Men's hoops travels to Pullman And Seattle

SUN DEVIL DATA: The Arizona State's men's hoops team, 16-8 and 6-6 in the Pac-10 under second-year coach Herb Sendek, travels north to face 20-game winner Washington State on Thursday (Feb. 21) at 6 p.m. PT and then jumps across the Evergreen State to take on the Washington Huskies on Saturday (Feb. 23). ASU, who was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-10 preseason media poll, is 18-11 in its past 29 games after starting last year 6-19. The Sun Devils came back from double-digit deficits in its past two 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 Thursday (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. Saturday 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.

RPI NOTE: The Sun Devils are just one of six teams with four wins over top 25 RPI teams (collegerpi.com) as of Monday (Feb. 18). ASU's wins are over #11 Xavier, two wins over current #16 Arizona and the Feb. 14 win over current No. 20 Stanford with losses to #7 UCLA and at Stanford. Other teams with four RPI top 25 wins are UCLA (5-1), UCONN (5-3), Duke (4-1), Purdue (4-2) and Texas (4-3). Washington State is ranked No. 22 as of Monday. ASU and Texas are the only teams that have at least two wins against teams in the current Associated Press top 25, as Xavier is ninth and Stanford tenth in the Feb. 18 poll. Texas has beaten #2 Tennessee, #4 Kansas and #6 UCLA.

TOP-10 GAMES: With sixth-ranked UCLA on the home schedule on Feb. 28 and ASU already hosting then sixth-ranked Washington State on Jan. 26 and then No. 7 Stanford on Feb. 14, the Sun Devils could play host to three top-10 schools in one season for just the second time in the school's 30-year Pac-10 history, as in 1997-98 ASU hosted No. 10 UCLA (Jan. 5), No. 3 Arizona (Feb. 14) and No. 8 Stanford (Feb. 26).

CLOSE GAME UPDATE: Last year, ASU was 4-17 in games decided by 10 points or less, but this year the Sun Devils are 7-2 with wins over LSU (87-84 in Maui Invitational), Montana State (66-62), Oregon (62-54), Arizona twice (64-59 in overtime and 59-54 in Tucson), at California (99-90 in double overtime) and vs. seventh-ranked Stanford (72-68 in overtime). Its only losses in that category was a 56-55 heartbreaker to sixth-ranked Washington State on Jan. 26 and 76-73 home loss to California on Feb. 16. ASU lost its only overtime game last year but is 4-0 this year with the wins over LSU, Arizona, at California and vs. #7 Stanford. The four overtime wins is the most by an ASU team since the 1985-86 Sun Devils were 4-2, while the school mark is a 5-0 record by the 1980-81 team.

VS. RANKED TEAMS: Coach Sendek has 32 career wins against ranked foes, including 11 top-10 wins in his past eight 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 68-64 win over fourth-ranked Oregon State on March 6, 1982.

STANFORD RECAP (JAN. 14): Arizona State rallied from 14 points down midway through the second half and posted its highest win over a ranked team since the 1997-98 season in the 72-68 stunner over Stanford on Feb. 14. James Harden had 23 points and five steals while Jeff Pendergraph had 15 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out in regulation. Freshman Rihards Kuksiks posted a career-high 15 points as well as ASU made 8-of-11 free throws in overtime. ASU posted 16 offensive boards against the Cardinal and was outrebounded by just one and had just 12 turnovers in 45 minutes. ASU was 13-of-28 (.464) from the floor in the second half and held Stanford to just 40.7 percent (22-of-54) for the game.

ASU FRESHMEN SINGLE-GAME POINTS
1. 35, Mario Bennett vs. #5 Arizona, Feb. 20, 1992
2. 31, Byron Scott vs. #18 Arizona, Feb. 23, 1980
3. 30, Ty Abbott vs. California, Feb. 16, 2008
4. 29, Jamal Faulkner vs. #2 Arkansas (NCAA), March 17, 1991

CAL RECAP (JAN. 16): ASU jumped out to a 26-17 lead but Cal closed the gap to 31-30 at the half as the Bears won 76-73, the visiting team's eighth straight win in the series. Cal held off an ASU rally as ASU hit seven threes in the final 1:11. Ty Abbott led ASU with 30 points, the third-most by a freshman in ASU history, and also hit eight threes. ASU hit 16 threes on the day, tied for the most in school history, and attempted 40, tied for second-most in school history. Jeff Pendergraph played only 16 minutes due to fouling out, his fewest in the past 65 games.

