The Blaze

By Josh Green

Greetings, and welcome inside Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto for Pac-10 Basketball, featuring the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Stanford Cardinal. This is the final meeting between these teams for the season, as the Cardinal defeated the Sun Devils in Tempe last month.

Both teams are coming off losses on Thursday night, as ASU fell to Cal, 66-62, while Stanford lost to Arizona, 78-69. ASU (9-13, 1-9) has lost six in a row and is off to its worst start in the Pac-10 since Herb Sendek’s first season in Tempe. Stanford has had its own struggles lately, losing six of its last eight conference games after winning its first two.

Keep it here at blazeradioonline.com for live updates throughout the game. You can also follow along with my tweets at twitter.com/Josh_P_Green.

-ASU only scored 41 points against Stanford last month in Tempe. It’s the lowest point total for the Sun Devils this season, as they shot just 35% from the floor.

-It’s worth noting that Jamelle McMillan did not play in the meeting last month. The senior point guard has played well over the last two games, averaging 13.5 points and converting on seven of his last 10 three-pointers.

-Not a big crowd on hand. Most of the upper level is empty, and the student section is not that full.

Here are today’s starting lineups

ASU: Jamelle McMillan, Ty Abbott, Kyle Cain, Trent Lockett and Rihards Kuksiks

Stanford: Anthony Brown, Josh Owens, Jarrett Mann, Dwight Powell and Jeremy Green

First Half

17:35- ASU goes down low to Kyle Cain on two of its first three possessions. The freshman coverts one of the layup attempts to give ASU its first points of the game.

15:14- First media timeout of the half, and ASU leads Stanford, 7-6. Neither team is shooting the ball too well, as ASU is 3-of-7 while Stanford is 2-of-7. Jeremy Green has all six points for the Cardinal.

11:54- Stanford leads ASU, 12-11. Herb Sendek has gone with the younger guys over the last few minutes, playing Keala King, Chanse Creekmur, Carrick Felix, Kyle Cain and Trent Lockett. Out of the timeout he goes back to Cain, Felix, McMillan, Creekmur and Abbott.

7:43- Timeout on the floor, and Stanford leads, 17-15. The Cardinal have committed five turnovers, but ASU has only been able to capitalize with four points.

6:15- Jamelle McMillan has been big for ASU so far, as he already has four steals. His first three-pointer of the game gives the Sun Devils an 18-17 lead.

3:48- Final media timeout of the half, and we’re all tied at 24.

0:50- Herb Sendek calls timeout after Stanford takes its biggest lead of the game at five, 36-31. Jeremy Green and Jarrett Mann have combined for 24 of the Cardinal’s 36 points.

0:00- Halftime here at Maples Pavilion, and Stanford leads ASU, 36-32. Rihards Kuksiks, who’s averaged 13.5 points over the last four games, is scoreless so far. Jamelle McMillan leads the way for ASU with 9 points and 4 steals.

Second Half

Chanse Creekmur starts the second half for the Sun Devils.

16:35- Herb Sendek calls timeout as Stanford starts the half on a 9-3 run to take a 45-35 lead. ASU is 1-11 this season when trailing at the half. Jeremy Green has 17 points for the Cardinal, 15 of those coming on three’s.

15:43- First media timeout of the half, and Stanford leads 45-38 after Creekmur hits his second three of the game for the Sun Devils.

11:50- ASU got within four on a Jamelle McMillan three and Carrick Felix put-back, but the Cardinal respond with a pair of three-pointers. Stanford leads 58-48.

7:21- Timeout on the floor, and Stanford leads 63-59. The Sun Devils are hanging tough, having been down by 10 multiple times this half. It’s worth noting ASU is in this game despite just a combined five points between seniors Rihards Kuksiks and Ty Abbott. Both teams are shooting the ball well in the half, as Stanford is 60% while ASU is 56%.

Injury update: Jordan Bachynski limps off the floor after he hurt himself trying to block a shot. Also, Ty Abbott has a back strain and is unlikely to return.

4:05- Stanford leads ASu 72-63. The Sun Devils haven’t been able to get stops when they need to in this second half. Also, Bachynski returned from the locker room and seemed to be okay.

3:51- Final media timeout of the half, with Stanford leading ASU 72-65. Trent Lockett will have an opportunity to complete a three-point play out of the timeout.

1:45- ASU got to within 5 and had a chance to get within 3 or 2, but Carrick Felix misses a three and Stanford converts on the other end to take a 76-69 lead.

0:57- Stanford is on its way to a way, now up 79-69. The Cardinal have attempted 20 free throws in the second half.

0:00: Final score from Palo Alto: Stanford 83, ASU 75. The Cardinal improve to 12-10 overall, 4-6 in the Pac-10, while ASU falls to 9-14, 1-10 in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils, who have lost nine conference games in a row, will host Arizona on February 13th.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 5th, 2011 at 3:14 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.