Men's hoops game notes for Oregon tilt

78 WINS LATER, TEMPE CURTAIN CALL FOR SENIORS
The Arizona State's men's hoops team (10-18; 2-14 in the Pac-10) will play its final home games this weekend as it honors its three seniors (Ty Abbott, Rihards Kuksiks and Jamelle McMillan) who have combined for 78 wins, tied for the sixth-most in a four-year period in Sun Devil history and the most since the 1980-83 teams also won 78 contests. Sophomore Trent Lockett has been leading the way recently, averaging 14.2 points in the past 10 games, as ASU will try and sweep Oregon for the third straight season on Thursday and beat Oregon State in Tempe for the fourth straight time. This year's seniors are 6-1 vs. both Oregon and Oregon State. Thursday's game tips at 6:30 on KTAR 620 AM (no television) while Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 p.m. (860 AM) and will be webcast with foxsportsarizona.com. ASU will play next Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. PT (FSN/KTAR 620 AM) in the Pac-10 Tournament at Staples Center against the #7 seed.

ABOUT THOSE 78 WINS
ASU has 78 wins in the four-year careers of the senior trio, as the Sun Devils were 21-13 (2007-08), 25-10 (2008-09), 22-11 (2009-10) in their first three seasons. Prior to their arrival, ASU won 37 games in the previous four seasons. Where does the 78 wins total stand heading towards the final weekend of the regular season? ASU's best four-year span of total wins was 88 from 1959-60 to 1962-63 and also from 1960-61 to 1963-64. This group of seniors 78 wins is tied for sixth and could reach third with two more wins. A look at the top four-year periods in Sun Devil history and note the only players to be with the program for all four of the top seasons are Gary Jackson, Paul Williams and Tom Kuyper.

ASU TOP FOUR-YEAR WIN TOTALS
1. 1961-1964: 88
1. 1960-1963: 88
3. 1972-1975: 80
4. 1973-1976: 79 (Gary Jackson)
4. 1959-1962: 79
6. 2008-2011: 78 (Ty Abbott, Rihards Kuksiks, Jamelle McMillan)
6. 1980-1983: 78 (Paul Williams and Tom Kuyper)
6. 1962-1965: 78

GOOD TRENT NOTE
Sophomore Trent Lockett is averaging 13.7 points per game this year after averaging 6.7 in his freshman season. A quick look at ASU's record books shows that the +7.0 increase is the best from the first year to the second year by a Sun Devil since Jeremy Veal went from 7.4 in 1994-95 to 18.9 in 1995-96 (+11.5). Below are the top scoring jumps by Sun Devils from first to second season:

BIGGEST SUN DEVIL SCORING IMPROVEMENTS (FIRST SEASON TO SECOND SEASON)
Jeremy Veal, +11.5 (7.4 in 1994-95 to 18.9 in 1995-96)
Dennis Hamilton, +11.1 (6.2 in 1963-64 to 17.3 in 1964-65)
Art Becker, +10.1 (9.0 in 1961-62 to 19.1 in 1962-63)
Arthur Thomas, +9.4 (4.3 in 1984-85 to 13.7 in 1985-86)
Trent Lockett, +7.0 (6.7 in 2009-10 to 13.7 in 2010-11)
Kurt Nimphius, +7.0 (1.5 in 1976-77 to 8.5 in 1977-78)
Joe Caldwell, +6.4 (13.3 in 1961-62 to 19.7 in 1962-63)
Fat Lever, +5.6 (3.6 in 1978-79 to 9.2 in 1979-80)

LINEUP
With its injuries and illnesses ASU has used 11 starting lineups and 11 players have started at least one game...11 lineups is most by the Sun Devils since 2003-04 team started 13 and tied for third-most in the past 18 seasons...1996-97 (11 lineups) and 1995-96 (12 lineups) teams under Bill Frieder also tried some different options...each of ASU's top four scorers has missed at least two games due to injury including leading scorer Trent Lockett missing the Oregon road trip.

