Bordow: After loss to Cougs, it may be RIP for Sun Devils’ RPI

James Harden drove past one Washington State defender and into another. The game clock was taunting him. Five seconds, four seconds, three seconds.

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Sun Devils fall short vs. No. 6 Cougars

Harden elevated, put up a shot with his left hand and watched in despair as it hit the rim and fell to the floor.

The buzzer sounded and the scoreboard reflected the hard day’s work:

Washington State 56, Arizona State 55.

Wells Fargo Arena became a cauldron of emotions.

Harden stood motionless, in disbelief. The Cougars celebrated. And a few idiots in the stands, angry that WSU center Aron Baynes wasn’t called for a foul on Harden, launched water bottles onto the floor.

It was a shameful ending to a wonderful basketball game — stay classy, Sun Devil fans — and the second straight season WSU left Tempe with a one-point win.

Last year, the defeat was just another close loss in a series of close losses.

Saturday’s disappointment threw a much bigger punch.

Not just because Harden thought he was fouled.

Because the loss was a critical blow to ASU’s chances of making the NCAA tournament.

The Devils, who were once atop the Pac-10 with a 4-0 record, have lost three straight games. Their next three: At UCLA, at USC, at Arizona.

That has all the makings of a six-game losing streak, which is why getting swept at home by the Washington schools may be the difference between the hysteria of the NCAA tournament and the anonymity of the NIT.

There was no point in asking the Sun Devils about March. Coach Herb Sendek doesn’t let them see beyond the next possession or the next game.

But it’s not hard to see the future.

ASU just doesn’t have enough talent — particularly on the offensive end — to survive the obstacle course that’s the Pac-10.

Yes, Harden is a wondrous player, as he proved again with his game-high 25 points Saturday. And Jeff Pendergraph is one of the better big men in the Pac-10, although the Cougars limited him to just five shots and six points with their constant double-teams.

But what beat the Devils Saturday, what will get them beat down the road, is the lack of a third scoring option.

Harden had 10 field goals against the Cougars. The rest of the Sun Devils had 11.

Freshman Ty Abbott was 2 of 8 from 3-point range, sophomore Jerren Shipp 0-for-3. And while point guards Jamelle McMillan and Derek Glasser don’t turn the ball over much, they also don’t score: They had a combined five points in 40 minutes of play.

“We don’t have great scoring balance right now,” Sendek said. “Ideally that’s what you want to be able to project.”

You can argue that if the officials don’t swallow their whistle on Harden’s final drive and he makes two free throws, the Devils have their victory and no one is talking about their offensive woes.

But ASU needed Harden to be a hero because it couldn’t put the ball in the basket the previous 39 minutes. The Devils were 2 of 14 from 3-point range.

Consider this quote from Cougars’ guard Derrick Low on the difference between defending the Sun Devils and the Arizona Wildcats, who beat WSU 76-64 on Thursday.

“When you don’t need as much help as we needed against Arizona, it helps a lot,” he said.

The Devils are opening some eyes, although not as many as the bright pink shirt quarterback Rudy Carpenter wore to the game.

(Goodness, Rudy. You looked like a human crayon).

The announced attendance was 10,104, the upper deck was half full and the noise was reminiscent of an Arizona or UCLA game.

Clearly, college basketball is no longer an afterthought in Tempe.

But the NCAA tournament?

That likely will have to wait a year.