Pac 12 Conference Tournament First Round
#8 Stanford Cardinal vs #9 Arizona State Sun Devils
Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 3:00 pm Eastern, TV: Pac 12 Network
MGM Grand Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada
Opening Line: Stanford -4
Current Line: Stanford -4
Opening Total: 134
Current Total: 134
Opening Money Line: Stanford -165 / Arizona State +145
Current Money Line: Stanford -165 / Arizona State +145
The Pac 12 tournament gets underway Wednesday afternoon with the 8-9 match-up between the 18-13 Stanford Cardinal and 20-11 Arizona St Sun Devils. The two teams were both 9-9 in the conference, and part of a 4 way tie for 6th in the conference. Despite losing their last 4 games, Arizona St is still considered to be on the bubble for the NCAA tournament. However, both Stanford and Arizona St seem to be NIT teams in my opinion, unless one of them makes a deep run in the Pac 12 tournament. The winner of Arizona St-Stanford will play conference champ UCLA in the quarters.
Stanford leads the series against Arizona St 44-30. The Cardinal have beaten the Sun Devils six straight times and 7 of the last 10. Stanford won the only meeting in the regular season 62-59 February 9 in Tempe. Stanford was up by 16 in the second half, but the Sun Devils fought back, and had a chance to tie at the end of the game. However, ASU guard Bo Barnes missed a three pointer with 5 seconds to go, and the Cardinal held on for the win. Stanford has eliminated Arizona St from the Pac 12 tournament 2 of the last 3 seasons.
Arizona St is coached by Herb Sendek. The Sun Devils have losses to Creighton in a tournament in Las Vegas, home to DePaul, Arizona twice, at Oregon, at Utah, at UCLA, at USC and Washington twice. The Sun Devils lost at Arizona Saturday 73-58 to close out the regular season. ASU has key wins over Arkansas in Las Vegas, Cornell, Texas Tech, Utah, Colorado twice, at Oregon St, USC, UCLA, Washington St twice and at home against Cal 66-62 Thursday. Arizona St is 16-10 ATS and the total is 3-15 this season.
Arizona St is outscoring teams 70-66 this season. The Sun Devils are shooting 45.6% from the field and 33.5% from 3 point range. ASU makes 62.2% of their free throws. ASU is #335 in the country in free throw percentage out of 347 teams. The Sun Devils average 36 rebounds per games and gives up 32.5. ASU opponents are shooting 40.7% from the field and 33.8% from 3 point range. The Sun Devils average 14 assists, 6 steals, 6 blocks, and 12 turnovers a game.
Forward Jahii Carson averages 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Guard-forward Carrick Felix averages 14.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. Guard Evan Gordon averages 10 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Center Jordan Bachynski averages 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks a game. Forward Jonathan Gilling averages 9.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1 steal per game. Chris Colvin and Eric Jacobsen will also see significant minutes in the rotation. Guard Calaen Robinson is out for the season for undisclosed reasons.
Stanford is coached by Johnny Dawkins. The Cardinal have home losses to Belmont and Washington, USC, and UCLA, against Missouri and Minnesota in a tournament in the Bahamas, and road losses at North Carolina St, USC, UCLA, Colorado twice, Arizona, and Oregon. Stanford has key wins over San Francisco (in Oakland), CS-Fullerton, Northern Iowa in the Bahamas, at Northwestern, Washington St, Cal twice, Utah twice, Oregon, Oregon St twice, and at Arizona St. The Cardinal beat Cal 83-70 Wednesday in Berkeley. The Cardinal are 13-15-1 ATS and the total is 13-9 this season.
Stanford is outscoring teams 71-66. The Cardinal are shooting 41.7% from the field and 35.2% from 3 point range. Stanford makes 74.1% of their free throws. The Cardinal average 36.5 rebounds per game, and give up 31.6 per game. Stanford opponents are shooting 42.4% from the field and 32.7% from 3 point range. The Cardinal average 12 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks, and 12 turnovers per game.
Forward Dwight Powell averages 15.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 blocks. Guard Chasson Randle averages 14.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Forward Josh Huestis averages 10.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2 blocks and an assist. Guard Aaron Bright averages 8.7 points and 3.4 assists per game. Andy Brown and John Gage both average around 6 points per game. Rosco Allen, Robbie Lemons, Christian Sanders, and Gabriel Harris make up the rest of the rotation. Forward Anthony Brown is out for the season with a leg injury.
Stanford is 4-1 ATS in Wednesday games, 4-1-1 in neutral site games, and 3-7 after a straight up win. The Cardinal have covered the last 6 in the series.
Arizona St is 8-1-1 ATS after failing to cover, 5-2 after a straight up loss, 2-7 in Wednesday games, and 2-10 in neutral site games.
Stanford has dominated this series recently, and Arizona St is slumping having lost 4 straight games to close out the regular season. I like the Cardinal to win and knock the Sun Devils completely off the bubble.
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