May 1, 2002
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SUN DEVILS FINISH SEASON IN NIT: The Arizona State men's basketball team (14-15; 7-11 in Pac-10) beat four NCAA Tournament teams this past season, including three from the Pac-10. ASU beat Pac-10 Champion Oregon 95-88 on Jan. 6, No. 10 Arizona 88-72 on Jan. 23 and won at No. 20 UCLA 69-68 on Feb. 16. It marked the first time ASU has topped Arizona and UCLA in the same season since 1985-86. The Sun Devils were 13-9 on the year in mid-February but three key injuries and a streak of games to finish the year against six straight ranked teams put ASU at 14-14 to finish the regular season before it lost at UNLV 96-91 in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament. ASU went 4-9 against NCAA Tournament teams as it also beat Utah 71-62 on Dec. 4 and finished the regular season by playing 11 of its final 13 games against NCAA squads. The NIT game on March 12 at UNLV marked ASU's first game against an unranked opponent since Feb. 9 when ASU beat Washington.
TOUGH GAMES DOWN THE STRETCH: ASU's six-game stretch to finish the regular season was the first time in school history it played six straight ranked teams. ASU's 1974-75 team played four straight ranked teams, also to finish the season. ASU beat No. 19 Arizona 107-92 to conclude the regular season that year and then went on to the NCAA Tournament where it beat No. 10 Alabama 97-94 in Tempe. ASU then played in Portland where it beat No. 16 UNLV 84-81 before losing to top-ranked UCLA 89-75.
NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED: Awvee Storey earned his Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in communications and sociology at ASU's Dec. 15 mid-year commencement, while fellow classmates Brad Nahra and Chad Prewitt also are expected to earn Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degrees with concentrations in communications and business this spring.
THE INJURY BREAKDOWN: The Sun Devils were led by All-Pac-10 honoree Chad Prewitt, who led ASU in scoring in 15 of the final 21 games and averaged 18.9 points and 7.3 boards in Pac-10 play, both sixth in the league. Prewit played the final four games with a partially torn ligament in his right (shooting) elbow which he injured on Feb. 25 in practice. Prewitt showed the ability to shoot the three this past year, as he was 24-of-51 (.471) from beyond the arc in the final 14 games. He hit 5-of-7 at Stanford on Jan. 31 and was 5-of-5 at UCLA on Feb. 16. Prewitt had a career-high 33 points vs. Washington on Feb. 9, the most points by a Sun Devil since Eddie House had 40 vs. UCLA on Feb. 17, 2000, a span of the past 66 games. He also was 22-of-28 (.786) from the free throw line in his final five games. Prewitt's injury played a big role in the late losses. In the final four games after being injured, Prewitt was 17-of-50 (.380) from the field and 5-of-16 (.313) from the three-point stripe and averaged 14 points. In the previous 25 games, Prewitt was 149-of-269 (.553) from the field, 29-of-67 (.433) from the three-point stripe and averaged 17.5 points per game. Awvee Storey and Kenny Crandall returned to the lineup late in the year after missing games with injury. Storey was poked in the eye on Feb. 9 against Washington and had a swollen left retina and a laceration of the lower left eyelid. He missed the next three games before returning for the Feb. 28 Cal game. Storey started 16 games and is averaged 16.2 minutes. He notched nine double-figure scoring games on the year. ASU also was without Crandall for six games as he sprained a ligament in his right foot on Jan. 31 at Stanford. Crandall averaged 18.7 minutes per game on the year and was 35-of-83 (.422) from the three-point stripe on the year. In Pac-10 play, he was 21-of-46 (.457). He averaged 7.3 points and shot 50 percent from the field in Pac-10 tilts (28-of-56).
SCRIBE AWARD: Jeff Faraudo of the Oakland Tribune surveyed 25 beat writers of Pac-10 basketball on various topics at the end of the regular season and ASU senior Chad Prewitt was voted the league's most underrated player. Prewitt got nine votes, outdistancing Luke Jackson and Luke Ridnour of Oregon, Phillip Ricci of OSU who each to two votes. Prewitt also got one vote for league's best interview while Curtis Millage got a vote for the top defensive player.
