They're all statement games for Devils now

This being an All-Star weekend full of the NBA's primo players - some of whom have summer camps that Arizona State men's basketball players have attended - it only made sense for the likes of Jeff Pendergraph and James Harden to partake in this weekend's festivities.

Amaré Stoudemire is already here. LeBron James, Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant (Harden's idol growing up in Los Angeles) will all be here.

But such an easy correlation may not be a slam dunk, because while the 18th-ranked Sun Devils were smart enough to weave around the "statement game" talk, Thursday's tilt with No. 11 UCLA and Sunday's matchup with USC do carry a bevy of importance in the crowded Pac-10 standings.

Harden is familiar with one or two of the aforementioned prime-time players, but apparently he won't be hanging around.

"No," Harden said. "I'm focused. These are the biggest games of our season. They mean a lot to us. We know what's at stake."

Because we're approaching mid-February, and because last week's road sweep of the Oregon schools moved ASU (18-5, 7-4 Pac-10) back into the thicket of contending teams - not to mention that they'll host the Pac-10 leader UCLA and another not far behind in USC - outsiders tried to tempt the Sun Devils into grandiose statements of this week's importance.

The top six teams are separated by 2 1/2 games, and everyone outside winless Oregon is within 4 1/2 games.

"There's a lot of punches being thrown in the Pac-10," Sendek said. "It's hard not to take a couple right hooks."

But given that scenario and the likelihood this nine-team traffic jam doesn't loosen up, Sendek's boys didn't bite.

Thursday's rematch (the Sun Devils won at Pauley Pavilion in overtime exactly one month ago) may prove to be a significant step in either direction when it comes to winning a regular season conference championship, but Herb Sendek's players are taking their coach's tunnel vision view.

"Yeah, until Sunday comes," Pendergraph said when asked if UCLA was one of those defining games. "Every game is a statement game. Thursday will be a statement game. Then regardless of what happens, how we rebound or come off Sunday is going to be a statement. Then (Arizona next Sunday) is a statement game. All of them are until we're done."

Point guard Derek Glasser suffered head and neck injuries and missed last Saturday's game. Rihards Kuksiks was worn down by the flu, didn't practice last week or play last Thursday. Ty Abbott can't buy a basket since Pac-10 play began.

So the quest for continuity continues, and March isn't far away anymore.

"If we would have won against Washington there definitely would have been a stride and momentum run, but that kind of put a wrench in the tires," Pendergraph said. "We're rolling, but it's hard to get real momentum off two games on the road. This weekend will be a determining factor and a good way to tell how we're rolling and how we can get things going for March."

No. 11 UCLA vs No. 18 Arizona State

When: 7 p.m. tonight

Where: Wells Fargo Arena

TV/Radio: ESPN/KTAR (620 AM)

Outlook: UCLA: The Pac-10-leading Bruins are on a four-game winning streak since falling to Washington three weeks ago. Against the Bay Area schools, USC and an odd matchup with Notre Dame, UCLA enjoyed a 23-point average margin of victory, mostly because they've averaged 86 points per game. Besides their defense, it's been the likes of Nikola Dragovich, Alfred Aboya and freshman Jrue Holiday who've been terrific the past few weeks.

Arizona State: Point guard Derek Glasser suffered head and neck injuries last week in Oregon, but after he had to wear a neck brace briefly, Glasser was cleared to play Monday and reported no pain or headaches since he crashed into an Oregon player setting a screen on him. In 11 conference games, Ty Abbott is 10 of 57 from the floor (.175 percent) and 3 of 38 (.079) from behind the arc. This will be Herb Sendek's 500th career game as a head coach.