (.413)...Sun Devils give up 62.2 ppg., which is fourth in the league and 41st in the nation...Derek Glasser is second in the Pac-10 and 19th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 2.52...ASU is fourth in the Pac-10 in free throw percentage at .742 which is 31st in the nation...Jeff Pendergraph is fifth in the Pac-10 in field goal percentage (.580). The ASU record is .630 held by Trent Edwards in 1988-89.<separator></separator>REAL DEAL: The Pac-10's youngest player, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> (turned 18 on Aug. 26), leads ASU in scoring (17.9 ppg./fourth in Pac-10), steals (1.86 per game/tied second in Pac-10) and minutes per game (33.5/ninth in Pac-10). He is shooting .531 from the field (tenth in the league), .751 from the free throw line and .412 from the three-point stripe (eighth in Pac-10). Harden is the first McDonald's All-American to sign with ASU out of high school since 1984 (it was Chris Sandle before you ask). He has 14 20-point games (topping <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/diogu_ike00.html">Ike Diogu's</a> ASU freshmen record of 12), which is third-best in the league, including five straight from Dec. 29-Jan. 17 which is a first for an ASU freshman. He is averaging 18.7 points and 5.0 boards in Pac-10 games and was the only player in the league to lead his team in scoring in each of the first eight Pac-10 games. He was named as a top 30 midseason finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Awards (one of just six freshmen on the Wooden list and one of seven Pac-10 players noted).<separator></separator>STEADY: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> has 45 blocks (he had 45 in his first two seasons) and is shooting .580 from the field (fifth in the Pac-10) and .788 from the free throw line. He has four double-doubles this year (17 in career). Pendergraph led the team in scoring (12.1) and rebounding (9.1) last year, as his rebounding average matched the second-best mark by a Sun Devil in the past 26 seasons. He is shooting .752 from the free throw line in his career (231-of-307). His 90 career blocks already is seventh in ASU history, three behind Kurt Nimphius (1976-80).<separator></separator>SOME OFF THE WALL HARDEN NOTES: In 37 minutes against a good defensive team in USC (Trojans are second in league in field goal percentrage defense at .393) on March 1, Harden missed two shots out of 18. He was 7-of-8 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line...in ASU's four overtime games (all wins and three of them in Pac-10 games) he is averaging 24.8 ppg and 5.5 rebounds and has 10 steals...southpaw is shooting .578 from inside the three-point arc on the year...in ASU's five Pac-10 home wins he averaged 23.4 points, six boards, three assists and two steals as he led ASU to 5-4 Pac-10 home mark. In the prevous four years, ASU was 9-27 in Pac-10 home games...is second on the team in assists (79), including 49 in Pac-10 games...in ASU's eight Pac-10 wins he is shooting over 55 percent from the floor and is 13-27 from three-piont stripe. He is averaging 21.8 points and 5.6 boards in those eight games...shooting 45.2 percent from three-point land in eight road games.<separator></separator>JUST HOW GOOD ARE THEY?: Coming into this season, only 11 Pac-10 freshman had averaged 15.6 points or more in overall games. Currently there are four freshmen above that number. Only two Pac-10 freshmen have averaged 19 points and led their team to a NCAA Tournament berth (<a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/diogu_ike00.html">Ike Diogu</a> of Arizona State in 2002-03 and Shareef Abdur Rahim in 1995-96).<separator></separator>PAC-10 FRESHMEN SCORING 1. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Cal, 1995-96, 21.1 (NCAA team went 17-11) 2. O.J. Mayo, USC, 2007-08, 20.7 (USC 18-10 and 9-7) 3. Jerryd Bayless, Arizona, 2007-08, 20.4 (UA 17-12 and 7-9) 4. Harold Miner, USC, 1989-90, 20.6 (Team went 12-16) 5. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/diogu_ike00.html">Ike Diogu</a>, ASU, 2002-03, 19.0 (NCAA team went 20-12) 6. Don McLean, UCLA, 1988-89, 18.6 (NCAA team went 21-10) 7. Cliff Robinson, USC, 1977-78, 18.4 (Team went 14-13) 8. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a>, ASU, 2007-08, 17.9 (ASU 18-10 and 8-8) 9. Tom Lewis, USC, 1985-86, 17.6 (Team went 11-17) 10. Kevin Love, UCLA, 2007-08, 17.3 (UCLA 26-3 overall and 14-2) 11. Todd Lichti, Stanford, 1985-86, 17.2 (Team went 14-16 overall) 12. Ryan Anderson, California, 2006-07, 16.3 (Team went 16-17 overal l) 13. Jason Kapono, UCLA, 1999-2000, 16.0 (NCAA team went 21-12) 14. Chase Budinger, Arizona, 2006-07, 15.6 (NCAA team went 20-11) 14. Sean Elliott, Arizona, 1985-86, 15.6 (NCAA team went 23-9)<separator></separator>MORE PENDERGRAPH: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> became the 30th member of the ASU 1,000-point club against USC on March 1. He has 1,013 points through 85 career games (11.9 points per game). He also has 622 career rebounds (7.3 per game), just 34 away from joining the ASU top-10 list.<separator></separator>TREE: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> has six former assistants who are D-I head coaches: Jim Christian, Kent State, Miami Assistant (1994-96); Charlie Coles, Miami (Ohio), Miami Assistant (1994-96); Larry Hunter, Western Carolina, NC State Assistant (2001-05); Ron Hunter, IUPUI, Miami Assistant (1993-94); Thad Matta, Ohio State, Miami Assistant (1994-95) and Sean Miller, Xavier, Miami (1994-96) and NC State Assistant (1996-2000). Coles, Miller and Matta all led their teams to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.<separator></separator>FRESHMEN: Freshmen accounted for 69 of 150 starts in <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek's</a> rookie 30-game season. Through 28 games, the numbers read 147 out of 290 starts in his 56 games (freshmen have started 78 games this year). In his two years, ASU has had freshmen make 50.7 percent of the starts. Sophomores have made 62 starts (.214), juniors 45 (.155) and seniors 36 (.124). Against Xavier on Dec. 15, ASU started four freshmen for the first time in school history. ASU's freshmen have accounted for 50.7 percent of the points this year. Last year ASU's 69 freshmen starts set the school record by 24 starts that the Sun Devils blew have easily surpassed.<separator></separator>PLAYER OF WEEK: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors following his Feb. 10 outing at Arizona when he posted 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting and eight boards in 39 minutes in ASU's 59-54 win. Freshmen Ty Abbott and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> became the fourth and fifth ASU freshmen to win Pac-10 Player of the Week honors, as Abbott took home the Dec. 17 honor after his 19-point performance in the 77-55 win over Xavier on Dec. 15 which included five three pointers in the largest win over a ranked team in school history. Harden notched the honor after leading ASU to just its third 2-0 start in Pac-10 history when they swept Oregon (Jan. 3) and Oregon State (Jan. 5) in Tempe to open Pac-10 play. Other Sun Devil freshman to earn the honor are <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/diogu_ike00.html">Ike Diogu</a> (Feb. 16, 2003), Mario Bennett (Feb. 24, 1992) and Chris Sandle (Dec. 10, 1984). Seventeen ASU players have been named Pac-10 Player of the Week on 26 occasions, but this year marks the first time in the 25-year history of the award three separate Sun Devils have taken home the honor.<separator></separator>ASU VS. OREGON NOTES: ASU held the Pac-10's second-highest scoring team Oregon (77.4 ppg.) to 54 points on Jan. 3, UO's fewest points in a 61-game span prior to its 72-43 loss at Stanford on Feb. 7...ASU trailed at the half 30-26 but forced 16 Duck turnovers and held Oregon to just 9-of-24 (.375) in the second half from the floor, including 1-of-9 (.111) from the three-piont stripe, as <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> led the way with 20 points and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> added 17...last year in Eugene ASU fell to No. 13 Oregon 55-51 on Feb. 8, 2007. The 55 points by the Ducks, the eventual Pac-10 Tournament champion and Elite Eight participant, was a season-low and the fewest by the Ducks since a 70-53 loss to UCLA on Feb. 26, 2006, as the Ducks averaged 75.9 points per game last year...ASU was a season-low 31.7 percent from the field (19-of-60). The Sun Devils did not score a field goal in the final 5:58 of the first half as Oregon went on a 12-0 run. ASU outscored Oregon 30-22 in the second half and held Oregon to just 6-of-21 (.286) shooting after halftime...ASU is 35-30 against the Ducks all-time and 14-15 in Eugene, the most wins against any Pac-10 school since joining hte loop in 1978-79...last year in Tempe, ASU held Oregon to just .375 shooting in the second half after UO shot 50 percent in the first half but No. 13 Oregon topped ASU 60-55 on Jan. 11. ASU made just a trio of three-pointers, a season-low...ASU has swept Oregon nine times in 29 seasons of Pac-10 play, the last being in 2004-05.