COMBINE THE TWO: With Crandall and Storey out for three games, ASU statistically was without 35.6 minutes, 13.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game (stats before the injured players returned). Players stepped up, as Storey actually only played two minutes vs. Washington State on Feb. 7 due to a lower back sprain. Curtis Millage, who led the team in minutes played at 30.1 per game, was the only Sun Devil to play 40 minutes when he went the distance against Washington on Feb. 9. Donnell Knight played a season-high 28 minutes at Arizona while Chad Prewitt played a career-high 38 vs. Washington en route to his career-high 33 points. Knight posted back-to-back double-digit points for the only time this year with 14 points and 10 boards vs. Washington State and 10 points vs. Washington. He also made his final 10 free throws on the year. Also, senior Brad Nahra played a career-high 32 minutes in the win at No. 20 UCLA on Feb. 16 and had four assists.
QUICK NOTES: ASU was 14-3 (.824) when it led at the half but 0-10 when it trailed and 0-2 when tied...freshman point guard Jason Braxton averaged 8.6 points in the 10 games against ranked opponents and averaged 26.3 minutes and 8.8 points in the final 14 games...junior point guard Kyle Dodd had 66 assists and just 20 turnovers on the year, a ratio of 3.30-to-1. In the final 21 games, he had 44 assists and just 14 turnovers...ASU is 26-4 (.867) under Evans when it shoots at least 50 percent, including a 16-2 (.889) mark in the past two seasons...sophomore Justin Allen played a season-high 17 minutes at USC on Feb. 14. He finished the season 7-of-15 (.467) from beyond the three-point stripe in the final nine games...after starting the season 3-of-19 (.158) from beyond the three-point stripe in the first seven games, Curtis Millage was 29-of-82 (.354) in the final 22 games...ASU averaged 16.78 assists per game in Pac-10 play, first in the loop...ASU outrebounded 20 of 29 opponents on the year.
ONE MORE IMPROVEMENT NOTE: How big of a improvement did Prewitt make to become the 18th leading scorer in ASU history? Only one other player in ASU's top 25 chart scored less in his first year. ASU 1988 Hall of Fame inductee Fat Lever is 19th on the ASU scoring chart with 1,137 points but averaged just 3.6 points in his freshman year of 1978-79. Lever ended up averaging 9.2 points in his sophomore year, 11.6 in his junior year and 16.6 in his senior year for a 10.1 career average. Prewitt averaged just 4.1 points in his freshman year.
EXHIBIT A: Chad Prewitt is the first four-year player in Rob Evans' tenure at ASU and it is tough to remember any Pac-10 player improving any more than "Big Red" from a freshman to a senior season. ASU has been void of four-year players in its recent history, with only Eddie House (1996-2000), Jeremy Veal (1994-98), Quincy Brewer (1992-97) and Ron Riley (1992-96) playing four seasons beginning with the 1992-93 season. Prewitt, who is the 27th Sun Devil to score 1,000 points with 1,177, averaged 17.0 points per game this year and shot .520 from the field. He averaged 18.4 points and 8.2 boards in the final 21 games. Prewitt had 12 20-point games on the year (29 games), tied for fifth in the league, after posting just two in his first three seasons (89 games). A note on his improvement: Prewitt scored more points in the Jan. 4-6 weekend sweep of the Oregon schools (52 points) when he earned Pac-10 Player of the Week than he did his whole Pac-10 freshman season (1998-99), as he had 46 points in 18 games.
NIT: ASU made its eighth appearance in the postseason NIT and has a 3-8 (.273) mark after losing at UNLV 96-91 on March 12. Overall, ASU is 20-29 (.408) in postseason play.
