Men's hoops hosts fourth-ranked Bruins

February 25, 2008

SUN DEVIL DATA: The Arizona State's men's hoops team, 17-9 and 7-7 in the Pac-10 under second-year coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a>, plays its final homestand against one of the best teams in the nation, fourth-ranked UCLA, and then against a team that beat UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in high-flying USC. The Sun Devils host the fourth-ranked Bruins Thursday at 8:30 p.m. MT and then host the Trojans on Saturday (March 1) at 4 p.m. MT, with FSN Arizona broadcasting both tilts. ASU is coming off a split in the Evergreen State, as it fell at No. 17 Washington State 59-47 on Feb. 21 but played pretty much as well as can be hope for on the road in a 77-63 win at Washington on Saturday. The Sun Devils shot 13-of-25 (.520) from the three-point stripe, 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. ASU, who was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-10 preseason media poll, is 19-12 in its past 31 games after starting last year 6-19. It has clinched a winning season despite having four freshmen make 73 starts (tops in the Pac-10) and playing more than 44 percent of the minutes. ASU's best-known lefties have been Phil Mickelson, Reggie Jackson and Barry Bonds, but <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> is moving up the southpaw popularity list with his freshmen school record of 13 20-point games, while workhorse <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> needs just 13 points to reach 1,000 in his career.<separator></separator>RPI NOTE: The Sun Devils are just one of six teams with four wins over top 25 RPI teams (collegerpi.com) as of Tuesday (Feb. 26). ASU's wins are over #6 Xavier, two wins over current #17 Arizona and the Feb. 14 win over current No. 20 Stanford. Other teams with four RPI top 25 wins are UCLA (5-1), UCONN (5-3), Duke (5-2), Purdue (4-3) and Louisville (4-1).<separator></separator>CURRENT AP TOP-10 NOTE: 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 eighth and Xavier ninth in the Feb. 25 poll. Texas has beaten #1 Tennessee, #4 UCLA and #6 Kansas, Duke beat #10 Wisconsin and #3 North Carolina and Tennessee has wins over #2 Memphis and #9 Xavier. The wins over Xavier and Stanford are especially impressive when you consider that Xavier has gone 16-2 since losing at ASU 77-55 on Dec. 15, with its only losses against current No. 1 Tennesse and at Tempe. The Musketeers are on a 10-game win streak. Stanford's 72-68 loss at ASU on Feb. 14 is its only loss in the past nine games.<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>GAMES DECIDED BY 10 POINTS OR LESS 1. Arizona State, 7-2 (.778) 2. UCLA, 7-3 (.700) 3. Stanford, 8-4 (.667) 4. Washington, 7-4 (.636) 5. WSU, 7-5 (.583) 6. USC, 6-5 (.545) 7. California, 9-8 (.529) 8. Arizona, 6-8 (.429) 9. Oregon, 6-10 (.375) 10. Oregon State, 2-7 (.222) <separator></separator>VS. RANKED TEAMS: Coach Sendek has 32 career wins against ranked foes, including 11 top-10 wins in his past eight seasons and seven top-five wins in his past dozen seasons. He notched his first at ASU in the final chance last year as ASU topped No. 22 USC 68-58 on Feb. 18, 2007, and won his first attempt this year, 77-55 over No. 17 Xavier on Dec. 15 (largest win over a ranked team in ASU history)...against seventh-ranked Stanford on Feb. 14, ASU beat its highest ranked opponent since its 90-87 overtime win at No. 4 Stanford on Jan. 31, 1998 and earned its first win over a top-10 team since Jan. 23, 2002 (88-72 win over No. 10 Arizona in Tempe)...it also marked ASU's first win over a top-10 team in Tempe not named Arizona since a 68-60 win over fourth-ranked Oregon State on March 6, 1982...ASU has recorded nine wins against Associated Press top five teams in its history. The last one at home was on Feb. 20, 1992, when ASU topped fifth-ranked Arizona 77-74...ASU has not beaten a team ranked fourth or higher (UCLA is fourth) in Tempe since it beat fourth-ranked Oregon State 68-60 on March 6, 1982...Herb Sendek has won seven games against top five teams in the past 12 seasons.