Sun Devils Face Men of Troy for Pac-Ten Championship
We'll be back with a new post for the second half.
Halftime: ASU 39, USC 24
Finally two things happen: USC is called for a foul, and James Harden is on the board. Taj Gibson is called away from the play, and on the next possession James lines up a top-of-the-arc three and nails it for a 13-point ASU lead. After a USC free throw, Herb calls a :30 to set up ASU's final offensive play of the half. After a Daniel Hackett foul on the floor, James nails another three and the clock runs out on the half, with ASU comfortably ahead.
If anything, USC certainly understands how to defend James Harden. But without Demar DeRozan and Daniel Hackett, they'd barely be on the board. The Devils have done an excellent job spreading the ball around with all five starters on the board and their three pointers are really dropping. Both Jeff and Derek are carrying over superb showings yesterday with double digits in the first half. Keep it up, Devils!
The Devils are led on the scoreboard by Glasser and Pendergraph with 10 each, followed by Ty Abbott with 8. James Harden has 6 points and 5 assists. For USC Hackett has 11 and DeRozan has 9. It was a very clean half, with only 4 turnovers and 6 fouls between the two teams.
Fourth Media Timeout: ASU 30, USC 23
A rather uneventful portion of the game there, the only points coming on a DeMar DeRozan jumper.
There is no reason to be alarmed for the Devils. Defensively, they're tightening up and making smart decisions on offense. Despite the lack of points in the last few minutes, they aren't allowing the Trojans much space either. Could we get some foul calls our way, maybe?
Good point, there have only been 3 total fouls called in the game's first 17:04, and none on USC. There have been some fouls let go, including recently in rebounding action on the USC end where Jeff Pendergraph was hauled down from behind by Taj Gibson with no call. We'll see where this goes.
Third Media Timeout: ASU 30, USC 21
It appears that Ty Abbott really is back. He hits another pair of 3s to give him 8 points, his 4th straight good start to a game. But he left for the locker room during this timeout, we'll check into why. Meanwhile, Pendergraph is still giving Troy all sorts of trouble on the pick and roll play, making himself the first to double figures with 10 points, 6 of them on pick-and-roll layups. He's looked great today. Also of note, 13 of ASU's first 20 shots have been from inside the arc, unusual for this team and maybe a sign of growing confidence in not having to rely on the threeball. And when they have taken it, they've hit it, going 4 for 7 from long range.
Second Media Timeout: ASU 17, USC 17
Devils continue to look good on the offensive end, especially running the pick and roll with Pendergraph, one of their go-to plays. But they have not performed as well on the defensive side, allowing too many open looks to USC's shooters, who have now hit 7 of 11 from the field, including a pair of Daniel Hackett threes.
Don't look now, but Daniel Hackett is playing a dangerous game against the Devils. He's already at 9 points and doesn't show signs of slowing. Meanwhile, James Harden hasn't hit the board quite yet, but he's getting great help from Derek Glasser and Jeff Pendergraph. The team needs to stop fouling if they hope to keep up.
James Harden is scoreless so far, with Pendergraph's 8, Derek Glasser's 7 and a layup from Ty Abbott accounting for all of ASU's points. The first three fouls of the game have gone against ASU.
First Media Timeout: ASU 10, USC 5
Both teams going back-and-forth in the early going, with the Devils scoring first and USC responding every time. Pendergraph has 6 of ASU's first 10 points in the early going on a nice dunk, a long jumper and a gorgeous pick and roll with James Harden. Derek Glasser has the other 4 on a pair of driving layups. USC got an early 3 from Daniel Hackett and a Taj Gibson layup, but ASU has looked pretty good in the early going, a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor.
Here are the starting lineups for both teams:
ASU: F Jeff Pendergraph, F Rihards Kuksiks, G Ty Abbott, G Derek Glasser and G James Harden
USC: F DeMar DeRozan, F Taj Gibson, G Daniel Hackett, G Marcus Simmons, and G Dwight Lewis
Welcome back to Staples Center for the final game of the 2009 Pac-Ten Tournament. The Sun Devils and Trojans are probably not the teams that people expected to see in this game, but the 4th-seeded Sun Devils and 6th-seeded Trojans are the two that have survived this far. A win for the Devils could put them as high as a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament, while USC almost certainly needs a win just to get in at all.
Once again, Adam and Ben are here with you, with Adam's comments in plain text, and Ben's insights in italics.
I hate to put this in perspective, but the Devils will have to be on top of their games today and play almost "mistake free" basketball. Notorious Pac-10 official Dave Libbey has been announced to referee this contest. Over the back, anyone?
Check back at every media timeout and at the end of each half for updates and analysis, courtesy of your friends at The Sports Lounge.
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last updated on 09.03.14 at 3:12 PM