Tale of the Tape: Washington at Arizona State

by Paul Casey Gotham

Setting:  The desert gets a little warmer this afternoon when Lorenzo Romar and his #23 Washington Huskies (15-5 /6-2) make their annual trek to Tempe for a Pac 10 tilt with Herb Sendek’s #14 Arizona State Sun Devils (16-4 / 5-3).

Plots:  It’s a match up of ranked teams both coming off a loss:  Washington at Arizona 106-97; Arizona State to Washington St. 65-55.

Washington hits 46 per cent from the field including 34.6 per cent from behind the arc and 67.5 per cent from the stripe for 79.8 ppg.

ASU drops 48.9 per cent of their field goals with 36.4 per cent of the trifectas and 73.4 per cent from the line for 71.4 ppg.

The Huskies grab 46 boards per game with 7.4 steals and 3 blocks.

The Sun Devils pull down 34 boards, make 6.4 steals and block two shots per game.

Sub plots:  In a game that is destined to be decided by single digits, the Sun Devils are 4-0 this season in games where the difference is six points or less.  The Huskies are 2-3 in such affairs.  ASU has beaten the last four ranked opponents they have played including a 61-58 OT triumph over UCLA on January 17th.

Flashback:  ASU holds a 34-31 lead in the series that started in 1977-78, but UW has won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the Pac 10 combatants.  ASU’s 77-63 win in Seattle was the Sun Devils first win in the series since 2004.

Conflict: Husky forward, Jon Brockman, leads the nation in double-doubles.  Yeah you read that right Jon Brockman is the active leader for double-doubles.  Here’s the top five:

Jon Brockman, Washington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Jeff Adrien, Connecticut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
John Bryant, Santa Clara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

But Brockman will have to deal with James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph.   At 6’5″ it may be easy to overlook Harden, but the sophomore grabs 5.6 boards and scores 22 per game.  Pendergraph pulls down 7.6 bounds per game and finishes 13.4 per game.  Last time out Pendergraph scored just 8 points.

Senior Justin Dentmon ranks third on the Huskies’ list of career steals with 153.  The guard also dishes out 3.1 assists per game.

But ASU’s Derek Glasser is as steady a point guard in the nation as there is with a 2.3 assist to turnover ratio including zero miscues in 42 minutes of play versus UCLA.   Glasser has just three turnovers in the last 108 minutes of play.

Washington’s Isaiah Thomas leads all freshmen in the Pac 10 with 16.3 ppg.  The 5’8″ guard has scored in double figures 18 of 20 games this year including three 20 point outbursts in the last six games.

Resolution:  The Sun Devils are 8-1 at home this season and have too much balance for the Huskies.

First Team All Casey

G Jeff Teague Wake Forest

G Stephen Curry Davidson

G/F Jodie Meeks Kentucky

F Blake Griffin Oklahoma

F Terrence Williams Louisville

2nd Team

G Jerel McNeal Marquette

G Dionte Christmas Temple

F James Johnson Wake Forest

F Luke Harangody Notre Dame

F Tyler Hansbrough UNC