Oregon State at Arizona State

The battle for the #9 spot in the Pac-10 took an interesting turn as Arizona State managed to handily beat the Beavers but also beat the Run and Gun Ducks two days earlier. It looks like Oregon State might be all alone at the bottom of the Pac-10 this season.

And they may not be a bad team even! With CJ Giles just recently added to the team (eligible after mid-season transfer) and very promising power-freshman Omari Johnson recovering from an injury, they look like they could improve. The problem is that they are climbing a hill backwards in the snow and driving rain that is the Pac-10 of 2007-2008. CJ Giles was taken out of the game by early foul trouble and that did not help the Beavs at all.

Herb Sendek's success so far on Year #2 may have sealed Jay John's fate at Oregon State. Not only did Tony Bennett managed to revitalize Washington State, but now in just two years Herb Sendek has taken another perennial Pac-10 patsy and turned it into a good team. Meanwhile Jay John has been at OSU for a while now, and he's still working uphill.

Arizona State may have had its best game of the year last night, with super-frosh James Harden taking over the first half and big man Jeff Pendergraph taking over the second half. In between, the "Jeans" point guard provided some stability and the rest of the players filled in the gaps to give the Sun Devils a 2-0 start in the Pac-10.

Speaking of James Harden, I think he is really Julius Hodge after a facelift or two, and a perimeter shot ;-) There's no way a 17yo freshman plays with such basketball savvy and weighs 220lbs at his height. He must be Julius Hodge! NCAA, investigate this please ;-)

But can Arizona State continue this or is it fool's gold and their early success a result of their schedule? It may take another two weeks to find out, as next week they face in-state rival Arizona. Beating Arizona maybe another barometer game as ASU has been "owned" by the Lute Olson Wildcats in the last few years.