LIVE BLOG: Wildcats versus Sun Devils (with Oscar talk!)

Hello and welcome the Wildcat Live Blog: rivalry edition. We all know these games tend to be a little more heated than usual, but with so much on the line as far as Pac-10 and NCAA Tournament position goes, tonight’s game has the potential to be a classic -- unlike the 53-47 rock fight we saw in Tucson last month.

With the rest of the conference in action last night, the Wildcats (18-8, 8-5 Pac-10) and No. 11 Sun Devils (20-5, 9-4) will have a much better sense of where they stand after tonight. An Arizona win turns the conference upside down, with four (yes, four!) teams tied for second place at 9-5, including California (who shockingly lost by 18 to the cellar-dwelling Oregon Ducks), UCLA (losers of three of its last four) and these very Sun Devils. An ASU win puts Herb Sendek’s squad in sole possession of second place, one-half game behind the front-running Washington Cougars. Arizona would stay in fifth place, but would still be in the mix for an at-large tournament bid.

As Russ Pennell said on Wednesday, there are no secrets at this point in the season. Each team knows exactly how the other will attack. Arizona will hope its trio of juniors -- Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill and Nic Wise -- get off to a hot start and carry the offense, while Mike Dunlap’s match-up zone creates turnovers and easy transition opportunities, like it did against UCLA a week ago. Budinger and Wise have both averaged more than 20 ppg during this winning streak (wow!). The Sun Devils will look to get their All-America candidate James Harden the ball early and often, with Jeff Pendergraph limiting Hill’s touches underneath and hitting a few of his own shots to open things up for Harden in the second half.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that, despite his Sun Devil allegiances, Harden is an absolute joy to watch for any true basketball fan. Most gifted stars focus solely on their points/stats, with one eye wandering toward the NBA. Harden, on the other hand, might be the most patient, intelligent and effective perimeter player in college hoops. It’s rare to see Harden force an ill-advised shot. He’s cut out of that Brandon Roy or Manu Ginobili mode -- team-first, totally clutch. If the Wildcats stand any chance of quieting this raucous Tempe crowd, they will need to make sure Harden doesn’t get rolling. Freshman Kyle Fogg -- the unsung hero in Arizona’s resurgence -- will often see himself matched up one-on-one with Harden on the wing. Is the young fella up for it? I sure wouldn’t count Fogg out, but Harden is such a difficult match-up.

Much has been made about Arizona’s seven-game winning streak, and rightfully so. This team has brought back a Lute-era level of enthusiasm and excitement around Tucson. But it wasn’t too long ago when the Wildcats completely dominated this rivalry. ASU has won the last three match-ups, and have a four-game winning streak of its own going right now. The Wildcats have had a full week of rest to prepare for this battle, so the big three -- as well as Fogg, Zane Johnson and Jamelle Horne -- should be ready for big minutes tonight. The Fox Sports folks pointed out that Budinger has played 279 of a possible 280 minutes during this seven-game stretch. Expect him to tack on another 40.

X-FACTOR: ASU’s leading scorers -- Harden (21.3), Pender graph (13.7) and Rihards Kuksiks (10.1) -- shoot very well from the floor. Kuksiks, in particular, is a dead-eye shooter from three-point range. However, the rest of the Sun Devils are prone to missed shots and turnovers. Sophomore Ty Abbott -- who came into the season as a shooter to watch -- seems to have misplaced his shooting stroke somewhere in Tempe. After averaging 10 ppg with 35 percent shooting from three, most of us thought we’d see those numbers take a jump this year. However, Abbott has seen those numbers plummet to 7.3 ppg and a ghastly 23 percent shooting from downtown. Outside of a nice 3-7 performance in ASU’s 74-67 win over UCLA on Feb. 12, Abbott has only hit four of 44 3-pointers in Pac-10 play.

Arizona has shored up its 3-point defense as of late, but it might actually benefit the Wildcats to let Abbott fire away -- unless this happens to be the game he catches fire.

MONKEY WRENCH: During tonight’s game, ABC happens to be telecasting a little awards show. Perhaps you’ve heard of it -- the Oscars? I’m really hoping Slumdog Millionaire takes home the big prize, and I’m totally rooting for Mickey Rourke to capture Best Actor. Throughout this live blog, I might interject with a few Oscar reactions.

For example, I was pretty excited that Wall-E won Best Animated Feature, but I still can’t get over the fact that it wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. Forget every other fantastic film that came out this year. Wall-E was a remarkable achievement. It should’ve at least garnered a nomination. Oh, well.

