Wildcats & Sun Devils coming to Maples

There will be a couple of tough games at Maples this weekend:

• The Arizona Wildcats on Thursday at 7:00 (It's Recycling Night – bring your used athletic shoes.)
• The Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday at 2:00 (Stay in Maples after the game for the celebration of Tara's 800+ career wins.)

Although the Wildcats have won just three games and the Sun Devils one at Maples in the past 29 years, we can expect them to fight hard for another victory. They caused considerable anxiety for Cardinal fans last season at Maples – the Wildcats led 42-40 at the half and the Sun Devils led 29-25 at the half. I hope that the Cardinal take control from the get-go this time around.

This is how the Wildcats and Sun Devils match up with the Cardinal statistically:

Points per game	77.5	80.8	66.2
Scoring margin	+18.8	+15.2	+9.6
Field goal %	.477	.466	.393
3-pointers per game	6.7	6.0	3.8
3-point %	.374	.328	.253
Free throw %	.755	.639	.700
Rebounds per game	43.5	44.0	41.9
Rebounding margin	+9.6	+5.8	+6.8
Assists per game	17.2	18.2	13.6
Turnovers per game	14.3	17.8	17.9
Assist/turnover ratio	1.20	1.02	0.76
Steals per game	6.8	10.0	11.1
Blocks per game	3.8	4.0	3.0
Win-loss record	10-2	11-2	10-2
Rank	#4/4	--/39	#29/34
RPI	6	40	26
Schedule strength	1	170	49

  Arizona Wildcats

Arizona has its best non-conference record since 2004-05, losing only to #7 Texas A&M and to Nevada. Their win-loss record (11-2 overall, 2-0 conference) places them 2nd in the Pac-10, their RPI (40) places them 4th, but their strength of schedule (170) places them last. They are not ranked in the national polls, but got votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this week.

The Wildcats are first in the Pac-10 in assists. They are second in points per game, in rebounds per game and in field goal percentage. They began the Pac-10 season last week with a 109-94 win over Oregon.

Third-year coach Niya Butts is relieved by the Wildcats' increased depth this season. They have eleven players on the roster, all of whom average more than ten minutes per game — that's three more players than last season. She thinks the team is progressing at a good pace. Michelle Smith says that coach Butts, "is building a nice program in Tucson. This could be the breakout season."

Arizona's probable starters are:

• #3, 6'2" senior forward Ify Ibekwe is a preseason candidate for the Naismith award and the Lowe's Senior CLASS award. She leads the Wildcats in points (15.5), rebounds (10.3 (best in the Pac-10 and #26 in the nation)) and blocks (1.9) per game. She has four double-doubles this season.


• #00, 5'11" sophomore guard Davellyn Whyte, the 2009-10 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, is the Wildcats' second-best scorer with 14.8 points per game, including 1.8 3-pointers. She has scored in double-digits in all but one game this season.


• #5, 5'5" redshirt junior guard Shanita Arnold, a transfer from Arkansas, practiced with the Wildcats last season but did not play. She comes in as the point guard, taking a lot of the pressure off Davellyn Whyte. She averages 6.2 assists per game (best in the Pac-10 and #11 in the nation) with just 3.5 turnovers for a very good 1.77 assist-to-turnover ratio. She averages 8.1 points per game.


• #53, 6'1" senior forward Soana Lucet is the Wildcats' third-best scorer (13.0 ppg) and third-best rebounder (5.8 rpg)


• #12, 5'8" junior guard Brooke Jackson is the Wildcats' only 3-point threat besides Whyte. She averages 1.8 3-pointers and 8.9 points per game.

Here are Arizona's 2010-11 statistics and their roster.

  Arizona State Sun Devils

The Sun Devils are on a seven-game winning streak after early losses to #5 Tennessee and #22 Florida State. Their best win was a 79-66 upset of #16 DePaul. Their win-loss record 10-2 overall, 2-0 conference) places them 3rd in the Pac-10, their RPI (26) places them 3rd, and their strength of schedule (49) places them 5th. They are not ranked, but got votes in the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this week.

The Sun Devils have twelve players who average between nine and 28 minutes per game. Coach Charli Turner Thorne is getting more and more excited about the depth of the team. She said. "We just have a lot of options. We have a lot of people that have different strengths or maybe a little bit sharper on any given day. That's fun."

The Sun Devils' probable starters are:

• #1, 5'5" redshirt senior guard Dymond Simon is back from her second torn ACL, picking up from where she left off as a strong offensive player. She is the Sun Devils' leading scorer with 15.1 points per game. She has scored in double-digits in every game this season – in an average of 28 minutes. She makes the most 3-pointers, but that's just over one per game. She averages 2.8 assists and the same number of turnovers.


• #35, 5'9" senior guard Tenaya Watson averages 8.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.


• #23, 5'9" junior guard Markisha Patterson averages 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.


• #25, 6'2" junior forward Kimberley Brandon is the leading rebounder (7.3) and second-best scorer (9.3)


• #32, 6'5" senior forward Becca Tobin averages 6.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Here are ASU's 2010-11 statistics and their roster.