After the Beavers had a three-game Pac-10 winning streak snapped on Thursday night against Arizona, Oregon State will look to start a new streak and get a weekend split against Arizona State.
The Sun Devils, who come into the game ranked 23rd in the nation, are 17-5 on the season, and 6-4 in the Pac-10 conference. They beat Oregon 66-57 on Thursday night.
Before playing Oregon, the Sun Devils were swept by the Washington schools, losing 65-55 to Washington State and 84-71 to Washington. They currently sit at third in the conference, having beat top-ranked UCLA in the first trip around the conference.
Arizona State is led by sophomore guard James Harden, who is averaging 23 poins and six rebounds per game. Forward Jeff Pendergraph is scoring nearly 14 points per game, and sharpshooter Rihards Kuksiks has been averaging just over 10 points per game. Ty Abbott and Derek Glasser are both averaging seven points, with all five of the aformentioned players playing over 30 minutes per game.
Glasser, who suffered a concussion last week against Washington and appeared to aggravate the injury against Oregon, likely won't play tonight.
Ealier in the season, the Sun Devils handed the Beavers a 69-38 loss at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. James Harden scored 22 points in that game, shooting 10 of 11 from the field. Lathen Wallace led the Beavers in scoring for the only time of the Pac-10 season in that game, with 13 points.
Also: Paul Buker of the Oregonian reports that AC Green will once again be in the house to watch the Beavers play ASU. And apparently, he wants the wave:
"Packed house. .. they win the Civil War game. .. it was awesome. The only thing we missed was 'the wave.' We did not do the wave.''
Is he serious?
"I'm going to be there Saturday, and I'm telling you, I want to bring it (the wave) back,'' said A.C. "I want bodies in that building, because I want to do the wave.
"I mean it. I'll lead the thing. I'm ready. You tell all of Beaver Nation to be there, and whoever else they want to bring - children, grandchildren, whoever. ... let's scare the Sun Devils while they're downstairs having their final team meeting. Let them hear that thunderous noise on top.''
Should be a good one.
Tipoff is scheduled for 5:36 on FSN.
--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)