Year Score(s) Site 2001-2002 UNLV 91, ASU 91 Las Vegas 1999-2000 NC State 60, ASU 57 (second round) Raleigh 1999-2000 ASU 83, New Mexico State 77 (first round) Tempe 1997-98 Hawaii 90, ASU 73 Honolulu 1993-94 BYU 74, ASU 67 Provo 1992-93 Georgetown 78, ASU 68 Tempe 1991-92 Utah 60, ASU 58 (second round) Tempe 1991-92 ASU 71, Cal-Santa Barbara 58 (first round) Santa Barbara 1989-90 Long Bearch State 86, ASU 71 Tempe 1982-83 Texas Christian 78, ASU 76 (second round) Tempe 1982-83 ASU 87, Cal State Fullerton 83 (first round) Tempe
REDHAGE AT THE LINE: Three-year letterman Shawn Redhage, now tied for the fifth-best free throw percentage mark in ASU history, made 30-of-40 (.750) from the line this past season. Redhage had a season-high 13 points at California on Feb. 2 and averaged 16.3 minutes and 5.9 points in the final 15 games and shot 52.8 percent (38-of-72) from the field in that time. He played a season-high 24 minutes at Washington State on Jan. 12 and posted eight points and also played 24 minutes vs. Washington on Feb. 9. He had seven assists vs. UCLA on Jan. 17 and had eight points and six boards at UCLA on Feb. 16 in 15 minutes.
ASU CAREER FREE THROWS Rk. Name (Seasons) FT-A Pct. 1. Alex Austin (1986-90) 255-313 .815 2. Rick Taylor (1974-78) 253-311 .814 3. Dennis Hamilton (1963-66) 261-321 .813 4. Steve Beck (1983-87) 298-368 .810 T5. Shawn Redhage (1999-pres.) 169-209 .809 T5. Isaac Burton (1993-95) 208-257 .809
2002-2003 SCHEDULE: ASU's schedule next year includes a trip to the Maui Invitational (Nov. 25-27) with (final RPI in parentheses) Kentucky (11), Utah (31), Virginia (50), UMASS (106), Indiana (20), Gonzaga (21) and Chaminade all in the field, a home game with Brigham Young (52), a game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City with Utah (31), a game against Purdue (100) in the Las Vegas showdown and Nebraska (109), UC-Santa Barbara (85) and Bucknell (246) playing in ASU's holiday tournament. ASU also will host Nevada (107) and Lafayette (203).
IMPACT RECRUIT: Junior Curtis Millage made his mark in his initial season, as he was one of three players to start all 29 games (Tommy Smith and Chad Prewitt were the others) and led the team in minutes per game at 30.1. He averaged 13.9 points in Pac-10. In his final 25 games, he averaged 14.3 points, including a season-high 27 at Arizona on Feb. 20, 24 at Washington State on Jan. 12 and 21 at UNLV on March 12. He was 45-of-57 (.789) from the free throw line in the final 16 games and averaged 4.9 boards in his final 14 games, including 11 at California on Feb. 2. He played 40 minutes vs. Washington on Feb. 9 and averaged 32.5 in the final seven games.
ROB EVANS: Rob Evans (146-141/.509) ended his fourth season at Arizona State in 2001-2002 (tenth overall) after being hired on April 7, 1998. The 1997 SEC Coach of the Year spent six seasons at Ole Miss, compiling an 86-81 (.515) record. He led the Rebels to a 42-16 record in his final two seasons after going 44-65 (.403) in his first four seasons, winning two SEC West titles, and led Ole Miss to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1937-38. The 55-year old Evans is a 1968 graduate of New Mexico State, where he captained two NCAA Tournament teams, is a 1989 inductee of the NMSU Athletic Hall of Fame and was named to the school's All-Time Basketball team. He is 60-60 (.500) at ASU. Evans' Ole Miss squads were known as a tough man-to-man teams which ranked 13th in the nation and second in the SEC in 1997-98 in rebounding at +6.6, despite no player was in the top 30 in rebounding nationally. Ole Miss held opponents to just 30 percent from the three-point stripe, best in the SEC, and to just 40.6 percent from the field. He is 102-75 (.576) in the past six seasons.