HARDEN ON DEFENSE: James Harden 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 first at 1.96 per game, .01 ahead of Darren Collison of UCLA. He also had 14 blocks, tied for eighth on the ASU freshmen list, just three behind Ron Riley (17 in 1992-93) for the seventh spot.

REAL DEAL: The Pac-10's youngest player, freshman James Harden (turned 18 on Aug. 26), leads ASU in scoring (18.0 ppg./fourth in Pac-10), steals (1.96 per game/first in Pac-10) and minutes per game (33.3/ninth in Pac-10). He is shooting .532 from the field, .745 from the free throw line and .426 from the three-point stripe (seventh 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 12 20-point games (matching Ike Diogu's ASU freshmen record), including five straight from Dec. 29-Jan. 17 which is a first for an ASU freshman. He is averaging 19.1 points (fourth in league) and 4.9 boards in Pac-10 games (16th in league) 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).

ASU FRESHMEN POINTS PER GAME
1. 19.0, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
2. 18.0, James Harden, 2007-08
3. 15.4, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
4. 13.6, Byron Scott, 1979-80
5. 13.0, Ron Riley, 1992-93
6. 12.6, Eddie House, 1996-97
7. 12.5, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
8. 12.0, Christian Polk, 2006-07
9. 10.9, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-06
10. 10.9, Steve Beck, 1983-84

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 (7.00), third in turnover margin (+1.46) and second in turnovers per game (12.3)...Sun Devils rank xx in scoring defense (61.8 ppg.), which is fourth in the league...Derek Glasser is second in the Pac-10 in assist/turnover ratio at 2.80...ASU is fifth in the Pac-10 in free throw percentage at .734...Jeff Pendergraph is third in the Pac-10 in field goal percentage (.596). The ASU record is .630 held by Trent Edwards in 1988-89.

IN THE MIDDLE: Junior Jeff Pendergraph has 36 blocks (he had 45 in his first two seasons) and is shooting .596 from the field (third in the Pac-10) and .802 from the free throw line (eighth in the league). He has four double-doubles this year and 17 in his 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 75.5 percent from the free throw line in his career (210-of-290). His 81 career blocks already is ninth on the ASU career chart and just two behind both Sam Williams (1978-81) and Mike Batiste (1996-99).

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 (Ike Diogu of Arizona State in 2002-03 and Shareef Abdur Rahim in 1995-96).

Pac-10 Freshmen Scoring List
Rk. Player, School, Year PPG
1. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Cal, 1995-96, 21.1 (NCAA team went 17-11)
1. Jerryd Bayless, Arizona, 2007-08, 21.1 (UA 16-9 and 6-6)
3. Harold Miner, USC, 1989-90, 20.6 (Team went 12-16)
4. O.J. Mayo, USC, 2007-08, 19.5 (USC 15-9 and 6-6)
5. Ike Diogu, 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. James Harden, ASU, 2007-08, 18.0 (ASU 16-8 and 6-6)
9. Tom Lewis, USC, 1985-86, 17.6 (Team went 11-17)
10. Kevin Love, UCLA, 2007-08, 17.3 (UCLA 22-3 overall and 10-2)
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)

FRESHMEN: Freshmen accounted for 69 of 150 starts in Herb Sendek's rookie 30-game season. Through 24 games, the numbers read 136 out of 270 starts in his 54 games (freshmen have started 67 games this year). In his two years, ASU has had freshmen make 50.4 percent of the starts. Sophomores have made 58 starts (.215), juniors 41 (.152) and seniors 35 (.130). Against Xavier on Dec. 15, ASU started four freshmen for the first time in school history. ASU's freshmen have accounted for 49.8 percent of the points this year. Last year ASU's 69 freshmen starts set the school record that Sun Devils should pass that mark this weekend.

