ASU shoots lights out in final Pac-10 tuneup

Everyone had their own idea of what's gotten into the water around Wells Fargo Arena the past week.

Why such curiosity? Because as the Arizona State men's basketball team concluded its nonconference season with an 84-47 shellacking of Central Connecticut State on Monday night at Wells Fargo Arena, the numbers are jarring.

In the past two games, the 17th-ranked Sun Devils (10-1) are 60-for-104 (57.7 percent) from the field, 26-for-52 (50 percent) from behind the arc.

And, as ASU coach Herb Sendek likes to point out, 48 of their 60 field goals have assists attached to them.

"That was unexpected," sophomore James Harden said of Monday's 65 percent shooting.

The Sun Devils didn't miss a two-point field goal until two minutes after halftime, as ASU shot 79 percent in the first half, with all five misses coming on 3-point attempts.This all comes at a good time for the Sun Devils, who begin Pac-10 play on Friday on the road against undefeated Stanford and California, two of the surprise teams in the early going.

Sendek praised his team's unselfishness: "You get a sense they kind of like each other," he said.

Harden fared the worst among regulars, "only" hitting 10 of 17 shots for 24 points to lead all five starters in double figures for a second consecutive game.

Ty Abbott had 15 points, and the other three starters - Derek Glasser, Jeff Pendergraph and Rihards Kuksiks - were a combined 13 of 14 from the floor.

Harden believed it starts in practice, and took another leap after the controversial BYU comeback victory 10 days ago, which he called "scary."

Pendergraph said it's as easy as making shots, but also conceded a couple of tweaks by coaches played a part: "It's a matter of us playing well together and clicking, like a band of brothers instead of just being teammates," he said.

For all intents and purposes, Central Connecticut State was done midway through the first half. The Sun Devils led 29-11, 42-17 and 49-22 at halftime.

Whatever can or can't explain the rash of swishes, it was a game of numbers. Not only did ASU shoot its eighth-best mark in school history, but outrebounded the Blue Devils 18-3 by intermission.

The pedal eased up a bit in the second half, much to Sendek's chagrin, but there was no denying how easy it's looked for six days.

So for ASU, it's a happy New Year, and hello to Season Two: The Pac-10 grind.

"We did some pretty good things (Monday)," Harden said, then suggested success will continue early in 2009.