TIP-OFF: Wow! The volume from the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe is overwhelming, even coming through my television. Meanwhile, Heath Ledger’s family is on stage accepting the Joker’s posthumous Oscar. Quite an emotional moment in what is typically a buttoned-down awards show.

19:08: Well, we’re off to an exciting start. Wise makes a terrific play, jumping the passing lane and coming up with that steal. He misses the lay-up, but Budinger comes flying out of nowhere with the follow-up slam. Pennell said the Wildcats didn’t attack the rim with enough aggression in the first match-up. That definitely wasn’t a problem there.

18:47: Pendergraph drops a soft jump hook over Hill. This should be a heck of a battle.

18:16: There’s a big play. Hill does a nice job closing off the baseline on that Harden drive and draws a charge.

17:52: Easy, boys. How about someone maintains possession of the ball for more than five seconds?

17:07: Budinger hits the offensive glass, once again, and converts, once again. He’s taken his play to a level I don’t think he knew he had.

16:51: There he is again! Budinger, playing free safety, picks off that sloppy pass. He drives it into the middle of the lane and draws ASU’s defense toward him. He kicks it back to Wise, who drills a three from the top of the key.

16:18: This is getting out of control. Fogg pokes the ball away from Harden, but Abbott responds by poking the ball into Wise. It’s basketball, not ping pong.

15:46: Harden drills a three from NBA range to tie it up at seven. Probably should get a hand in that guy’s face, huh?

14:42: Wise picks up another steal and attempts to go in for one of his patented twisting lay-ups, but Harden makes an All-American type play, blocking it cleanly from behind. Perfect timing.

14:22: Pendergraph draws a foul. Media timeout. Phew! I can barely keep up. Barry Tompkins makes a good point. Most of the turnovers thus far have been forced by good defense, not sloppy play.

13:59: Fogg has had a rough few minutes to start the game. He takes it to the rim, but Pendergraph is waiting for him and he blocks that shot with ease.

12:53: ASU runs their offense to perfection, setting up a wide-open Jamelle McMill

12:26: Wise answers with a three of his own. He’s turne into an absolute killer from 3-point range.

12:07: Harden worked very hard for that bucket. He grabs an offensive rebound and wiggles his way in for a lay-up.

11:47: Hill responds with a nifty jump-hook type move of his own.

11:38: Glasser buries a fall-away three from the corner. How did he do that?

10:50: Wise gets another steal, nearly dribbles out of bounds twice, but somehow keeps his feet and converts a reverse lay-up. Sun Devils lead 16-14

9:58: It was a good idea, Jamelle Horne, but that three fell a good foot short of the rim.

9:50: How does James Harden get five seconds to set up a 3-pointer? How? 19-14 ASU, as Harden already has eight points. Over on the Oscars, Benjamin Button steals yet another Oscar -- this time, winning Best Visual Effects over The Dark Knight. I don’t know why these awards shows drive me so crazy, but they do. The Dark Knight absolutely deserved that one, especially since it was inexplicably snubbed for the Best Picture category. At least it gets the nod for Sound Editing. I won’t even pretend to have an opinion about Sound Editing.

9:15: ASU sends three guys to guard Hill, who takes four steps to escape the trap. It worked, but unfortunately, that constitutes a traveling violation.

9:01: McMillan -- son of former Sonics great Nate McMillan -- drills his second three to put ASU ahead by eight.

8:29: Hill slams it down after a set inbounds play. No travel there. He follows it up with a fierce blocked shot on the other end.

7:48: Budinger blows by ASU’s defense along the baseline and explodes to the hoop for an acrobatic lay-up, cutting the lead to four.

7:16: So, the Wildcats might want to guard that McMillan guy. He just drilled his third three.

6:46: Fogg flashes a pull-up jumper from the elbow. I haven’t seen him attempt that move all year, but he shot that ball with confidence.

6:37: But we’ve seen him do that before. Fogg picks off the inbounds pass and fires it to Wise. He attempts a lay-up, but McMillan is whistled for a borderline blocking foul.

6:00: Holy cow, Chase Budinger! Fogg clangs an open three, but Budinger skies for the board and somehow got the ball over to Zane Johnson before traveling. He misses, but Fogg crashes the boards and draws the foul. He gets one of two to drop. 25-21 ASU.

