Tempe, AZ (My Sportsbook) - Fresh off a thrashing of Oregon State, the 20th- ranked Arizona State Sun Devils now turn their focus to the Oregon Ducks in a Pac-10 matchup at Wells-Fargo Arena today.
The Sun Devils were recently in play this past Thursday, when they rolled past Oregon State by a 69-38 score. The 38 points marked the fewest allowed by ASU in its 543 Pac-10 outings (31st season). It was also the second impressive league victory for the Sun Devils, who opened Pac-10 play with a 90-60 pounding of Stanford. Winners of nine of its last 10 games, ASU now sits at 13-2 overall and that includes a perfect 7-0 ledger at home.
As for Oregon, it is still in search of its first conference victory having gone 0-3 thus far. Most recently, the team kicked off a short two-game road swing with a 67-52 setback at Arizona on Thursday. With the loss, the Ducks fell to 6-9 overall and 1-2 on the road.
ASU leads the head-to-head series against Oregon, 35-31, with the teams splitting a pair of meetings last season.
The Ducks were held to a lackluster 37.0 percent shooting effort from the floor, including a poor 4-of-22 showing from downtown, as they were handled by Arizona on Thursday. The team was outscored at the foul line, 16-8, and even lost the battle on the boards, 35-25. No Oregon player reached double figures in the setback, not even leading scorer Tajuan Porter, who was limited to a mere two points. Porter, averaging 14.1 ppg on the season, went just 1-of-7 from the floor and 0-of-4 from long range in the game. Michael Dunigan had nine points last night and he ranks second on the team in both scoring (10.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg) on the season. LeKendric Longmire rounds out the squad's double-digit scorers on the season, with 10.1 ppg. Overall, the Ducks are turning in 72.4 ppg, although they are giving up a slightly higher 76.7 ppg.
The Sun Devils shot an unconscious 65.1 percent from the field and made 7- of-17 long-range attempts, as they coasted past Oregon State on Thursday. ASU of course, was stout on defense, limiting the Beavers to a 4-of-20 performance from three-point distance and only 38 points. James Harden went 10-of-11 from the floor and he finished with 22 points and seven assists in the victory. It was a typical effort from one of the elite players in the Pac-10, as Harden paces ASU in scoring (23.3 ppg) and steals (29), to go with 5.9 rpg and 4.7 apg. Jeff Pendergraph, a 66.1 percent shooter from the floor, adds 13.8 ppg and a team-high 7.1 rpg to the rotation, while Rihards Kuksiks chips in with 10.8 ppg behind a sizzling 51.2 percent shooting from downtown. The Sun Devils, as team, are making 51.8 percent of their attempts from the floor and 39.8 percent from three-point land for an average of 75.6 ppg. They are also limiting foes to just 58.3 ppg, showing they can get the job done at either side of the court.
