No. 17 Arizona State Among a Host of Pac-10 Crown Contenders

If you're not careful, you could mistake ASU coach Herb Sendek as a publicist for the Pac-10.

It seems he's incapable of going through a press conference or post-game interview without stressing the quality of the conference from top to bottom. Every game is a tough game, and anyone can beat anyone.

Tuesday's presser was no exception, as he offered up some vintage Sendek analysis.

"Our league is really good," he said. "I think we need to recognize that and proclaim that. You could be a really good team and lose a couple in a row or a few in a row. It’s not that hard to fathom."

After Thursday night's results, though, it may be hard to argue with him. Oregon State beats Cal on the road? Washington State a buzzer-beater away from handing UCLA its second straight loss?

Somebody pinch me.

It seems that UCLA's choke hold on the rest of the Pac-10 has become considerably weaker, leaving the possibility for another team to claim conference supremacy.

Among those teams trying to knock off the kings are Sendek's Sun Devils. In fact, they already did—in one contest at least.

On Jan. 17, ASU marched into Pauley Pavilion and pulled off a 61-58 overtime victory. The Sun Devils closed out regulation on an 11-0 run and allowed only one UCLA field goal over the final 13-plus minutes of the game.

Wednesday, Sendek's squad followed it up by beating rival Arizona 53-47 at the McKale Center in Tucson in one of the ugliest games in recent memory.

Those wins, coupled with ASU's 90-60 thrashing of Stanford at Maples Pavilion on Jan. 2, made ASU the first Pac-10 team to win on the road against UCLA, UA, and Stanford in the same season since 1980-81.

Take that with a grain of salt, though, since those three programs are incapable of achieving such a feat.

So as we take a look at the Pac-10 standings after Thursday's games, we see UCLA and a surprising Washington team leading with their 5-1 records. Just behind them are ASU at 5-2 and Cal at 4-2.

Then comes the quagmire at the middle of the Pac, with Stanford, USC, and WSU all tied at 3-3.

To think that a team as talented as UA (2-5) sits eighth is a testament to the strength of the conference.

So where does that leave us? Who knows?

We probably won't know until the end of the Pac-10 Tournament in March.

You could make a case for any of the aforementioned teams to make a run for the title, so here is mine for the Sun Devils.

They have a premier coach in Herb Sendek.

A former assistant under Rick Pitino, the 45-year-old Sendek now has eight former assistants roaming the sidelines as Division I head coaches. He's a constant preacher of improvement and one of the brightest minds in the game.

They have arguably the league's best player in James Harden.

The sophomore guard has made a habit of carrying the team on his back. He leads the league in scoring and seemingly takes over games whenever he feels like it.

Barring his four-point, zero-field-goal performance at USC on Jan. 15, he's mostly had his way with opposing defenses.

But he does more than score. He can rebound, his playmaking ability has become indispensable, and his penchant for the clutch has been nothing short of amazing.

ASU is 6-0 in overtime games since Harden came aboard. Coincidence?

They have a legitimate post presence in senior Jeff Pendergraph.

JP is among the nation's best when it comes to field goal percentage, and he is the unquestioned emotional leader of the team.

Before the start of the season, Harden said, "[Pendergraph]’s the one that yells and screams and stuff like that. I’m just behind him, like ‘Yeah, yeah.’”

Some great imagery right there.

They can play defense.

Sendek's brand of a matchup zone has been effective dating back to his first year on the job. Even when the Sun Devils went 8-22 in 2006-07, they were playing games in the 50s and even the 40s in some cases.

This season they rank second in the conference in scoring defense behind WSU and just in front of UCLA.

They have the role players.

Point guard Derek Glasser and sharpshooter Rihards Kuksiks are crucial to the team's success. Wing player Ty Abbott has been hampered by an injured left thumb, but when healthy can be another offensive weapon.

Then there are serviceable backups Jamelle McMillan, Jerren Shipp, and Eric Boateng.

They've already played the toughest part of their conference schedule, and they're sitting at 5-2.

ASU has played five of its first seven conference games on the road, suffering losses at Cal and at USC.

That means the Sun Devils have just four more road contests for the rest of the regular season, and two of them will be against the lowly Oregon schools.

I know it's early and anything can happen, but the Sun Devils look poised to make a serious run at the Pac-10 crown.

What awaits ASU in what is probably Harden's—and definitely Pendergraph's—final season in the maroon and gold? We'll just have to wait and see.

But if anything is certain in this year's Pac-10, it's that nothing is certain at all.