ASU Men's Basketball Freshmen Starts
Year (Starts): Freshman
2006-2007 (69): Derek Glasser (21), Christian Polk (26), Jerren Shipp (22)
2007-2008 (67): Ty Abbott (24), James Harden (23), Jamelle McMillan (16), Rihards Kuksiks (4)
1991-1992 (45): Mario Bennett (25), Tony Ronaldson (20)
2003-2004 (41): Serge Angounou (7), Wilfried Fameni (11), Kevin Kruger (4), Tron Smitm (10), Keith Wooden (9)
1990-1991 (41): Dwayne Fontana (9), Jamal Faulkner (28), Stevin Smith (4)
1999-2000 (40): Donnell Knight (2), Kyle Dodd (7), Tanner Shell (2), Shawn Redhage (28), Tommy Smith (1)
1983-1984 (40): Greg Attaway (1), Steve Beck (17), Mike Burns (2), Eric Holloway (4), Bobby Thompson (16)

MOVING IN ON 1,000: Jeff Pendergraph needs just 25 points to become the 30th member of the ASU 1,000-point club. He has 975 points through 81 career games (12.0 points per game). He also has 598 career rebounds (7.4 per game), just 58 away from joining the ASU top-10 list.

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).

TREE: Herb Sendek has six former assistants who are currently 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.

HARDEN FROM DEEP: James Harden has shown the ability to hit the three-pointer as he is 29-of-68 (.426) on the year, currently the seventh-best mark in ASU history and best by a freshman. The 42.6 percent by Harden is currently the second-best mark by any Pac-10 freshman.

ASU SINGLE-SEASON THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE
1. Matt Anderson, So., 1988-89 (41-of-80) .513
2. Terence Wheeler, So., 1987-88 (58-of-128) .453
3. Bobby Thompson, Sr., 1986-87 (31-of-69) .449
4. Jeremy Veal, Jr., 1996-97 (58-of-131) .443
5. Alex Austin, Jr., 1988-89 (49-of-112) .438
6. Bryson Krueger, So., 2005-06 (40-of-92) .435
7. James Harden, Fr., 2007-08 (29-68) .426

PLAYER OF WEEK: Jeff Pendergraph 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 James Harden 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 Ike Diogu (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.

VS. TOP 10 TEAMS: The Jan. 31 game at UCLA marked just the second time in school history the Sun Devils played back-to-back games against top 10 opponents during the regular season (ASU fell to sixth-ranked Washington State on Jan. 26). The only other time ASU played back-to-back games against top-10 teams in the regular season was in 2003-2004, when ASU fell to fourth-ranked Arizona 93-74 on Jan. 3 and then fell to fourth-ranked Stanford after the rankings came out a week later 63-62 on Jan. 8. Prior to that the last time ASU played back-to-back games against top-10 teams was when it won at top-ranked Oregon State 87-67 on March 7, 1981, and then fell to fifth-ranked Kansas, 88-71, on March 14 in the NCAA Tournament.

HITTING FREEBIES: ASU is shooting .734 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 Herb Sendek 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.

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. 2003-04 (10-17/4-14 in Pac-10) 73.5
6. 2007-08 (16-8/6-6 in Pac-10) 73.4
7. 1956-57 (10-15/4-6 in Border) 73.0
8. 1999-2000 (19-13/10-8 in Pac-10) 72.9

QUICK NOTES: ASU held the Pac-10's second-highest scoring team Oregon (77.8 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 41-of-50 (.820) free throws this year and is 76-of-95 (.800) in his 54-game career. He had a career-high nine assists against Idaho on Dec. 22, the most by a Sun Devil since Antwi Atuahene had 10 vs. Oregon on Feb. 11, 2006 (most in past 59 games). Glasser has 82 assists and just 25 turnovers in the past 18 games and has 48 assists and 17 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 43-of-54 (.796) from the foul line in his 49-game career...Ty Abbott has 58 three-pointers, third-best by a freshman in ASU history, and is second in the Pac-10 at 2.42 three-pointers per game...ASU has reached 70-points 11 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.

VS. WSU: ASU has won 12 of the past 21 and leads the series 32-30...ASU also is 5-1 in six overtime games against WSU...last season in Pullman, a two-point game early in the second half got away from ASU in a 75-55 loss at Washington State on Jan. 4 in ASU's Pac-10 road opener last year...ASU shot 61.9 percent (13-of-21) in the first half...Jeff Pendergraph led ASU with 16 points and seven boards while Christian Polk had 13 points.