TRY FOR A SWEEP
ASU has swept the Ducks in each of the past two seasons and has won five straight in the series...ASU has swept the Ducks 11 times in its 32 Pac-10 seasons: 1979-80, '80-81, '82-83, '88-89, '90-91, '91-92, '92-93, '00-01, '04-05, '08-09 and '09-10...five straight wins is tied for third-longest current streak in Pac-10 play...ASU is 21-11 (.656) against the Ducks in Pac-10 play in Tempe, its best home record against any league foe, while its 21-12 mark against OSU (.636) is tied for second-best...ASU is 6-3 against UO under Coach Sendek, including 3-2 in Eugene and 3-1 in Tempe...ASU is 40-31 against the Ducks all-time...in the nine games under Herb Sendek ASU has held the Ducks to 52-of-167 (.311) from the three-point stripe, 175-of-432 (.405) from the field and 56.8 points per game...ASU finished 16-17 at McArthur Court in its 33 Pac-10 seasons and won final three at Mac Court for the first time since Bill Frieder's teams did it from 1991-93.

CURRENT PAC-10 STREAKS
UCLA over Oregon State, 13
Cal over Oregon, 7
Arizona State and Arizona both over Oregon, 5
Arizona over Stanford, 5

HANDLE IT
ASU is taking care of the ball as it is second in the Pac-10 in fewest turnovers per game at 12.1 (USC at 11.3) and is averaging 11.1 turnovers in the past 12 games. Jamelle McMillan leads the Pac-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio and is 21st nationally at 2.56 (92 assists and 36 turnovers). McMillan also is 14-of-30 (.467) from the three-point stripe in past eight games.

GOOD STUFF
Two freshmen have taken good advantage of some recent playing time. Keala King is averaging 18.6 minutes and 10.7 points in the past three games and is 13-of-15 (.867) from the free throw stripe in those tilts. He started the year 16-of-38 (.421) from the charity stripe...Chanse Creekmur led ASU to its 73-72 Feb. 19 win over Washington State with 18 points, including five three-pointers, just the second Sun Devil to hit five three-pointers in a game in the past four seasons (Ty Abbott was the other). Creekmur is averaging 26.0 minutes and 7.5 points in the past six games and has made 12-of-26 (.462) in the past seven games.

CLOSE STATISTIC
Arizona State has done a solid job of winning the close ones. In games of five points or less in the four years of its current senior class, ASU is 18-13 (.581), the third-best mark in the Pac-10.

TOP PAC-10 TEAMS IN GAMES OF FIVE POINTS OR LESS (2007-08 THROUGH 2010-11)
UCLA 22-13 (.629)
Oregon 13-9 (.591)
Arizona State 18-13 (.581)

TRENT
Sophomore Trent Lockett had a then career-high 22 points in the season opener at New Mexico (Nov. 16) where two of his dunks placed him No. 2 on SportsCenter's Top-10...had a career-high 24 points vs. Weber State on Nov. 26 in Alaska...also had 20 points at Washington on Jan. 22 and then had 20 in 71-69 Washington State win on Feb. 19...native of Golden Valley, Minn., and a student in Barrett, the Honors College...comes from one of the top high school programs in the country (Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minn.)...earned a spot on the five-man Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in 2009-10...has 29 double-figure scoring games...posted his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards vs. Richmond on Dec. 5...missed both games of the Oregon road trip on Dec. 30-Jan. 1 with a sprained big left toe...averaging 14.2 points per game in the past 10 contests...in those eight games Lockett also has 27 assists and 53 free throw attempts and is avearging 33.1 minutes and 4.8 boards...also 6-of-12 (.600) from the three-point stripe in that time after starting season 2-of-13.

