As Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon enter this week’s games at McArthur Court, each team enters with different outlooks heading into the second half of the Pacific-10 Conference schedule.
Oregon, of course, has lost nine straight Pac-10 games, and with a sweep of losses this week, would tie the program record from 1992-93 of 0-11 to start the Pac-10 season.
Arizona State (16-5, 5-4 Pac-10), Oregon’s opponent tonight at 7:30 at McArthur Court, is one of the most talented teams in the entire conference, yet finds itself on a two-game losing streak that dropped Herb Sendek’s team to 5-4 in conference, tied for third with Cal after being swept by the Washington schools last week. Instead of being tied for the Pac-10 lead like head coach Sendek had hoped, they’re looking for another shot of momentum.
“We just returned right back to work and are going to prepare for the next game,” Sendek said on a Pac-10 conference call Tuesday. “It’s challenging every night out. It’s going to bring out the best in times and at times you’re going to get your fair share of bruises.”
The Sun Devils have a defense that could provide such momentum by stopping its opponents. ASU’s opponents have averaged 59.4 points per game this season, only the fourth time in its history the team has allowed opponents fewer than 60 points, and those were from 1948-50.
Sendek knows a player like Tajuan Porter can disrupt a sound defense after his last game at Oregon State, where he scored 19 points in the first half. He finished with 22 points.
“He certainly commands a great deal of attention,” Sendek said. “He’s a phenomenal guard. We’re well aware of the other talented players they have.”

ASU has two standout players itself, in James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph. Pendergraph, a forward, passed Ike Diogu for fourth on the career rebound list last week, and needs just 15 more rebounds to get into third. On offense, he is equally as potent near the glass, shooting 66 percent from the field, the third-best percentage nationally.
All Harden has done is lead the Pac-10 in scoring, averaging 21.9 points per game.
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said that he’s seen improvements on defense in sustaining effort, but it will be challenged against Arizona State, which beat the Ducks (6-15, 0-9 Pac-10) 76-58 last time in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 10.
“Probably the biggest issue is just sustaining the mental play through a whole possesssion,” Kent said. “We’ve gotten better at it, though.”
As usual, the Ducks’ freshman class has been one of the most frustrating and promising aspects of the team this season. Against some of the other famous freshmen he’s coached at Oregon, Kent said they’ve stacked up well.
“Two or three of them are ahead of guys that were in the other group,” Kent said.
Compared to ASU and Oregon, the Arizona Wildcats are suddenly one of the hottest teams in the league.
Arizona (14-8, 4-5 Pac-10) swept the Washington schools last week in a crucial weekend that head coach Russ Pennell said was a tipping point for its confidence.
“It was a point in the season where we needed to either get going or could have been a tough go for our guys,” Pennell, a first-year coach said. “To their credit, they really dug in. If we keep getting better that’s really what I’m looking for.
“I hope it affects us positively.”
The Wildcats have also found their groove on offense, piling up 66 points against Washington State, which was the national leader in
scoring defense, averaging just 53 points per game. By doing that, Arizona was only the third team all season to score more than 65 against the Cougars.
Pennell, though, lauded the conference’s parity with schools like Oregon State and Cal’s resurgence, and said he knows the team’s momentum can all be lost in Oregon if it’s not careful.
“I think the overall parity has been incredible. It just seems like to me this is one of the first years that honestly the last place team could beat the first place team and you wouldn’t be surprised. It’s going to make for a really fun second half of the season.”
Arizona plays Oregon at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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