In what may have arguably been the best game of the year, the Sun Devils knocked off the Cal Golden Bears 99-90 in two overtimes. The three headed monster of James Harden, Jeff Pendergraph, and Ty Abbott combined for 78 points, 19 rebounds and 9 assists.
The question so far in conference play has been who the third weapon will be after Harden and Pendergraph. Abbott took the call and ran with it last night to the tune of 25 points, 9 boards, and 5 assists with seven 3-pointers. While I would normally object to anyone attempting 16 treys in one game, knowing how Abbott can catch fire and how he's been able to hit the clutch ones so far keeps me from questioning the shot selection.
Pendergraph had another great game with 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a game where he faced what may have been the best competition in the post he's seen so far this year. In the early part of the year I thought that people projecting him in the first round of the NBA Draft were way too optimistic but he has stepped his play in the conference games so far and played very well. I still think he should be back next year but he's living up to the expectations.
And then there's Harden. After another quiet half where he only had 2 points on two shots, he blew up for 25 in the second half and overtimes and the national media still hasn't said a word about him. I guess that's cool as he seems like a guy that's completely fine with being under the radar then embarrassing anyone trying to defend him.
ASU faces a tougher test Saturday night against Stanford at 8pm on FSN AZ and 620AM.
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