PLAYER NOTES
#1 JASON BRAXTON: A top 50 recruit from last year...started the final 20 games at point guard...played at least 20 minutes in 22 of 29 games...averaged 26.3 minutes and 8.8 points in the final 14 games...averaged 8.6 points in the 10 games against ranked opponents...had season-high 17 points, including 5-of-6 from the free throw line, in 34 minutes in season finale at UNLV on March 12...led ASU with 12 points vs. No. 15 Arizona in first-round loss of the Pac-10 Tournament on March 7...had season-high seven assists vs. No. 21 California on Feb. 28...played a season-high 35 minutes and had a season high eight rebounds and added 10 points at No. 14 Arizona on Feb. 20...had eight points in 25 minutes at No. 20 UCLA on Feb. 16...posted 12 points in 34 minutes at No. 25 USC...posted season-high 13 points vs. Washington State on Feb. 7...six assists at No. 18 Stanford on Jan. 31...10 points vs. No. 10 Arizona on Jan. 23...seven points vs. No. 18 USC on Jan. 19...10 points in 27 minutes vs. No. 9 UCLA on Jan. 17...first start was vs. Canisius on Dec. 28...seven points and four steals at Oregon on Dec. 20 in Pac-10 opener...posted eight points in 27 minutes vs. UC Riverside on Nov. 27.
#2 DONNELL KNIGHT: Had back-to-back scoring games for the only time of the year vs. Washington State (14 points on Feb. 7) and Washington (10 points on Feb. 9)...made 18-of-21 (.857) free throws in his final 23 games...made 10 straight free throws to finish the year...had seven points and five boards in season-high 28 minutes at No. 14 Arizona on Feb. 20...had 14 points and 10 boards (second career double-double) in Feb. 7 win over Washington State in 26 minutes...posted five points and six boards in 22 minutes vs. Oregon on Jan. 6...12 points in 19 minutes vs. Utah on Dec. 4.
#3 KYLE DODD: Had 44 assists and 14 turnovers in final 21 games (362 minutes)...in his 90-game career, he has 202 assists and just 83 turnovers, a 2.43-to-1 ratio...averaging just one turnover every 23.01 minutes in his career (1910 minutes and 83 turnovers)...had five assists in 24 minutes vs. Washington on Feb. 9...had 10 points at Washington on Jan. 10...six points and five assists vs. Oregon on Jan. 6...seven points vs. Utah on Dec. 4...has five dunks in three-year career (two in 2001-2002).
#4 TOMMY SMITH: Scored in double digits in 10 of the final 15 games...entered the year 2-of-11 (.182) from the three-point stripe, but was 11-of-29 (.379) from beyond the arc and was 11-of-26 (.423) from the three-point stripe in Pac-10 play...had season-high 22 points and 10 rebounds for third double-double of season vs. No. 21 California on Feb. 28...10 points and nine boards at UNLV on March 12...14 points and six boards vs. Washington on Feb. 9...posted 15 points and seven boards in 37 minutes at California on Feb. 2...16 points vs. No. 10 Arizona on Jan. 23...posted 18 points and 10 boards vs. No. 18 USC on Jan. 19...19 points, nine boards and three blocks at Washington State on Jan. 12...posted 18 points, eight boards and six assists vs. Oregon State on Jan. 4...16 points at Oregon on Dec. 20 in Pac-10 opener...posted 19 points and nine boards at BYU on Nov. 27...had 14 points and career-high 14 boards vs. Portland State on Nov. 20.
