Men's hoops plays BYU

December 06, 2009

The Arizona State's men's hoops team, in its fourth season under head coach and 314-game winner <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> and coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1980-81, travels to Provo to meet BYU (25-8 last year and 5-1 this year) for a tilt on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. ASU lost a tough one Thursday to Baylor, 64-61, as it let a nine-point lead (47-38) at the 9:27 mark of the second half get away in the defeat. The Sun Devils went 25-10 last season, advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished 11-7 in the Pac-10 and tied for third, their best Pac-10 finish since the 1994-95 Sweet Sixteen team finished third under Bill Frieder. After going 8-22 (.267) in Coach Sendek's first year (2006-2007), the Sun Devils are 52-25 (.675) since and giving up just 60.9 points per game in his 107 games. ASU has had to replace two NBA draft picks from last year in first-team consensus All-American <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> and first-team All-Pac-10 forward <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a>, but returns three starters from last year's team in senior point guard <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a> (2009 Pac-10 All-Tournament Team), junior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a> (third-best returning three-point shooter in the nation according to NCAA minimums) and junior Ty Abbott (121 career threes entering this year).<separator></separator>SUN DEVIL DATA Three Sun Devils are currently averaging in double digits and ASU is shooting 51 percent (198-of-388) from the field and is holding opponents to just .385 from the field, .331 from the arc and 56.0 points per game with its zone defense that <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> instituted in the middle of his first season...ASU has had six players lead or share the team lead in scoring in its eight games and has five players on its roster who have had a 20-point game in their career...ASU has held six of its first eight opponents to under 40 percent field goal shooting, as 23 of its past 43 opponents have shot under 40 percent.<separator></separator>ROAD NOTE ASU went 6-4 in road games last year with wins at San Diego State, Arizona, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon and Oregon State, its most road wins since the 1980-81 Sun Devils went 10-1. In the past three years it is 20-16 in games played away from its home arena (36 of 77 total games). ASU is 10-10 in true road games the past two seasons.<separator></separator>BEST TREE IN THE LAND <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> has eight former assistants who are D-I coaches, the best mark of any coach in the nation, ahead of Mike Montgomery and Rick Pitino (seven each). Twelve-year sidekick <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/phelps_mark00.html">Ma… Phelps</a> 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).<separator></separator>BOAT Senior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/boateng_eric00.html">E… Boateng</a> already has his degree in Global Studies, speaks a little bit of Chinese and an African dialect called ³Twi²...and is off to a great start and right now might be the most improved player in the nation. He obviously also is taking advantage of the 24-hour access for Arizona State¹s brand new practice facility (Weatherup Center). He is averaging 11.5 points and 6.6 boards while shooting 70.0 percent from the field (35-of-50). Solid and modest numbers through seven games until one also considers he has scored 92 points after scoring 57 all of last year. Also, he was 28-of-74 (.378) from the free throw line in his first two years at ASU, he is 22-of-32 (.688) this year.<separator></separator>QUICK NOTES ASU made a school-record 18 three-pointers and shot 61.3 percent from the field en route to a 104-65 win vs. San Francisco on Nov. 20. It marked the most points by ASU since a 108-78 win vs. USC on Feb. 13, 2003, as ASU led 58-23 at the half. ASU¹s 29 assists were the most since it had 29 vs. Long Island on Dec. 29, 2004. Eight Sun Devils registered an assist as ASU notched an assist on its first 12 baskets. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a><a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> called a 30-second timeout. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a> hit a three that sparked a 12-1 run to send ASU to NYC...ASU opened the season Nov. 13 with an 87-35 win over Western Illinois as 11 players scored and the 52-point margin was the biggest since 1996-97. had a career-high eight dimes...ASU topped Texas State 84-62 in the opening round of the NIT on Nov. 16, and then came back with a gut-check win vs. TCU 52-49 the next night. ASU was down 48-40 with 3:46 mark when<separator></separator>ABBOTT UPDATE <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> missed just one game after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in mid-October and seems to be getting back in shape, averaging 6.9 points and going 10-20 (.500) from three. Abbott has played in 76 games in his three-year career and started in 65. He set ASU freshman records for starts (34) and three-pointers made (76) in his first season of 2007-08, as the 76 three-pointers is fourth-best by a freshman in Pac-10 history. He averaged 29.9 minutes while playing all 35 games and starting in 31 last year and was second on team with 16 blocks and 33 steals. He posted 13 games of double-digits, and ASU was 11-2 in those contests, and scored a season-high 20 points against No. 13 Syracuse in NCAA Tournament on 6-of-10 three-point shooting. Abbott also averaged 11.7 points in the Pac-10 Tournament, going 13-of-23 (.565) from the field and 8-of-15 (.533) from the three-point stripe as ASU advanced to the Pac-10 title game for the first time in history. Entering this season he was one three current Pac-10 players who could claim a 30-point night (30-points in his freshman season vs. Cal on Feb. 16, 2008. Tajuan Porter did the trick with 33 at Washington on Feb. 14, 2009 while Jerome Randle had 31 at Arizona on March 5, 2009. When Abbott scores in double digits, ASU is 25-6.