More photos » Paul Sakuma - AP

13 days ago: Arizona State guard Derek Glasser (12) drives in front of Stanford forward Jack Trotter (50) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. Arizona State defeated Stanford 68-60. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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While I'll quickly admit that it has been more laziness than anything else thats kept me from writing up a bracketology report.  It's back.  We've been in and out of the last four in, last four out, next four out over the past few weeks .  With Thursday rolling around, my excitement for basketball is in full swing.   Right now, Lunardi has us as a 12 seed against the Aggies of Texas A&M.

Can we beat the Aggies?  The 22-8 Aggies have quietly put together a great season.  Their worst loss was to the Washington Huskies, proving how well they have played.  But if UW can beat them, so can we.  And we will.  Our defense is something unseen to the Big 12 outside of Baylor and we all saw how tough it was for Baylor to pull the win off in Tempe.  Shipp comes off the bench to help carry us into the 2nd round like he has done much of the past few weeks. 

2nd Round... Rematch.   Bring on SDSU.  Yep you've got it.  12  seed vs. 13 seed.  Who wins?  ASU handled the Aztecs from tip off to the last horn.  No reason to think that it wouldn't happen again.  Abbott and Kuksiks team up to shoot lights out from the outside and carry the Devils to the oh so sweet 16.  How are the Devils, predicted to be 7th/8th/9th in the Pac-10 in the Sweet 16?  Destiny.  Herb Sendek.

3rd Round....Rematch.  Bring on Syracuse.  Can we win? Nope.  Not a chance.  They are even better than last year and we are significantly less talented.  Talent wins out in the tournament and while we might hang with them for a half, they'll blow us away by the end.  There is no way around it.  Syracuse to the Final Four.

For now...BEAT THE CARDINAL!

If you were watching the halftime show on CBS during the break of the Florida/Kentucky game, you would have seen something very rare: media love for Arizona State.

Seth Davis has picked us as one of the "last four in" on national television. While I don't personally believe we have to worry too much about the bubble as long as we win one or two in Los Angeles, this media boost doesn't hurt our chances.

As for the rest of the statistics...

Record = 22-9

Pac-10 Record = 12-6

RPI = 52

SOS = 72

Signature Wins (RPI 1-30) = None

Quality Wins (RPI 31-100) = San Diego State (RPI 33), Washington (RPI 49), @Arizona (RPI 86)

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = @UCLA (RPI 145)

"Quality" Losses (RPI 1-50) = Duke (RPI 2) Baylor (RPI 8), @BYU (RPI 23), California (RPI 19), @California (RPI 19)

UPDATE (7:36 PM): Joe Lunardi has put us into the field as well.

You can see video of this as proof here. Go Devils!

Good day to be a Devil fan.

Several "bubble teams" were burst today, but thankfully ASU was not one of them. Take a look at ESPN's bubble watch:

1. Rhode Island shockingly lost to hapless UMass, which should take them out of the picture.

2. Dayton lost a tough home game to St. Louis, and they are 0-2 on the final weekend of the season.

3. Mississippi State got taken to the house by Tennessee and with their terrible SOS should be done.

4. Cincinnati is now out of the picture after a 74-47 pasting at the hands of Georgetown.

5. UConn, who can't seem to lose enough games, may have finally exhausted its chances with a loss to South Florida today.

6. Georgia Tech lost to Virginia Tech (at home, which is a bad sign)

I truly believe that the Devils will go dancing, especially if they can win a few games in the Pac-10 Tournament. I don't believe the hype that the P10 is a one-school conference - I'm siding with 2 or 3 depending on who wins the tournament.

As for those who say California isn't a lock - give me a break. They have won the Pac-10 regular season title. That is quite enough.

More photos » Rick Scuteri - AP

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Good win for the Sun Devils tonight. ASU moves to 21-9 on the season, and one step closer to the big dance. Rihards Kuksiks performed nicely, scoring 24 points and shooting 6/9 from behind the stripe.

Saturday at 1:00 is Senior "night", and Glasser, Shipp and Boateng will be honored pregame. Lets show up and support our surprisingly decent basketball team.

California took home their first Pac-10 title in 50 years today, handily beating our Sun Devils 62-46 today in Haas Pavilion.

It was truly a tale of two halves. In the first half, ASU came out shooting a very high percentage inside the arc, taking into the break a 30-29 lead. By the end of the game, however, the Sun Devils shot 40% from the field, including an abysmal 3-22 (13.6%) from long distance.

California is a strong, physical team with a lot of talent. ASU is a system team that needs space to operate on the offensive end. The Devils had no answer for the plethora of offensive options that the Bears threw at them.

If ASU would stop running their screens on offense and actually institute some playcalling, we might have seen a closer game today. I personally think Mike Montgomery outcoached Herb today - but at the same time, we're looking at a sold out crowd, an emotional senior game, and a whole lot of blue and gold confetti.

It just wasn't our day. All the Devils can do now is sweep the LA schools next weekend at home, and hope for the best come Selection Sunday.

Paul Sakuma - AP

Air Glasser.

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Huge game today against the Bears. Matt has been summoned to press row in Haas Pavilion, and will be providing us with coverage from the epicenter of California basketball.

I am ready to see Matt storm the court if we win today. Check out coverage of the game below:

Sun Devils vs Golden Bears coverage

California Golden Blogs

Sun Devils vs Golden Bears preview

Lets have a quality discussion today. Go Devils!

Here's another installment of our Q&A series with our fellow SBN blog, California Golden Blogs.