5:52: McMillan airballs that three -- just an ugly shot, especially after his performance thus far -- but Pendergraph finds himself in the right spot. He draws the foul and hits one of two from the line.

5:41: Budinger sinks that three from the wing. He’s an animal.

5:14: Kuksiks ventures inside the 3-point line for a rare mid-range leaner, but he gets it to go.

4:47: ASU reaches in on Hill four separate times, but McMillan gets the hard-luck whistle. It leads to a Budinger 3-point attempt from the corner, but it barely misses.

3:53: Wise buzzes by everybody on that fast break and drops it off to Johnson for the easy lay-up. Is there anybody quicker in the Pac-10 conference? 29-26 ASU.

3:23: Budinger takes it hard to the hoop and he’s rewarded with a generous foul call, where he’ll attempt to convert two freebies. Pennell was right -- the key to beating this ASU zone is by attacking the rim. But Budinger surprisingly misses both.

3:17: Kuksiks takes advantage of a lazy UA defensive set by burying a corner three. ASU back up by seven.

2:58: Hill counters with a leaner inside. The Wildcats needed that one.

2:37: Kuksiks can’t be left alone in the corner. He replicates his shot from last time down. 36-28 ASU.

2:13: Pendergraph attempts to flop to draw an offensive foul on Hill, but the refs aren’t buying it. He gets that lay-up to fall.

1:49: OK, this is getting ridiculous. Kuksiks nails his third three in a row, after ball-faking Budinger out of his shoes. I’m not a math expert or anything, but you can’t match twos for threes and hope to stay in the game. ASU is 9-15 from beyond the arc; UA is 3-10.

1:12: Kuksiks finds Harden streaking down the middle of the lane for a monster slam. The ASU crowd is rocking now.

0:46: The lightning-quick Wise draws a blocking foul on Kuksiks -- his third. That could be a key play if the Wildcats can keep it close in the second half. Kuksiks has been red hot this first half.

0:15: Glasser makes the Wildcats pay for their inept perimeter defense with yet another 3-pointer. 10-16 from deep, giving ASU a 44-34 lead.

0:00: Wise attempts another off-balance lay-up, but that one doesn’t come close. Wildcats trail by 10.

HALFTIME: Well, this one isn’t too tough to figure right now. ASU is on fire from three, and UA is giving the Sun Devils’ shooters as much time and space as they need to shoot it. That’s really the difference in the game.

Arizona is doing a nice job everywhere else. Wise has 10, Budinger 9, Hill 8. That’s the kind of balance you want from the Big Three. But if Arizona doesn’t start closing out on Kuksiks, McMillan, Glasser and Harden, there’s no way they’re going to get back in this game.

However, we all know these Wildcats have a reputation as being a second-half team. Look for Dunlap to make the necessary adjustments (after a lot of hollering in the locker room) and for ASU to cool down. There’s no way the Sun Devils continue shooting 67 percent from the floor.

On the bright side, this game is way more exciting than the last time these two teams matched up.

SECOND HALF: Arizona should take it right at Kuksiks and see if the refs will whistle him for his fourth foul. Also, it must be noted that Ty Abbott -- who I talked about as having a rough shooting stretch in the Pac-10 season -- had five assists and didn’t force a single bad shot.

19:27: Wise somehow knocks the ball out of Abbott’s hands as he drives in for what appeared to be an uncontested lay-up.

18:14: Fogg confidently strokes that contested three right on target for the first points of the second half.

17:16: Hill appeared to travel, but he got the ball out to Fogg. Meanwhile, Glasser and Budinger get tied up, leading to a Glasser foul that should’ve been on Budinger, given that Chase had Glasser in a semi-headlock. It must be noted that the officials have had an awfully strong night tonight -- unlike some of the other games I’ve blogged this season.

16:40: Harden rims out that open three. Arizona dodged a bullet there.

16:15: Glasser sprints out ahead of everyone for an easy lay-up. Awful transition defense.

15:45: Fogg, perhaps too confident there, airballs a pull-up from the baseline.

15:22: Glasser takes it baseline and makes a nice pass to Pendergraph for a big dunk. ASU leads 48-37 -- the squad’s biggest lead of the ballgame. Meanwhile, the Oscars is going through the “people who died” montage. Sydney Pollack gets a nice ovation, but Paul Newman brings the house down. What a career that man had. Quick live-blog aside: best Newman performance? I’m partial to “The Hustler,” but it’d be hard to argue against “Cool Hand Luke” or “The Verdict.” Maybe after this ballgame wraps up, I’ll have myself a little Paul Newman movie marathon.