<separator></separator>POINT GUARD QUICK NOTES Senior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a> is averaging 11.5 points and is shooting 85.7 percent from the free throw line (30-of-35) this year...in past three games he has 21 assists and just four turnovers...already is fourth on the ASU career assist list and needs just 20 to become the ASU career leader, a mark that has stood since the 1986-87 season...212-of-256 (.828) from the free throw line and has played 19 turnover free games in his 106-game career...posted a career-high 24 points in the Nov. 27 win over LSU...earned 2009 Pac-10 All-Tournament honors by averaging 13.7 points in the three games. He shot 16-of-31 (.516) from the field, made 5-of-11 (.455) from the three-point stripe and had 12 assists and just four turnovers while averaging 37.3 minutes per game. He also played 42 minutes without a turnover in the Jan. 17 overtime win at ninth-ranked UCLA.<separator></separator> ASU CAREER ASSISTS 1. Bobby Thompson, 1983-87, 454 2. Fat Lever, 1978-82, 444 3. Marcell Capers, 1992-95, 437 4. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a>, 2006-present, 435 <separator></separator>VS. BYU BYU leads the ASU series 26-22 with the last meeting a thriller...ASU topped 10-0 BYU 76-75 on Dec. 20, 2008, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale with a last-millisecond shot from BYU waived off...ASU was down 41-36 at the half and trailed by 10 with under 10 minutes to play...Jamelle McMillan had 10 points off the bench in 18 minutes...BYU shot 50 percent (26-of-52) for the game, one of just seven teams to do it against ASU last year in 35 games and one of just 19 to do it in 107 games under <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a>, as it had ASU opponent season-highs with 19 assists and 41 first-half points...the Cougars won the prior game to last season, 64-60, in Tempe on Dec. 4, 2003...Herb Sendek is 3-0 against BYU as he was 2-0 against the Cougars while at NC State...NC State topped BYU in Raleigh 89-62 on Jan. 7, 2004, as that Cougar team ended up 21-9 and fell to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament...NC State then won in Provo 72-61 on Dec. 21, 2004, one of just 11 losses for BYU in Provo in the past seven seasons, as BYU is 84-11 (.884) at home in that time (2003-04 to present).<separator></separator>THIS FROSH HAS IMPRESSED Freshman <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lockett_trent00.html">… Lockett</a> comes from one of the top high school programs in the country (Hopkins HIgh School in Minnetonka, Minn.) and has stepped on campus and made a solid first impression. He is averaging 9.5 points, 5.4 boards and is shooting 27-of-49 (.551) from the field. He also has a tendency to make "splash" plays as his leaping ability has allowed him to grab 15 offensive rebounds. He also is among the best in the classroom, as he is a member of the honors program at ASU.<separator></separator>25 WINS ASU (25-10) posted 25 wins in 2008-2009 for the first time since the 1974-75 squad went 25-4. ASU's school record for wins is 26 set in 1962-63 (26-3)...went 10-6 against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams (1-0 vs. BYU, 3-0 against UA, 2-0 vs. UCLA, split games with Cal and 1-2 against Washington and USC)...defeated Arizona (68-56) and top-seeded Washington (75-65) but fell to USC in the Pac-10 title game 66-63...defeated Temple but lost to No. 13 Syracuse in Miami at the NCAA Tournament...was 6-4 in road games and 7-3 in neutral games (20 of 35 games away from Tempe)...according to collegerpi.com, ASU had a RPI of 31 (second in Pac-10) and a strength of schedule of 37...in the past three years, ASU played 36 of its 77 games away from its campus, and has gone 20-16 overall and 10-10 in true road games.<separator></separator>REMEMBER THIS ABOUT THE DEFENSE Just how good has the Sun Devil defense been since <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> too over? ASU has given up less than 62 points per game in each of the past three seasons , the best three-season span since the middle of the past century. In the 18 Pac-10 games last year, no team defended shooters better than ASU, as it led the league in field goal percentage defense (.421) and three-point defense (.310). Those that followed Coach Sendek's career at NC State won't find it a big shocker. In his 10 seasons in Raleigh, NC State led the ACC in scoring defense four times and held opponents to just 54.7 points per game in 1996-97, an ACC record. Last year's 60.5 points per game allowed was the lowest by a Sun Devil team since the 1949-50 team gave up 59.8. ASU is currently giving up 56.0 points per contest.<separator></separator>SUN DEVILS SHOOT THREES ASU set the school record for three-pointers made (288) and attempted (778) in 2008-2009. ASU's top three returning scorers had combined to make 392 three-pointers in their careers and all three are in the ASU career top-10 list already, as Rik Kuksiks has 150 (seventh), Ty Abbott 131 (ninth) and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a> 117 (tenth). So far this season, ASU is shooting 62-of-150 (.413) from the arc, with eight Sun Devils hitting three pointers.