<separator></separator>GOOD DUCKS BRING OUT GOOD ASU: ASU has played well against the better Oregon teams...Oregon's 2003 NCAA Tournament team (led by Pac-10 Player of the Year Luke Ridnour) won three games against ranked teams and was the Pac-10 Tournament champion but fell to ASU in Tempe 91-77 on March 6, 2003...in 2001-02, Oregon went 14-4 and won the Pac-10 title and advanced to the Elite Eight. It came to Tempe after already sweeping Arizona (including a 105-75 win in Eugene just two weeks earlier) but lost to ASU 95-88 on Jan. 6, 2002, its only loss during an 11-game stretch...in 2000-2001 ASU finished 5-13 in the Pac-10 but swept the Ducks, who had three future first-round NBA draft picks in Freddie Jones, Ridnour and Luke Jackson.<separator></separator>OREGON STATE SERIES: OSU leads the series 38-32... ASU's 72-53 win on Jan. 5 over Oregon State is its biggest margin of victory in the Pac-10 since a 108-78 win over USC on Feb. 13, 2003...the Jan. 5 win put ASU at 2-0 in the Pac-10 for just the fourth time in 30 years...James Harden had 24 points while <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> had 18 points and nine boards...ASU shot 57.9 percent from the field in the second half and held the Beavers to just 10-of-31 (.323) after halftime...the Beavers swept the season series last year for the first time since 1991-92...ASU swept the regular season series from the Beavers in 2005-06 for the seventh time since joining the Pac-10 but fell 71-68 in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament to the Beavers...in Corvallis on Feb. 10 last year, ASU led 48-45 at the 8:56 mark but was outscored 14-7 the rest of the way in a 59-55 Beaver win...there were 10 ties and 10 lead changes...OSU was the Pac-10's worst free throw shooting team last year, but it was 32-of-42 (.762) against ASU and 154-of-285 (.540) in its other 16 league games...ASU has swept the Beavers seven times in 29 Pac-10 seasons, the last being in 2005-06.<separator></separator>THE HEAD COACH: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> is in his 15th season as a head coach and has averaged 18.7 wins per season. He led the Wolfpack to five straight NCAA appearances from 2002-06 and is now 280-190 (.596) in 15 seasons and was 191-132 (.591) at NC State. The 44-year-old (born Feb. 22, 1963) Pittsburgh, Pa., native is the second-youngest full-time coach in the Pac-10 behind only second-year coach Tony Bennett of WSU. Only Duke posted more ACC wins (regular season and ACC Tournament) than NC State's 53 victories from 2002-2006. Coach Sendek also led NC State to five 20-win seasons in his final seven years. Another overlooked note is his 10-year stay at NC State. To compare it to the Pac-10, since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1978-79, only five coaches have coached at their schools for at least 10 years: Lute Olson (24 at Arizona), Ralph Miller (19 at Oregon State), Mike Montgomery (18 at Stanford), Ben Braun (12th at California) and Ernie Kent (11th at Oregon).<separator></separator>HITTING FREEBIES: ASU is shooting .742 from the free throw line, currently the sixth-best mark in ASU history. In his 10 seasons at NC State, Coach Sendek's teams led the ACC four times in FT percentage (including three straight seasons, 2002-04). In 2004 NC State led the nation and set the ACC record by shooting .799 from the charity stripe. While at NC State, his squads shot 71.3 percent, as his poorest FT shooting team was his first year (1996-97/.649). One good note on Coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> and his 2003-04 NC State team is in the past nine seasons, NC State team's .799 final FT percentage is tied for the best in the NCAA with St. Joseph in 2005-06.