<separator></separator>COACH SENDEK'S SEVEN WINS VS. AP TOP-FIVE TEAMS NC State 81, #3 Wake Forest 65 (March 11, 2005/ACC Tournament) NC State 78, #1 Duke 74 (Feb. 15, 2004) NC State 80, #3 Duke 71 (Jan. 22, 2003) NC State 86, #2 Maryland 82 (Mar. 9, 2002/ACC Tournament) NC State 81, @#4 Virginia 74 (Jan. 5, 2002) NC State 86, @#1 North Carolina 71 2 (Feb. 21, 1998) NC State 60, #4 Wake Forest 59, OT (Feb. 17, 1997) <separator></separator>ASU'S NINE WINS VS. AP TOP FIVE TEAMS ASU 90, @#4 Stanford 87 (Jan. 31, 1998) ASU 77, #5 Arizona 74 (Feb. 20, 1992) ASU 78, @#4 UCLA 76 (Mar. 12, 1983) ASU 68, #4 Oregon St. 60 (Mar. 6, 1982) #5 ASU 87, @#1 Oregon St. 67 (Mar. 7, 1981) ASU 89, #5 San Francisco 70 (Dec. 3, 1977) ASU 95, #3 USC 78 (Dec. 1, 1971) ASU 89, #3 Michigan 87 (Dec. 27, 1965 @Portland) #6 ASU 93, #5 Wichita State 87 (Dec. 7, 1963) <separator></separator>MOVING IN ON 1,000: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> needs just 13 points to become the 30th member of the ASU 1,000-point club. He has 987 points through 83 career games (11.9 points per game). He also has 610 career rebounds (7.3 per game), just 46 away from joining the ASU top-10 list.<separator></separator>MOVE OVER PHIL, THERE IS ROOM FOR ANOTHER LEFTY AT ASU: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> now has 13 20-point games on the year, topping <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/diogu_ike00.html">Ike Diogu's</a> ASU freshman record of 12 set in 2002-03.<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 ranks second at 1.92 per game, .03 behind of Darren Collison of UCLA. He also had 15 blocks, eighth on the ASU freshmen list, just two behind Ron Riley (17 in 1992-93) for the seventh spot. His 50 steals already is tied for 11th-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. Justin Dentmon, UW, 2004-05, 52 8. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Cal, 1995-96, 52 10. Shantay Legans, Cal, 1999-2000, 51 11. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> , ASU, 2007-2008, 50 11. Deaundra Turner, OSU, 1997-98, 50 <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. 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 (6.96), fourth in turnover margin (+1.08) and is tied for second in turnovers per game (12.6 (tied for 26th in nation)...ASU is third in field goal percentage defense (.409) which is 50th in the nation...Sun Devils give up 61.8 ppg., which is fourth in the league and 34th in the nation...Derek Glasser is second in the Pac-10 and ninth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 2.70...ASU is tied for fifth in the Pac-10 in free throw percentage at .736...Jeff Pendergraph is fourth in the Pac-10 in field goal percentage (.586). The ASU record is .630 held by Trent Edwards in 1988-89.<separator></separator> <separator></separator>TOP-10 GAMES: With fourth-ranked UCLA next on the home schedule and ASU already hosting then sixth-ranked Washington State on Jan. 26 and then No. 7 Stanford on Feb. 14, the Sun Devils play host to three top-10 schools in one season for just the second time in the school's history, as in 1997-98 ASU hosted No. 10 UCLA (Jan. 5), No. 3 Arizona (Feb. 14) and No. 8 Stanford (Feb. 26). Also, UCLA's 24-3 (.889) mark is the fourth-best opponent record to visit ASU this late in the season. It marks just the third time a 24-game winner has visited Wells Fargo Arena.<separator></separator>BEST PAC-10 OPPONENT RECORDS AT WELLS FARGO ARENA (MIN. 20 GAMES, 1978-79 to Present) #1 Arizona, 25-2/.926, Jan. 28, 1988 (UA 101, ASU 73) #1 Arizona, 20-2/.909, Feb. 22, 2003 (Arizona 92, ASU 72) #2 Stanford, 25-3/.893, March 11, 2000 (Stanford 65, ASU 57) #4 UCLA, 24-3/.889, Feb. 28, 2008, TBD #8 Stanford, 23-3/.885, Feb. 26, 1998 (Stanford 86, ASU 73) #5 UCLA, 21-3/.875, Feb. 15, 2007 (UCLA 67, ASU 61) #7 Stanford, 20-3/.870, Feb. 14, 2008 (ASU 72, Stanford 68, OT) <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 (18.0 ppg./fourth in Pac-10), steals (1.92 per game/second in Pac-10) and minutes per game (33.31/ninth in Pac-10). He is shooting .526 from the field, .744 from the free throw line and .413 from the three-point stripe (eighth). 