TRENT'S TOP SCORING GAMES
24 vs. Weber State (Nov. 26, 2010)
22 at New Mexico (Nov. 16, 2010)
20 vs. Washington State (Feb. 19, 2011)
20 at #20 Washington (Jan. 22, 2011)
19 vs. UAB (Nov. 20, 2010)
19 vs. San Francisco (Nov. 20, 2009)
18 at Cal (Feb. 3, 2011)
18 vs. Houston Baptist (Nov. 25, 2010)
17 vs. UCLA (Jan. 29, 2011)
17 at Arizona (Jan. 15, 2011)
17 vs. Stanford (Jan. 30, 2010)
17 vs. Texas State (Nov. 16, 2009)

ACTIVE WITH BLOCKS
ASU had six players notch a total of nine blocks vs. Arizona on Feb. 13, second-best in the Herb Sendek-era. ASU had 11 blocks vs. Southern Illinois on March 20, 2008. ASU also had eight blocks vs. USC on Jan. 27 this season.

A SOLID NOTE FROM HIS ACC DAYS
From the 2001-2002 season through 2005-2006 (Herb Sendek's final five seasons) NC State won 53 total ACC games (regular season and ACC tournament). Only Duke was better (76) in that time frame. Maryland also had 53.

RECAP
The Sun Devils, the only Pac-10 team to post 20 wins in each of the past three seasons, are in their fifth season under 2009-10 Pac-10 Coach of the Year Herb Sendek. Last year's second-place Pac-10 team was 22-11, the first time ASU had posted three straight 20-win seasons since JFK was President. ASU finished second in the Pac-10 (12-6) for the first time since 1980-81 after being picked for seventh in the preseason media poll and tenth by Sporting News. After posting just three 20-win seasons in the previous 25 seasons, ASU has posted three straight under Herb Sendek in his four years. ASU lost two senior starters and three key players from last year in Derek Glasser, Eric Boateng and Jerren Shipp, who all three earned their degrees...Glasser set ASU records for games (131), assists (551) and free throw shooting (.838)...Shipp is second on the ASU career list for games with 129...Eric Boateng led the Pac-10 in field goal percentage (.665) and averaged 8.8 points and 7.2 boards and matched Pac-10 record by making all 11 shots from the field at Stanford on Feb. 25, 2010.

HALFTIME DIGIT
ASU is 7-2 when it leads at the half in 2010-11 and 64-16 under Herb Sendek...ASU has won 17 games under Herb Sendek when it has trailed at the half including the Dec. 23 56-50 win over North Carolina A&T when it trailed 29-23 at intermission. ASU shot just 20-of-57 (.351) in the victory, its second-lowest mark in a win under Coach Sendek. The lowest shooting mark was a 16-of-56 (.286) mark in a 53-47 win at Arizona on Jan. 21, 2009.

JMAC
Senior Jamelle McMillan has played through a nagging groin injury since December that caused him to miss three games but is averaging 9.8 points in the past eight games and is 14-of-30 (.467) from three in those tilts...has posted three of the top scoring games in his career in the past eight contests with a career-high 17 at Stanford (Feb. 5), 14 at Cal (Feb. 3) and 13 vs. UCLA (Jan. 29)... ASU is 72-47 (.605) with Jamelle and 6-5 (.545) without in his career...303 career assists and 148 turnovers...six steals vs. Long Beach on Dec. 21, most by a Sun Devil since James Harden had seven vs. USC on March 13, 2008, in the Pac-10 Tournament...leads the Pac-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.56 (92 assists/36 turnovers) which is 21st nationally.

JAMELLE'S TOP SCORING GAMES
17 at Stanford (Feb. 5, 2011)
16 vs. Weber State @Alaska (Nov. 26, 2010)
16 vs. UCSB (Dec. 21, 2009)
15 vs. USC Upstate (Dec. 23, 2009)
14 at California (Feb. 3, 2011)
14 at Oregon State (Feb. 7, 2009)
13 vs. UCLA (Jan. 29, 2011)

INFO TO KNOW
ASU has had some poorly-timed injury/illness items since the opening of the Pac-10, as it lost at Oregon State 80-58 (Dec. 30) and won at Oregon 60-55 (Jan. 1) to close Mac Court, without leading scorer Trent Lockett (14.7 ppg.), who missed both games with a sprained left big toe. Then senior point guard Jamelle McMillan missed both games of the Bay Area home series (Jan. 6-8) and the Jan. 12 Tulsa win due to a groin injury. The Washington trip the scrambling continued as Carrick Felix and Brandon Dunson couldn't travel for the first game as both were ill. The main bummer? Felix was averaging 13.6 points (tied for team lead), 3.6 boards, 31.2 minutes and was 14-of-18 (.778) from the free throw line in the previous five games. Recently both Rihards Kuksiks and Ty Abbott missed the Feb. 19 Washington State win while Kuksiks missed the Washington game on Feb. 17 and the as well. Each of ASU top four scorers has missed at least two games.