#11 AWVEE STOREY: Suffered a swollen retina vs. Washington on Feb. 9 and bleeding beneath the retina kept him out of action for three games until Feb. 28...had started the previous six games before the Washington game and then missed the next three games...had 16 double-doubles in 85-game ASU career...posted a career-high 29 points at UNLV on March 12 in final game...had 15 points on 7-of-9 (.778) shooting vs. No. 17 Stanford on March 2...posted 12 points in 20 minutes at No. 18 Stanford on Jan. 31...eight points and seven boards vs. No. 10 Arizona on Jan. 23...16 points and 10 boards vs. UC Riverside on Nov. 27...earned his Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in communications and sociology at ASU's Dec. 15 mid-year commencement.
#12 KENNY CRANDALL: Missed six games from Feb. 2-Feb. 2 as he sprained a ligament in his right foot on Jan. 31, at Stanford...in Pac-10 games he shot 21-of-46 (.457) from the three-point stripe...scored in double figures in five games on the year...averaged 6.6 points, shot 19-of-36 (.528) from the floor and was 5-of-6 (.833) from the free throw line in the eight games (counting Stanford) before the Jan. 31 injury...35-of-83 (.422) from the three-point stripe on the year...12 points and six boards, including 3-of-5 from the three-point stripe, off the bench vs. No. 18 USC on Jan. 19...14 points on 5-of-5 shooting vs. Oregon on Jan. 6...14 points in season-high 33 minutes vs. Oregon State on Jan. 4...had 10 points and seven boards in first start of season on Dec. 22 at OSU...had 22 points vs. Prairie View A & M on Dec. 1, including 19 in the first half.
#14 CURTIS MILLAGE: Averaged 14.4 points in final 17 games...had team-leading 46 steals...45-of-57 (.789) from the free throw line in final 16 games...averaged 4.9 boards in final 14 games...led the team in rebounding in three of the final 12 games, including career-high 11 at California on Feb. 2...averaging 32.2 minutes in final 10 games...made 27-of-33 (.818) free throws in the final eight games...21 points in 39 minutes at UNLV on March 12...posted three 20-point games on the year, all of them on the road...15 points and career-high six assists vs. No. 17 Stanford on March 2...earned CollegeInsider.com All-Junior College Transfer Team honors...had career-highs with 27 points and four three-pointers at No. 14 Arizona on Feb. 20...the only Sun Devil to play 40 minutes in a game this year, as he went the distance vs. Washington Feb. 9 and had 17 points, including 6-of-6 fom the free throw line...14 points and eight boards vs. Washington State on Feb. 7...14 points (6-of-10 shooting) and six boards in 34 minutes at No. 18 Stanford on Jan. 31...19 points and eight boards vs. No. 10 Arizona on Jan. 23...15 points and seven boards vs. No. 9 UCLA on Jan. 17...24 points at Washington State on Jan. 12...15 points at Washington on Jan. 10...17 points vs. Oregon on Jan. 6...named to the all-tournament team of ASU's holiday tournament after scoring 19 vs. Northwestern on Dec. 29...had 13 points and eight boards at Oregon State on Dec. 22...had 15 points at Oregon on Dec. 20 in Pac-10 opener...led ASU with 18 points, including 10-of-13 from the free throw line, against Utah on Dec. 4 at America West Arena...had 12 points at BYU on Nov. 24...16 points in season opener vs. Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 17.
#20 BRAD NAHRA: Former walkon who appeared in 70 games in four-year career...played in the final 10 games of the year...played 32 minutes at No. 20 UCLA and had four assists...averaged 7.8 points and 20.0 minutes in final five games of 2001...had team-high 12 points in 19 minutes vs. #8 Arizona on Feb. 21, 2001...had 11 points in career-high 26 minutes in win over Oregon on March 3, 2001...made 9-of-10 free throws to end last year and averaged 11.4 minutes per game in Pac-10 play...made 13-of-17 FTs in Pac-10 play in 2001.