RECAPPING WSU (JAN. 26): ASU jumped out to a 20-9 lead and was up 29-20 but sixth-ranked WSU went on an 18-0 run over two halves in the 56-55 Cougar win, which saw ASU battle back from 10-point deficit with under eight minutes left...ASU had the ball in James Harden'sJeff Pendergraph...ASU had a season-low two three-pointers and a season-low percentage from beyond the arc at .143 (2-of-14)...ASU had just eight turnovers and had 15 assists...Derrick Low's six three-pointers matches the most against ASU this year (Jerryd Bayless of Arizona also had six). hand with eight seconds left but his contested running shot did not connect...Harden led all scorers with 25 points and had five boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks in 39 minutes...ASU matched its season high with seven blocks, four by

VS. UW: ASU leads the series 33-31 but the Huskies have won the past 11, the longest current streak in the Pac-10...ASU fell to the Huskies 59-51 last year in the Pac-10 Tournament on March 7, as ASU led 21-10 but UW outscored ASU 19-2 to close the first half...last year in Seattle ASU and No. 24 Washington played a close game on Jan. 6 before UW pulled away for a 64-53 final...Washington led 43-40 at the 10:36 mark but outscored ASU 21-13...UW hit 8-of-13 (.615) from the three-point stripe...ASU shot just 7-of-26 (.269) from the field in the second half.

RECAPPING UW (JAN. 24): ASU allowed UW to grab 13 offensive rebounds and the Sun Devils shot a season-low 17-of-53 (.321) in a 72-61 loss...ASU held a 24-15 lead but the Huskies came back and led 32-30 at the break and ASU never tied the game after that...James Harden, slowed by a groin injury that didn't allow him to practice at all during the week, led ASU with 17 as the Sun Devils lost their 11th straight to Washington...Jon Brockman's 16 rebounds matches the most against ASU this year (Brook Lopez also had 16 on Jan. 19)...Washington's 42 rebounds is the most by an ASU opponent this year.

MEMORY LANE: Herb Sendek is now 3-2 against Arizona, as in March of 1995 the 32-year old head coach led Miami (Ohio) to a 71-62 first-round NCAA Tournament upset of No. 15 Arizona in Dayton in the 59th game of his coaching career. Nearly 13 years and 405 games later, that former Miami head coach is ASU's head coach, Herb Sendek. That 12th-seeded Miami squad was 22-6 entering NCAA Tournament action, as the Redskins were one of four teams seeded 12th or lower to win a first-round game in 1995.

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.

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)

OLDER NOTES: ASU set a school record by making 73.3 percent of its three-pointers (11-of-15) against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Dec. 29. It also shot 72.1 percent from the field for the game (31-of-43), second-best in school history...James Harden, Ty Abbott and Jamelle McMillan started against Illinois on Nov. 19, the first time in school history that three freshmen started the opener...after averaging 58.5 points per game last year, ASU scored 54 in the first half against Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 28. The 54 first-half points (most since 58-30 lead against USC on Feb. 13, 2003) was more than it scored in 10 games last year...ASU outrebounded Cal Poly by 29 on Nov. 26 (52-23), its best rebounding margin since a 49-19 output vs. American-Puerto Rico on Nov. 26, 1997...ASU also held Cal Poly to 14-of-55 (.255) from the floor, its best defensive effort since Dec. 2, 2000, when it held eventual NCAA Tournament bound BYU to 15-of-59 (.254), then held Delaware State to .208 shooting (11-of-53).

THE HEAD COACH: Herb Sendek 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 278-188 (.597) 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).

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: ASU was one of four teams who had more wins prior to Christmas than it did all of 2006-2007. The list included ASU (9-2 after 8-22 last year), Iona (5-7 after 2-28), Northern Colorado (5-6 after 4-24) and UNC-Wilmington (8-4 after 7-22).

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 Bruno ClaudinoShawn 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. (2005-2007/B.I.S) and

HISTORY NOTE: When ASU beat Cal 99-90 in double overtime on Jan.17, James Harden (27), Jeff Pendergraph (26) and Ty Abbott (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.

MANY WINS, MANY PLACES: When it comes time to play away from Tempe, Herb Sendek has a good map. In his career, Coach Sendek has won 275 games in 22 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 and Illinois.