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The Arizona St. Sun Devils take on the Stanford Cardinal tonight at Staples Center in the first round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament. The two teams will vie for a spot in round two against the second-seeded California Golden Bears on Thursday.
If this game had been played one week ago, ASU fans probably wouldn't have too much reason for optimism about the Sun Devils' chances. After Sunday's stunning- and welcoming- 87-80 win over the Arizona Wildcats, though, the team has inspired a glimmer of hope for tonight's tournament game.
The Cardinal finished the season 10-8 in conference play, but struggled toward the end of the year as they faltered to a 5-7 record. The Cardinal did, however, beat the aforementioned Golden Bears in their regular season finale 75-70.
ASU will need to follow the same script it follwed against the Wildcats to win: share the basketball, avoid turnovers and generate easy buckets. If they can do so, there's no reason to think that the Sun Devils can't continue building on their current momentum.
The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona at 7:00. Share your thoughts and discuss the action live on this GameThread as the game progresses.
In the meantime, check out Matt's in-depth Pac-12 Tournament preview and Cory's analysis on ASU's chances. Also check out my Youtube game preview (courtesy of our new Youtube channel, which launched today) and subscribe to that channel here.