The Stanford Cardinal started out their conference season well, but a mid-season slump cause the team to drop from being a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament to possibly not even an NIT participant. Fortunately for the Cardinal, they will have one last chance to prove themselves this week at the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament in Los Angeles.
As for the ASU Sun Devils, the team was torn apart by injuries and a lack of depth for most of the season, although they stunned the Arizona Wildcats over the weekend while playing their best game in months.
Stanford lacks a go-to scorer that can carry the team at times, but they feature a potent trio of scorers that can cause opposing defenses some problems. Chasson Randle, Josh Owens and Aaron Bright could all have big games against the Sun Devils and their zone defense. Look for ASU to give the ball to guard Trent Lockett, who shoots 42% from behind the arc.
Teams: #7 Stanford Cardinal (20-10, 10-8 Pac-12) vs #10 Arizona St. Sun Devils (10-20, 6-12 Pac-12)
Date, Game Time: Wednesday, March 7th, 6:00 PM PST
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
TV: FSN/ROOT NW - Steve Physioc, and Marques Johnson on the call with Rebecca Haarlow courtside.
Live Online Streaming: If you're looking some extras, the Pac-12 Conference's YouTube channel - YouTube.com/pac12conf - will be live streaming non-televised games, post-game press conferences for the semifinals and championship games, and all live streams will be free of charge and no registration is necessary. Head over to the the Pacific Life Pac-12 Tournament page and click on the link - YouTube.com/pac12conf, and starting Wednesday, the page will automatically default to any live streams that are underway.
Series History: The Cardinal holds a 42-30 edge over Arizona State in the all-time series, dating back to 1957. Stanford has won six of the last 10 and 23 of the last 29 contests overall dating back to 1998 and have won four straight in the series, including a 68-44 rout back on Feb. 2 at Maples Pavilion. The Sun Devils will look to buck this trend and there's no better time to do that than in the end-of-the-year tournament.
For more on the Stanford Cardinal, head over to Rule of Tree. For more on the Sun Devils, head to House of Sparky.