15:00: Hill misses an easy short jumper. Nothing is falling for the Wildcats -- 1-7 so far this second half. The game feels like it’s slipping away from the Wildcats. It will take a superhuman effort from someone like Budinger to get the Wildcats back in this.

14:33: Arizona runs a double screen to spring Wise for an open three, but it just doesn’t fall. That shot has been automatic for Wise lately.

14:08: Wow, James Harden is something else. He barrels into the Arizona defense, converts the difficult lay-up and draws the foul. He really knows how to pick his spots to assert himself.

14:00: Johnson promptly dribbles it out of bounds. ASU has every ounce of momentum available.

13:48: Harden buries an open three from the corner. He’s putting a stamp on his NCAA Player of the Year application tonight. I have him second behind Blake Griffin right now, but if Griffin can’t recover from that concussion he suffered against Texas last night, I’d have no problems moving Harden to No. 1 on that list.

In a non-related note, Danny Boyle rightly wins the Best Director award for his work on Slumdog Millionaire. He’s been Hollywood’s most underrated director for a decade, but that’s no longer the case, now that he has a mantle full of hardware. Nobody has a more diverse, yet distinct body of work. From Trainspotting to Sunshine to Millions to 28 Days Later to Slumdog, this guy can do it all.

13:06: Budinger makes a play -- finally. He picks off an ASU pass and takes it hard to the rack, where he draws the foul and hits two freebies.

13:01: Glasser finds Pendergraph on a no-look pass, leading to a huge dunk. ASU is breaking that press with ease.

12:38: Fogg nails an open corner three -- the first jumper any UA player has made in ages. 56-42 ASU.

12:00: Wise makes a nice dish to Budinger, but the lay-up rims out. It’s been that kind of half.

11:40: Kuksiks picks up his fourth foul on a careless reach in. Could prove costly if Arizona can catch fire here.

10:59: Arizona had four chances to get the ball to go on that possession, but none of them fell through the hoop. Meanwhile, five former Best Actress winners kiss up to the five current nominees. I’m rooting for Anne Hathaway here, but it‘s silly to bet against Kate Winslet. She’s been nominated again and again, and the Academy loves to give these things out as a career achievement thing, even if “The Reader” was lousy (I haven’t seen it, but I don’t know anyone who saw it and enjoyed it, yet).

10:18: Budinger gets a lay-up to fall, breaking what Tompkins tells us was a 17-minute field-goal-less stretch for Chase. Yikes. 56-44 ASU, so it’s not totally out of hand, right?

9:28: Fogg buries a three from the top of the key, giving UA an 8-0 run to cut the lead back into single digits. Baby steps. However, Horne picks up a silly reach-in foul in the backcourt.

6:55: McMillan makes a fantastic entry pass into Pendergraph for yet another slam.

6:50: Kate Winslet, for the gold! She’s overwhelmed with emotion. Nice moment for her. One day, Hathaway will get hers.

7:45: Hill gets that jump hook to drop, finally. Arizona is quietly back in this.

7:12: Glasser with another nifty pass, this time to Jerren Shipp.

6:56: Horne converts a long two to keep the deficit in single digits.

6:28: Glasser airballs that three. He doesn’t look quite right.

6:09: Wise rattles home a three with a hand right in his face, cutting the ASU lead to six. ASU is tighting up. UA is on a 15-4 run.

5:44: McMillan misses an open three and Pendergraph tips it out of bounds. Wildcat ball with a chance to cut this down to a one-possession game.

During the media timeout, the Oscars prepares to hand out the Best Actor award. It will either be Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke capturing the statue. Please please please let it be Rourke! That man put on a performance unlike anything we’ve seen since Robert De Niro in Raging Bull.

We’ve got five heavyweights out there to honor this monster category. De Niro, Michael Douglas, Adrien Brody, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ben Kingsley. As De Niro goes through Penn’s incredible career, Penn looks genuinely thrilled (and a bit red-faced).

5:29: Johnson hits one of the biggest shots of his Wildcat career -- a fadeaway three from the side to cut the Sun Devils’ lead to three.

5:03: Harden commits an uncharacteristic turnover in the middle of the lane. Budinger breaks free, but Glasser reaches in for the foul.