<separator></separator>THE SHOOTER Junior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a> is the third-best returning three-point shooter in the nation according to official NCAA statistics. Kuksiks was 93-of-210 from the arc last year, which was eighth in the nation. Only Jared Stohl of Portland (89-of-195 for .456) and Brandon Hazzard of Troy (83-of-185 for .449) are returners with better net swishing digits than the Latvian native. He shot .420 from the three-point stripe in the 16 games against NCAA Tournament teams last year and was 17-of-37 (.459) in the six games against ranked opponents. He also was clutch in close games, as ASU played four games of two points or less (and went 3-1), and Rik was 14-of-30 (.467) from three. He averaged 10.3 points (third-best on the team) and his 93 three-pointers is the third-best in school history, while the 44.3 percent shooting is tied for the fourth-best in school history. The junior has made 150-of-361 (.416) three-pointers in his three-year career and had career-highs in points (27), three-pointers (seven) and assists (eight) in the win over USF on Nov. 20. He also posted a then career-high 20 points in the NCAA Tournament second-round loss to Syracuse with six three-pointers.<separator></separator>SUN DEVILS MAKES FREEBIES ASU shot .739 from the free throw line in 2007-2008, the fifth-best mark in ASU history and second-best in previous 21 seasons, and shot just below that pace last year (.737). 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, a mark that is tied for the seventh-best mark in NCAA history. While at NC State, his squads shot 71.3 percent.<separator></separator> <separator></separator>TOP ASU FREE THROW PERCENTAGE 1. 1977-78 (13-14/6-8 in WAC)--75.6 2. 1954-55 (10-14/8-4 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 (21-13/9-9 in Pac-10)--73.9 6. 2008-09 (25-19/11-7 in Pac-10)--73.7 <separator></separator>YOUNG GUY Even after coaching in more than 500 games at three schools, seven NCAA tournaments and having eight former assistants currently serving as head coaches at the D-I level, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> is still the third-youngest coach in the Pac-10 even with three new hires this past spring and two others in spring of 2008. Coach Sendek is the second-youngest active coach with 300 Division I wins, only Florida's Billy Donovan is younger, as he is 44 years old (born May 30, 1965).<separator></separator>THE HEAD COACH <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a>, 60-47 (.561) at ASU, is in his 17th season as a head coach in 2009-2010 and has averaged 19.2 wins per season. He led the NC State Wolfpack to five straight NCAA appearances from 2002-06 and is now 314-205 (.605) in 17 seasons and was 191-132 (.591) at NC State. The 46-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 victories from 2002-2006. 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/Arizona), Ralph Miller (19/Oregon State), Mike Montgomery (18/Stanford), Ernie Kent (in his 13th at Oregon) and Ben Braun (12/California).<separator></separator>GLASSER MAKING RUN AT ASU FREE THROW MARK Senior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a> not only will top the ASU career assist mark in the upcoming month as he needs just 20, he also is making a run at the school free throw percentage mark. Glasser is currently at 82.8 percent for his career (212-of-256), a shade better than Alex Austin¹s 81.5 percent from 1986-90. He also has a chance to become the first player in Sun Devil history with 1,000 points and 500 assists. He has 787 career points and 435 assists.<separator></separator>ASU CAREER FREE THROW PERCENTAGE 1. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a>, 2006-10, 82.8 (212-of-256) 2. Alex Austin, 1986-90, 81.5 (255-of-313) 3. Rick Taylor, 1974-78, 81.4 (253-of-311) 4. Dennis Hamilton, 1963-66, 81.3 (261-of-321) 5. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kruger_kevin00.html">K… Kruger</a>, 2003-06, 81.2 (229-of-282) 6. Steve Beck, 1984-87, 81.0 (298-of-366) 7. Isaac Burton, 1993-95, 80.9 (208-of-257) 8. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/house_eddie00.html">Ed… House</a>, 1996-2000, 79.8 (268-of-336) 9. Roger Detter, 1966-69, 79.6 (250-of-314) 10. Art Becker, 1961-64, 79.4 (221-of-278) 11. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/veal_jeremy00.html">Je… Veal</a>, 1994-98, 79.3 (338-of-426) <separator></separator>WINNING TOUGH ONES ASU is 18-13 in the past three seasons in 10 points or less games after going 4-17 in <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek's</a> first year...after going 10-29 in <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek's</a><a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a>, it was 3-12 in two-possession games (six points or less), in the past three seasons it is 12-8 (6-4 past two seasons). first two seasons when trailing at the half, ASU was 5-4 in 2008-2009 with victories at SDSU, vs. IUPUI, vs. BYU, at Arizona and vs. Arizona in Pac-10 Tournament. It is 1-1 this year with a 71-52 win vs. LSU on Nov. 27 as it outscored the Tigers 44-18 in the second half...ASU is 6-2 in its past eight overtime games...in ASU's first season under<separator></separator>MANY WINS, MANY PLACES <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> has covered the map in wins. In his career, Coach Sendek has won 311 games in 24 states, plus two wins in Puerto Rico and one in Washington D.C. North Carolina (153), Ohio (51) and Arizona (43) lead the way as he has been head coach in each state, and he also has posted wins in California (10), Florida (seven), Michigan (six), South Carolina and Virginia (five each), Georgia and Indiana (four each), New York, Massachusetts and Oregon (three each), Hawaii, Maryland and Texas (two each). One-win states are Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.<separator></separator>