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 13 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 18.9 points and 5.1 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 40 blocks (he had 45 in his first two seasons) and is shooting .586 from the field (fourth in the Pac-10) and .798 from the free throw line (eighth). 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 .754 from the free throw line in his career (221-of-293). His 85 career blocks already is seventh in ASU history, eight behind Kurt Nimphius (1976-80).<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>RANKINGS: For the first time since the final poll of 1994-95 (March 13) ASU grabbed a spot in the Associated Press rankings, as it was No. 22 (No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches' poll on Jan. 14). ASU was ranked No. 24 in the Jan. 21 AP poll. Coach Sendek had the Sun Devils in the rankings in his second year, two years prior to his rebuilding effort at NC State that resulted in five straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2002-06).<separator></separator>PAC-10 FRESHMEN STARTS 1. Arizona State-73 2. USC-55 3. Oregon State-33 5. Arizona-31 4. UCLA-27 6. Washington-24 7. Oregon-8 8. California-0 8. Stanford-0 8. Washington State-0 <separator></separator> <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 26 games, the numbers read 142 out of 280 starts in his 56 games (freshmen have started 73 games this year). In his two years, ASU has had freshmen make 50.7 percent of the starts. Sophomores have made 60 starts (.214), juniors 43 (.154) and seniors 35 (.125). 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 by last weekend. ASU FRESHMEN STARTS Year (Starts) Freshman 2007-2008 (73): <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> (26), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> (25), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/mcmillan_jamelle00.htm… McMillan</a> (16), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a> (6) 2006-2007 (69): <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a> (21), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/polk_christian00.html"… Polk</a> (26), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/shipp_jerren00.html">J… Shipp</a> (22) 1991-1992 (45): Mario Bennett (25), Tony Ronaldson (20)<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>QUICK NOTES: ASU held the Pac-10's second-highest scoring team Oregon (77.3 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. Last year ASU fell at No. 13 Oregon 55-51 on Feb. 8, 2007, as the 55 points was a Duck season-low last year...ASU's 72-53 win on Jan. 5 over Oregon State was its biggest margin of victory in the Pac-10 since a 108-78 win over USC on Feb. 13, 2003...Derek Glasser 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 61 games). Glasser has 91 assists and just 29 turnovers in the past 18 games and has 57 assists and 21 turnovers in Pac-10 play...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 50-game career...Ty Abbott has 61 three-pointers, third-best by a freshman in ASU history, and is fifth in the Pac-10 at 2.45 three-pointers per game...ASU has reached 70-points 12 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>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 279-189 (.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>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 276 games in 23 states, plus two wins in Puerto Rico and one in Washington D.C. North Carolina (153), Ohio (51) and Arizona (20) 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> <separator></separator>WHEN YOU PUT IT THIS WAY, IT REALLY IS IMPRESSIVE: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> took NC State to the five straight NCAA Tournaments (2002-2006) prior to ASU. To compare it to the Pac-10, only three schools can match that in the 29 seasons since ASU and Arizona joined the league in 1978-79. Arizona (currently 23), UCLA (14 straight from 1989-2002) and Stanford (11 straight from 1995-2005) have had NCAA Tournaments streaks of more than five, but none of the other seven Pac-10 schools have gone to the NCAAs more than three straight times since the league expanded to 10 teams. In fact, Cal (2001-2003), Oregon State (1980-82 and 1988-90) and Washington (1984-86 and 2004-06) are the only schools to have made three straight in that time frame.