<separator></separator>QUICK NOTES: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a> has made 44-of-55 (.800) free throws this year and is 79-of-100 (.790) in his 56-game career. He had a career-high nine assists against Idaho on Dec. 22, the most by a Sun Devil since <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/atuahene_antwi00.html"… Atuahene</a> had 10 vs. Oregon on Feb. 11, 2006 (most in past 63 games). Glasser has 97 assists and just 32 turnovers in the past 19 games and has 63 assists and 26 turnovers in Pac-10 play, a 2.35 ratio that is second in the league...Jerren Shipp matched a career-best with nine boards at California and played a career-best 42 minutes against Arizona on Jan. 9. He had a Pac-10 season-high 11 points at Arizona on Feb. 10...Christian Polk is 45-of-56 (.804) from the foul line in his 52-game career...Ty Abbott has 63 three-pointers, third-best by a freshman in ASU history, and is fifth in the Pac-10 at 2.25 three-pointers per game...ASU has reached 70-points 13 times, last year it reached 70 points three times...last year ASU won at California 42-41 on the last day of the regular season. This year it almost doubled the points as the game was tied 81-81 at the end of regulation before ASU won 99-90 in double overtime.<separator></separator>SOLID WIN: ASU has hosted the likes of Final Four-bound Kansas in 1990-91, Final-Four bound Oklahoma State in 1994-95, Texas, Georgia, Kerry Kittles-led Villanova, Kenny Thomas-led New Mexico, BYU, 2006 defending Big Ten Tournament champ Iowa and Louisville since 1990, but No. 17 Xavier was the highest ranked non-conference foe to visit ASU since No. 14 ASU beat No. 7 Ohio State 71-58 on Dec. 20, 1980. Xavier also was the first non-conference ranked foe to visit Tempe since No. 18 UTEP topped ASU 60-55 on Dec. 18, 1983. ASU's 77-55 win over the Musketeers is the largest over a ranked team in ASU history, topping ASU's only win over the nation's top-ranked team, an 87-67 win at Oregon State on March 7, 1981. It was ASU's highest-ranked non-conference win since Nov. 23, 1994 (97-90 win over seventh-ranked Maryland in Maui) and Xavier's worst defeat since an 80-49 loss to La Salle in the 1999-2000 season. ASU's 59.5 shooting percentage is the best against Xavier since Elite Eight-bound St. Joseph's in 2003-2004 shot 60 percent. St. Joseph's went undefeated in the regular season.<separator></separator>ASU LARGEST MARGINS OVER A RANKED TEAM (22)--ASU 77, #17 Xavier 55 (Dec. 15, 2007) (20)--#5 ASU 87, @#1 Oregon State 67 (March 7, 1981) (19)--ASU 89, #5 San Francisco 70 (Dec. 3, 1977) (18)--ASU 71, #6 Colorado 53 (Dec. 21, 1962) (17)--ASU 79, #13 Michigan 62 (Nov. 22, 1994) (17)--ASU 95, #3 USC 78 (Dec. 1, 1971) <separator></separator>ACADEMICALLY SPEAKING: The men's basketball team had another strong outing in the classroom this fall, as it posted a 2.91 grade point average and its cumulative GPA for the roster is now 2.95. In addition, two more former Sun Devils finished their degrees, as <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/claudino_bruno00.html"… Claudino</a> (2005-2007/B.I.S) and Shawn Redhage (1999-2003/B.S. in Construction) both finished their degrees in December of 2007. Since 2004, 13 Sun Devil men's basketball players have graduated.<separator></separator>HISTORY NOTE: When ASU beat Cal 99-90 in double overtime on Jan.17, James Harden (27), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> (26) and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> (25) each scored 25 points, the first time three Sun Devils each scored 25 points since a 115-92 win in Tempe over Portland State on Jan. 4, 1977.<separator></separator>MANY WINS, MANY PLACES: When it comes time to play away from Tempe, Herb Sendek has a good map. In his career, Coach Sendek now has won 277 games in 23 states, plus two wins in Puerto Rico and one in Washington D.C. North Carolina (153), Ohio (51) and Arizona (21) lead the way as he has been head coach in each state, and he also has posted wins in Florida, (seven), Michigan (six), South Carolina and Virginia (five each), Georgia and Indiana (four each), Massachusetts (three), California (three), Hawaii, Texas and Maryland (two each). One-win states are Alabama, Utah, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Nevada, Kentucky, Illinois and Washington.<separator></separator>