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Pac 10 Tournament Coverage: Arizona State scorches Wildcats

The Arizona State Sun Devils might have burst their intrastate rival’s NCAA Tournament bubble.

With the Arizona Wildcats needing a victory Thursday to reach the 20-win plateau and convince the selection committee that they are worthy of a 25 th consecutive trip to the NCAA tourney, the Sun Devils dealt them a 68-56 defeat in the Pac-10 Tournament at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The fourth-seeded Sun Devils (23-8) will advance to a conference tournament semifinal at 6 p.m. Pacific time Friday against the Pac-10 regular-season champion Washington Huskies (25-7). Fifth-seeded Arizona (19-13) will return home to Tucson and wait for Selection Sunday.

While the Wildcats remain hopeful that regular-season victories over Gonzaga, Kansas, Washington and UCLA will earn them an NCAA Tournament bid, their chances of extending their 24-year run of participating in March Madness appear tenuous.

Following a seven-game winning streak which culminated with an 84-72 triumph over UCLA on Feb. 14, the Wildcats have lost five of their last six.

With Thursday’s setback, Arizona fell to 0-3 this season against Arizona State. After dropping last-minute nail-biters to ASU on Jan. 21 and Feb. 22, the third time was not the charm for the Wildcats.

The Sun Devils, who are a virtual lock to make the 65-team NCAA Tournament field, never looked back Thursday after a three-pointer by junior forward Rihards Kuksiks gave them a 35-34 lead over Arizona with 19:07 remaining in the second half. Arizona State led the rest of the way, pulling ahead by double digits at 55-45 on a layup by sophomore swingman James Harden with 6:39 left and extending the advantage to 60-48 on a dunk by Harden with 5:11 remaining.

After the Wildcats narrowed the gap to 62-56 on a drive to the basket by junior forward/center Jordan Hill with 1:20 left, the Sun Devils closed out the game at the foul line, as Harden swished six consecutive free throws.

Harden, who earlier this week was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year, finished with a game-high 27 points along with eight rebounds and four assists. Arizona’s Hill, who, like Harden, is projected to be a top-five pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, led the Wildcats with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Junior guard Nic Wise added 18 points for Arizona, while UA junior wing Chase Budinger was held to eight points on 3-of-15 shooting.

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The Wildcats made just 22 of 62 field-goal attempts as a team (for 35.5 percent). Arizona State, meanwhile, shot 52.1 percent from the field (making 25 of 48).

Sophomore guard Ty Abbott finished with 11 points for the Sun Devils, who also got 10 points and nine rebounds from senior power forward Jeff Pendergraph.

By Tom Kessler
DFN Sports Staff Writer