1. California crushed the Wildcats on Thursday night. What did you see from the Bears that you liked?

A lot really. Good shooting, good hustle, good energy on both sides of the ball. Only question is can they replicate that two games straight...Cal has usually destroyed teams on Thursday only to come out flat on Saturday. Could be a nailbiter against the Devils with that matchup zone of theirs.

2. After an embarrassing defeat to Oregon State, Cal has played quite well in back-to-back victories. What has Mike Montgomery done to right the ship?

I dunno. Yell at his guys more? There haven't been any real adjustments to the way Cal has played. We play standard halfcourt offense and try to find the best shot we possibly can without a true big. Our win against Oregon was ugly (if you didn't watch it that score looks a lot nicer than it actually was), and our win against Arizona was pretty. Both times we just shot lights out early in the second half to end it.

3. One of our writers will be in attendance on Saturday. What is the best part of the Haas Pavilion experience, and what should he do after the game is over?

Haas used to be a formidable homecourt advantage, but the Ben Braun years really took the life out of the crowd after each team performed worse than the previous one. It was back in force Thursday night, and it should be packed to the brim on Saturday with the Bears one win away from at least a share of the Pac-10 title in 50 years.

So if you guys win, tell your man to charge homecourt and start trashtalking like Eddie House. If not, flee. Top Dog isn't too far away--get the best weiners in the Bay Area and head home.

4. What does ASU need to do to beat California?

Pressure shots until the shot clock expires.  Get out in transition and grab easy points for your offense. Make sure the Bears don't exploit the inside with Boykin like they did in Tempe. Take them out of their comfort zone like Oregon State did last week and you should be in it until the end.

5. How can you possibly stop Eric Boateng? He went 11 for 11 from the field against Stanford on Thursday.

Boykin made Boateng work for his points last time (19 points on 15 shots is pretty good, but not as crazy as what he did in Maples); I guess we'll employ the same strategy again of playing him straight up and forcing other guys to hit shots. They couldn't do that in Tempe and hopefully they can't do it in Haas.

6. Which team in the Mountain West Conference has the best mascot? Since, after all, they supposedly will have 4 bids to the big dance...

No contest. New Mexico's superhero the Lobo.

Badass.

More photos » Paul Sakuma - AP

13 days ago: Arizona State center Eric Boateng (2) smiles with guard Jerren Shipp (44) late in the second half against Stanford of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. Arizona State defeated Stanford 68-60. Boateng was game high scorer with 24 points. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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Oh the ever tumultuous bubble.  It is what we live and die by.  The Sun Devils have climbed their way back on to the bubble, perhaps flirting with a tournament bid and a regular season championship all at the same time.  In a normal year, when you are fighting for the conference championship, you are probably pretty safe to make the NCAA Tournament.  But this is 2010, a new decade, and hopefully an outlier of the future of Pac-10 basketball.  Yeah, we've all heard about the losses to the NBA this year depleting the talent pool.  But, perhaps the biggest problem is the replacement of that talent.  There is no John Wall.  There are no Scottie Reynolds.  Go to the Eastcoast and ask for who the best player in the Pac-10 is and you'll likely hear crickets chirping...if even.  Yes the Pac-10 is down.  And that means we are stuck in the bubble talk until Selection Sunday (unless we take matters in to our own hands).  

Maybe this will send the message to schedule some tougher teams.  Make a trip to schools like Syracuse, UNC, Kansas, Michigan State, and you will be rewarded come bubble busting time.  Nonetheless we are where we are...squarely on the bubble.  Joe Lunardi has ASU as the last team out.   Go to the front page of ESPN's CBB section and there stands Rihards Kuksiks himself.  Apparently he is the symbol of bubble-ism. I know what you are thinking, NOT AGAIN!.  Last time we were on the bubble we saw a U of A team which we not only beat twice but also had a better record then, scheme their way onto the dance floor much to the dismay of Sparkyland.  We watched an under .500 Georgia team win the SEC tournament and burst our bubble like a bunch of 7 year olds on a sunny day in the park.  

This year can be different.  I feel it.  We are a team.  One of the best teams in the nation.  Not because we are more talented.  Not because we can defeat the powerhouses.  Frankly, we probably can't do either.  But there is no school that defines team better than the Sun Devils.  We have the senior leadership of a 4-year starting PG.  We have a sharpshooting junior who can be electric on the floor, but isn't afraid to pass.  We have a one game resurgence of a center whose career can be summarized as "clumsy and a disappointment."  We have a European influence, in Kuksiks who when on fire, is ON FIRE.  We have freshmen contributing serviceable minutes off the bench.  We have the smarts of an NBA coaches son.  This team is unselfish and hardworking and when it comes to March Madness, one man shows don't prove to win championships.   

With 3 games remaining on our schedule before we head to LA for the Pac-10 tournament, the Sun Devils sit where no one thought they would.  2nd place, just a half game behind Saturday's opponent, the Cal Bears.  The Sun Devils were expected to be the bottom feeder in the Pac-10 after the departure of Harden and Pendy.  Not under Herb Sendeks watch.  In who I strongly feel is one of the best coaches in the nation, the Sun Devils have rallied and proved the critics wrong.  Saturday's matchup gives the Devils a shot at what 6 years ago seemed impossible.  Winning the Pac-10.  I'll be covering the game Saturday live from Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA.  In what I expect to be an electric atmosphere, rarely felt by Sun Devil basketball fans, I can see the Devils prevailing and continuing to prove everyone wrong.  

My prediction: ASU 65 Cal 59