<separator></separator>MAKING SHOTS MAKES THINGS EASY: ASU was 13-25 (.520) from the three-point stripe at Washington on Saturday, its best three-point mark in its past 43 road games (minimum 10 attempts). The last time ASU shot better from three on the road was Feb. 7, 2004, as it was 12-of-22 (.545) at California.<separator></separator>TAKE NOTICE: ASU has ended a few notable negative streaks this year. The Sun Devils ended a 12-game losing streak to Arizona on Jan. 9 and then ended their 11-game losing streak to Washington on Feb. 23, which was the longest active streak in the Pac-10 at the time of the game. ASU was just 1-10 in its previous 10 trips to Hec Ed Pavilion, as its only win in that time was in 2002-03 and its other win in the past dozen years in Seattle was in 1999-2000, when the Huskies played all home games at Key Arena.<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 25 games, the numbers now read 142 out of 280 starts in his 56 games (freshmen have started 73 games this year, easily the most in the Pac-10). In his two years, ASU has had freshmen make 50.7 percent of the starts. Sophomores have made 60 starts (.214), juniors 43 (.154) and seniors 35 (.125). 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 which the Sun Devils are cruising by now.<separator></separator>ASU Men's Basketball Freshmen Starts Year (Starts): Freshman 2007-2008 (73): <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> (26), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> (25), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/mcmillan_jamelle00.htm… McMillan</a> (16), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a> (6) 2006-2007 (69): <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a> (21), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/polk_christian00.html"… Polk</a> (26), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/shipp_jerren00.html">J… Shipp</a> (22) 1991-1992 (45): Mario Bennett (25), Tony Ronaldson (20) <separator></separator>WEIRD NOTE: At No. 17 Washington State on Saturday, the Cougars were whistled for eight fouls against ASU, the fewest by any team in the past 336 ASU games (fewest since WSU had just seven fouls against ASU on Feb. 1, 1997).<separator></separator>ASU FRESHMEN POINTS PER GAME 1. 19.0, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/diogu_ike00.html">Ike Diogu</a>, 2002-03 2. 18.0, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a>, 2007-08 3. 15.4, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91 4. 13.6, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/scott_byron00.html">By… Scott</a>, 1979-80 5. 13.0, Ron Riley, 1992-93 6. 12.6, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/house_eddie00.html">Ed… House</a>, 1996-97 <separator></separator>HITTING FREEBIES: ASU is shooting .736 from the free throw line, currently the fifth-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's</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>ASU FREE THROW PERCENTAGE 1. 1977-78 (13-14/6-8 in WAC) 75.6 2. 1954-55 (10-148-4 in Border) 75.4 3. 1997-98 (18-14/8-10 in Pac-10) 74.6 3. 1986-87 (11-17/6-12 in Pac-10) 74.6 5. 2007-08 (17-9/7-7 in Pac-10) 73.6 <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 of Cal in 1995-96).<separator></separator>PAC-10 FRESHMEN SCORING 1. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Cal, 1995-96, 21.1 (NCAA team went 17-11) 1. Jerryd Bayless, Arizona, 2007-08, 21.1 (UA 17-10 and 7-7) 3. Harold Miner, USC, 1989-90, 20.6 (Team went 12-16) 4. O.J. Mayo, USC, 2007-08, 20.1 (USC 17-9 and 8-6) 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, 18.0 (ASU 17-9 and 7-7) 9. Tom Lewis, USC, 1985-86, 17.6 (Team went 11-17) 10. Kevin Love, UCLA, 2007-08, 17.0 (UCLA 24-3 overall and 12-2) 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 overall) 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)