BEST TREE IN THE LAND
Herb Sendek has eight former assistants who are D-I coaches, the best mark of any coach in the nation in 2010-2011. Twelve-year sidekick Mark Phelps earned the Drake spot in the spring of 2008 after serving for 10 years on the staff at NC State and for two years at ASU. Former NC State sidekick John Groce also earned the Ohio University position in the spring of 2008. The others are Jim Christian at TCU (Miami assistant in 1995-96), Charlie Coles at Miami of Ohio (Miami assistant from 1994-96), Larry Hunter at Western Carolina (NC State assistant from 2001-05), Ron Hunter of IUPUI (Miami assistant from 1993-94), Ohio State's Thad Matta (Miami assistant in 1994-95) and Arizona's Sean Miller (assistant at both Miami from 1993-95 and at NC State from 1996-2000).

HERB PAC-10 NOTE
Last season's second -place Pac-10 finish matched ASU's best in its 32 seasons of Pac-10 play and its 12 wins were the most since 1994-95. ASU has notched at least 11 Pac-10 wins eight times, Herb Sendek has done it in each of the past two seasons.

MOST SUN DEVIL WINS IN PAC-10 PLAY
1980-81, 16-2/2nd/Ned Wulk
1979-80, 15-3/2nd/Ned Wulk
2009-10, 12-6/2nd/Herb Sendek
1994-95, 12-6/3rd/Bill Frieder
1982-83, 12-6/T-3rd/Bob Weinhauer
2008-09, 11-7/T-3rd/Herb Sendek
2002-03, 11-7/4th/Rob Evans
1992-93, 11-7/T-3rd/Bill Frieder

PAC-10 COACH OF YEAR
Herb Sendek became the second Sun Devil to earn Pac-10 Coach of the Year in ASU's 32 Pac-10 seasons in 2009-10 (Ned Wulk/1978-79). What is even more eye opening is the 30 years between Sun Devil winners. That is nothing new as his 2003-04 ACC honor was NC State's first in 15 seasons (Jim Valvano/1988-89).

TY NOTES
Returning first-team All-Pac-10 performer Ty Abbott had some back, knee and shoulder issues the past three weekends, as he missed all but four minutes of the game at Stanford on Feb. 5 and all of the Feb. 19 WSU game...has 10 20-point games in his career, including three this year...he is averaging 32.2 minutes per game this year. Only James Harden in each of his two seasons (35.8 in 2008-09 and 34.4 in 2007-08) has averaged more than 34 minutes per game in Herb Sendek's first four seasons at ASU...now has 1,286 career points which is 17th on the ASU career list. Al Nealey has 1,304 career points and is 16th...also has 116 starts, second on the ASU career chart. Jeff Pendergraph has the ASU record with 120 starts...Abbott missed the Nov. 25 Houston Baptist game due to a knee bruise and the Feb.19 Washington State win with a shoulder injury...currently fourth on the Sun Devil career chart for minutes played. Eddie House has the career mark, playing in 124 games from 1996-2000 while notching 4,164 minutes (33.6 per game). Abbott is at 3,910 and could become just the second Sun Devil to play 4,000 career minutes.

