Bodog Beat

James Harden will lead Arizona State against San Diego State tonight. (AP Images)

The Pacific-10 Conference produced five 20-win teams last year, but few paid much attention to the Arizona State Sun Devils (21-13 SU, 16-13-1 ATS). They were denied a March Madness invitation on the basis of their No. 83 RPI; the stat-friendly Pomeroy rankings had the Sun Devils at No. 48, underlining the very high quality of play in the Pac-10. ASU made huge strides in its second year under Herb Sendek, and he’s got all five starters returning for the 2008-09 college basketball season.

Having an 11:00 p.m. Eastern start time Tuesday night against the San Diego State Aztecs (20-13 SU, 15-15 ATS) will preserve No. 15 ASU’s anonymity for a while longer. The Aztecs are in much the same boat in the Mountain West, but top player Lorrenzo Wade (14.8 points, 4.5 rebounds per game last year) was suspended indefinitely last month. It’ll be tough sledding until Wade returns.

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