ASU Sun Devil Basketball Schedule Released; Preseason #18 According To Dick Vitale

ASU's 2008-2009 basketball schedule has finally been released, meaning that we can see just how many games we will reasonably win on our way to March Madness.

A few notable home games:

12/7 vs. Nebraska

1/10 vs. Oregon

2/12 vs. UCLA

2/15 vs. USC

2/22 vs. Arizona

3/5 vs. Stanford

3/7 vs. California

Dick Vitale has crowned us #18 in his Preseason Top 40:

18. Arizona State. James Harden will be one of the premier players in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils will go from surprise team to conference challenger.

Who else from this year's schedule is on the Preseason Top 40?

4. UCLA. Coach Ben Howland is happy to have Darren Collison returning to the backcourt. The Bruins have one of the premier recruiting classes coming in.

23. Arizona. The return of Chase Budinger makes Lute Olson very happy. If Brandon Jennings didn't go to Europe, this would be a top-10 team.

31. USC. Even without O.J. Mayo, the Trojans will be a tough team. Taj Gibson & Co. will not be an easy touch.

There you have it. Unless we play Baylor or St. Mary's in the Anaheim Classic, we are playing no teams outside our conference in Dickie V's Top 40. Way to go Lisa Love!