And the Oscar goes to … Sean Penn. I’m not surprised or disappointed. I haven’t seen this film yet, but I fully expect Penn’s performance is nothing short of brilliant. I just think the Oscars didn’t want Rourke up there, flying off the cuff and dropping any swear words on live TV.

4:53: Wise weaves his way all the way to the rim for one of his trademark acrobatic lay-ups. It’s a one-point ballgame! 60-59 Arizona, after a 20-4 run. Kuksiks picking up his fourth foul looms large.

4:23: Harden takes it hard to the rack, but Horne and Wise knock it free. The

4:03: And it’s Jamelle Horne with the huge jumper! Wide open three from the side (set up by a nice Wise move) as the Wildcats take a two-point lead. Unbelievable! Horne has worked tirelessly on that perimeter jumper, and it paid off there.

3:38: ASU gets two open threes, but can’t convert either. Pendergraph gets away with an over-the-back on the first rebound, but Harden cleanly grabs the second rebound and puts it back to tie the game at 62.

3:20: Wise buries a pair of freebies to put his Wildcats up 64-62.

2:50: Kuksiks gets that wide-open three to fall as ASU retakes the lead.

2:30: Hill takes it right at Kuksiks and hits that short jumper in the lane. 66-65 UA. Kuksiks had no interest in defending that shot, with his four fouls.

1:48: Kuksiks misses that one badly. Yikes.

Meanwhile, the Oscars puts together a goosebump-inducing montage of iconic movie scenes -- classics and current. Say what you want about the Oscars, but these moments are fantastic.

And the best picture Oscar goes to … (gotta be Slumdog, right?) … Steven Spielberg reads the words “Slumdog Millionaire.” And there you have it. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, do so the first chance you get. It’s that good.

1:15: How does Kuksiks get open again??? He hits another three (another!!) from the corner, giving him 17 points and putting the Sun Devils ahead 68-66. UA needs to get a good possession here. Wise will make something happen.

0:55: Wise explodes into the lane, but couldn’t get the lay-up to fall. However, Hill makes a great play on the ball for the putback. Tie game at 68.

0:25: Harden, isolated on Budinger, makes a strong move to the hoop. Budinger stands his ground and played great man-to-man defense. But Pendergraph slides in there and grabs the loose ball. Hill commit’s the foul, sending Pendergraph to the stripe. He calmly knocks down both. ASU up 70-68.

0:07: Wow, that couldn’t have been any closer. Budinger and Hill run a nice high-low play, but Hill missed the lay-up. He was pushed, but no call -- rightly so. A nervous Johnson misses the easy follow and ASU pulls down the rebound. Dunk it, Zane! An Arizona foul sends Glasser (FT% - 87) to the line for a one-and-one.

0:06: He misses the front end! Hill gets it to Wise, but he loses the handle. There’s a scrum at midcourt and nobody can get a shot off. What a heartbreaker for the Cats.

FINAL: 70-68 Sun Devils, in one of the most exciting games of the season.

First off, kudos to the Wildcats for not packing it in after trailing by 17. Pennell’s squad did a heck of a job clawing its way back into this thing, but none of the breaks went its way that last minute.

Lost in the shuffle here is one of Kyle Fogg’s best efforts. The freshman had 14 points and hit 3-5 from three to kickstart that outstanding second-half run when the ball wasn’t falling for the big three.

Wise led the Cats with 17, Hill managed 14 and Budinger added 13, but vanished for chunks of the second half.

Harden led all scorers with 18 points and added nine rebounds and five assists in yet another spectacular all-around effort. The more I see Harden, the more I like him. He’s a lock to be a terrific NBA player.

Pendergraph added 16 points, 12 boards and three blocks. Another underrated subplot to tonight’s outing was Pendergraph’s dominance on the boards. Hill -- who typically pulls down 12 rebounds a game -- was limited to four.

Kuksiks was the star of the show, hitting 5-10 from deep on his way to 17 points. Had Arizona limited his open looks better in the first half and that last minute, the Wildcats would’ve come up with the victory -- the game was that close.

Arizona State (21-5, 10-4) is now the clear No. 2 in the Pac-10, with Arizona (18-9, 8-6) firmly positioned in fifth. The Wildcats have four more games to bolster their tournament resume, with a tough game at Pullman to face the upset-minded Washington State Cougars -- fresh off their one-point win over UCLA. Thursday’s tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. That live blog might be a bit delayed, thanks to all the time I’ll be spending in Marana for the Accenture Match Play tourney, but look for it sometime on Friday.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747