Oregon St. (10-18, 5-12) at Arizona St. (11-18, 3-14) - 1 PM PST - Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe - No TV - KEJO 1240/ KPAM 860.
That's right Pac-12 Network fans, no TV. That's what you get (or don't get) when the two bottom teams in the conference get together in the last game of the regular season, and who gets that coveted 9th. seed in the tournament isn't even at stake.
Oregon St. played well at times in Tucson, but turned the ball over too often, and suffered a 4 minute scoring drought in the first half. The result was Arizona winning a 70-59 victory in which they were able to keep the Beavers at arms' length all night.
Devon Collier led the Beavers, with 12 points, and Joe Burton added 10 off the bench.
Arizona St. played one of their best games of the season, blowing Oregon out of Tempe by 20 points Thursday night. Sun Devil seniors Rihards Kuksiks and Ty Abbott both scored 22 points in their second to last home game, and Arizona St. sank 16 of the 36 three pointers, both season high numbers, to beat the Ducks 73-53. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils forced Oregon into a cold shooting night. Jay R Strowbridge led Oregon, with 22 points off the bench, but only Garrett Sim joined him in double figures, with 10 points. The Ducks shot less than 30% overall from the field.
The Beavers and the Sun Devils opened their Pac-10 seasons last year, back on December 30 in Gill Coliseum, as Oregon St. pulled away in the second half, and cruised to an 80-58 win.
Joe Burton came off the bench, and poured in 17 points, including 9 in the second half, to lead the Beavers. Burton just missed a double double, pulling down a game high 9 rebounds. Jared Cunningham was close behind, with 16 points, and the Beavers got a lot of bench production, as Ahmad Starks and Roberto Nelson both were also in double figures, with 12 points apiece.
Abbott led everyone in scoring that night, with 18 points for the Sun Devils. Arizona St. played the game without their leading scorer, Trent Lockett, who sat out the game with a sprained big toe.
Listen in in the event of rain delays to the baseball game, and see which team actually carries momentum into next week's Pac-10 tournament.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com