ASU CAREER MINUTES/GAMES/MPG
1. Eddie House (99-2000)--4,164/124/33.6
2. Jeremy Veal (94-98)--3,980/122/32.5
3. Derek Glasser (06-10)--3,955/131/30.2
4. Ty Abbott (07-11)--3,910/125/30.8

THIS IS ABNORMAL
If something hasn't happened in 18 years, it is probably safe to say that it is an an anomaly. Consider a team struggling at the free throw line under Coach Sendek just that (.631). Consider the following when talking about Coach Sendek's teams his 18 seasons as a head coach: NC State led the nation and set an ACC record for free throw shooting (.799) in 2003-04. That mark is tied for the best in the nation in the past 12 seasons with St. Joseph's in 2005-06 (Jameer Nelson and Delonte West) and is tied for seventh-best in NCAA history...has coached four teams at ASU and two of them rank fifth (.739 in 2007-08) and sixth (.737 in 2008-09) on the ASU charts for best free throw seasons...last year's team shot .713 in Pac-10 games, third-best in the loop. In overall statistics, ASU has been a top-five Pac-10 free throw shooting team in each of the past three seasons...in his 10 seasons NC State led the ACC in FT percentage four times, including three straight seasons from (2001-02 to 2003-04).

KEEP IT CLOSE
ASU is 22-15 (.595) in games games decided by six points or less/OT in the past four seasons. ASU is 4-2 this year in games of three points or less.

GAMES OF SIX POINTS OR LESS OR OVERTIME (2007-08 TO PRESENT/PAST FOUR SEASONS)
UCLA (24-13/.649)
Arizona State (22-15/.595)
Oregon (14-10/.583)

ASU WINS IN GAMES OF SIX POINTS OR LESS IN 2010-11
ASU 69, UAB 66 (Nov. 20, 2010)
ASU 59, Weber State 58 (Nov. 26, 2010)
ASU 78, @Nevada 75 (Dec. 17, 2010)
ASU 56, North Carolina A&T 50 (Dec. 23, 2010)
ASU 60, @Oregon 55 (Jan. 1, 2011)
ASU 71, Washington State 69 (Feb. 19, 2011)

NON-CONFERENCE
ASU topped Tulsa 69-59 Jan. 12 behind 25 points and nine boards from Ty Abbott. Carrick Felix added 21 points as ASU was 13-of-16 (.813) from the foul line. Tulsa, which finished 23-12 last year and had a final RPI of 68 and has posted four straight 20-win seasons, is one of seven teams ASU had on its non-conference schedule who won at least 20 games last year and one of eight that was in the top 100 of the RPI. New Mexico (30-5/RPI of 10), UAB (25-9/45), Weber State (20-11/85), Baylor (28-8/9), Richmond (26-9/25) and Nevada (21-13/73) all won 20, while St. John's finished with a RPI of 82.

WITH TRENT OUT
When Trent Lockett was not in the lineup the opening Pac-10 weekend ASU had to replace a player who in the Pac-10 ranked at the time 11th in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (6.5) and fifth in field goal percentage (.571) and in minutes per game (33.5).

TRIO STEPPED UP
With leading scorer Trent Lockett out and all three of ASU's seniors in foul trouble at Oregon on Jan. 1, a trio stepped up. First-year players Carrick Felix had then-season highs of 19 points, six boards, four assists and 34 minutes while Brandon Dunson did the same with 14 points and 29 minutes. Sophomore Ruslan Pateev (career highs with 10 points in 28 minutes) also helped the cause as ASU continued its solid work in close games.

RIHARDS
Senior Rihards Kuksiks is 48-of-115 (.417) from the three-point stripe in his past 18 games after starting the year 8-of-30 in the first four games. Kuksiks posted his ninth 20-point game of his career with 22 points vs. USC on Jan. 27, and ASU is 6-3 in those games. He now has 266 career three-pointers in his career, second spot on the ASU career list and eighth on the Pac-10 list. He became the 34th member of ASU's 1,000-point club against Long Beach State, as he now has 1,124 points. The senior is 29-of-60 (.483) from the three-point stripe in his past 10 games against ranked opponents. He has been clutch in close games the past two years, as ASU has played eight games of two points or less (4-4), and he is 29-of-59 (.491) from three. He matched career-highs in points (27) and rebounds (nine) in the Jan. 8 win over No. 24 Washington last season. He had six 20-point games in 2009-10 with ASU going 5-1 in those games.

TOP SCORING GAMES FOR RIHARDS
27 vs. #24 Washington (Jan. 8, 2010)
27 vs. San Francisco (Nov. 20, 2009)
25 at Oregon (Jan. 14, 2010)
24 vs. USC (Mar. 4, 2010)
24 vs. UCSB (Dec. 21, 2009)
22 vs. USC (Jan. 27, 2011)
21 vs. Jacksonville (Mar. 16, 2010/NIT)
20 at Nevada (Dec. 17, 2010)
20 vs. Syracuse (Mar. 22, 2009 @Miami/NCAA)

HEAD COACH
Herb Sendek, 86-74 (.538) at ASU, is in his 18th season as a head coach in 2010-2011 and has averaged 19.4 wins per season. He led the NC State Wolfpack to five straight NCAA appearances from 2002-06 and is now 340-232 (.594) and was 191-132 (.591) at NC State. The 48-year-old (born Feb. 22, 1963) Pittsburgh, Pa., native remains the third-youngest coach in the Pac-10. Only Duke posted more ACC wins (regular season and ACC Tournament) than NC State's 53 from 2002-2006. An 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/Arizona), Ralph Miller (19/Oregon State), Mike Montgomery (18/Stanford), Ernie Kent (13/Oregon) and Ben Braun (12/California).

CURRENT LONGEVITY AMONG PAC-10 COACHES (YEARS AT SCHOOL)
Lorenzo Romar, Washington-9th
Ben Howland, UCLA-7th
Herb Sendek, ASU-5th
Johnny Dawkins, Stanford; Mike Montgomery, Cal; Craig Robinson, OSU-3rd
Ken Bone, Washington State; Kevin O'Neill, USC; Sean Miller, UA-2nd
Dana Altman, Oregon-First Year

VS. OREGON STATE
ASU had put together a modest six-game win streak against the Beavers prior to the 80-58 win in the Pac-10 opener this year, as Herb Sendek is 6-3 against OSU...in that six-game streak ASU had held the Beavers to .339 from the field (105-of-310), .301 from the three-point stripe (41-of-136) and 49.3 points per game...Jamelle McMillan is shooting 12-of-26 (.462) from three against the Beavers and is 18-of-37 (.486) from the field despite missing last year's game in Corvallis...ASU twice held the Beavers to 38 points in the 2008-09 season, the best defensive efforts by any Sun Devil team in the Pac-10 era...ASU held Oregon State to just .246 (14-of-57) from the field on Feb. 11, 2010, the best defensive effort in a Pac-10 game in the past 23 seasons...the 66-57 ASU win in Corvallis on Jan. 16, 2010, is the closest in the past seven meetings...OSU leads the overall series 39-37...ASU swept the regular season series from the Beavers in 2009-10 for the third straight year and for the tenth time since joining the Pac-10...

OVERTIME
ASU's Jan. 29, 2011, 73-72 loss to UCLA was its first overtime game since it lost back-to-back overtime games on Feb. 26-28, 2009. In that season, ASU went to the Apple State 10-4 and with a chance to win the Pac-10 title but fell 73-70 to Washington and then 51-49 to Washington State on Feb. 28 (on a Taylor Rochestie three-pointer at the buzzer from just inside halfcourt). ASU is now 6-4 in overtime under Coach Sendek, and that includes a 4-0 mark in 2007-08.

BIG-TIME
ASU inked Mesa, Ariz., point guard Jahii Carson in the November signing period. The 5-11 energizer is a consensus top-50 pick by anyone who follows the recruiting world, and Clark Francis' Hoop Scoop rankings in Basketball Times he is the second-highest Pac-10 recruit at No. 24, behind only Washington's Tony Wroten (No. 22).

HOOP SCOOP CLASS OF 2011 RANKINGS (BASKETBALL TIMES/NOVEMBER 2010)
Pac-10 Conference Top-50 Signings
22. Tony Wroten (Washington)
24. Jahii Carson (Arizona State)
34. Norman Powell (UCLA)
40. Josiah Turner (Arizona)
44. Jabari Brown (Oregon)
47. Nick Johnson (Arizona)