#42 SHAWN REDHAGE: An excellent student-athlete who has a 3.4 GPA in construction science...2001 Pac-10 All-Academic selection...made 30-of-40 (.750) from the free throw line on the year...had a season-high 13 points at California on Feb. 2...averaged 16.3 minutes and 5.9 points in the final 15 games and shot 52.8 percent (38-of-72) from the field in that time...posted eight points and six boards in 15 minutes at No. 20 UCLA on Feb. 16...matched a season high with 24 minutes vs. Washington on Feb. 9 and had six points and six boards...had 12 points and five boards vs. Washington State on Feb.7...also had seven assists and six boards vs. UCLA on Jan. 17...set season-high with 24 minutes at Washington State on Jan. 12 and posted eight points...has made 169-of-209 (.809) free throws in his three-year career, tied for the fourth-best mark in ASU history...seven points in 15 minutes vs. Oregon on Jan. 6.
#52 CHAD PREWITT: Averaged 18.4 points and 8.2 boards in the final 21 games...an All-Pac-10 pick...a NABC District 15 second-team selection...a second-team All-Pac-10 pick by Basketball America and The Sporting News...24-of-51 (.471) from beyond the arc in the final 14 games...had 12 20-point games on the year (29 games), tied for fifth in the Pac-10, after posting just two in his first three seasons (89 games)...nine career double-doubles and five this year...led ASU in scoring in 14 of the final 21 games...averaging 32.4 minutes per game in the final 11 contests...10 points and career-high 16 boards at UNLV on March 12...18 points and eight boards vs. No. 17 Stanford on March 2...19 points and six boards vs. No. 21 California on Feb. 28...15 points and eight boards at No. 14 Arizona on Feb. 20...22 points, including 5-of-5 from the three-point stripe, and eight boards at No. 20 UCLA on Feb. 16...had a career-high 33 points (13-of-20 shooting) vs. UW on Feb. 9...22 points, six boards and six assists vs. No. 10 Arizona on Jan. 23...21 points and 12 boards in 37 minutes vs. No. 18 USC on Jan. 19...22 points and eight boards vs. No. 9 UCLA on Jan. 17...13 points, six boards and seven assists in Jan. 12 win at WSU...24 points and eight boards at UW on Jan. 10...tallied back-to-back career highs in the sweep of Oregon schools with 25 vs. OSU and 27 vs. UO and also had a career-high 12 boards vs. the Ducks on Jan. 6...17-of-29 (.586) from the field and 16-of-19 (.842) from the free throw line and averaged 26 points and 10 boards in Oregon schools sweep and earned Pac-10 Player of the Week...posted 22 points on 7-of-8 (.875) shooting from the field on Dec. 29 vs. Northwestern in ASU holiday tournament final which earned him tourney MVP honors...18 points and eight boards at Oregon State on Dec. 22...20 points at BYU on on Nov. 24...played just eight minutes vs. Portland State on Nov. 27 after hyperextending his left knee...ASU was winning 19-4 when he went out...21 points in season opener vs. Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 17.
SHELL AND ALLEN UPDATES: Tanner Shell, who averaged 9.1 points per game in Pac-10 games including a 24-point effort at USC, broke his left hand in practice in late December last year and missed the remainder of the 2000-2001 season and took a medical redshirt. In 1999-2000, he had six double-figure scoring games and averaged seven points per game. His 9.1 points per game in Pac-10 play was third on the team. Shell took an indefinite leave of absence from the team on Nov. 27 this year for personal reasons. Also, Justin Allen redshirted last season as he recovered from Hodgkin's Disease and is back on the court this season. Allen posted a season-high 16 minutes in the Feb. 7 win over Washington State.
THREE-DOT DATA: Arizona State was ranked No. 72 in the final Sagarin Rankings at the end of the regular season. ASU had an 80.38 rating and had a 78.38 schedule strength, which was the 34th-best schedule in the country...Arizona State made 18-of-24 (.750) shots in the second half to beat Oregon and held the Ducks to just 4-of-20 (.200) from the three-point stripe...ASU had just seven turnovers vs. Oregon State on Jan. 4 and vs. UCLA on Jan. 17, the second fewest in Rob Evans' 120 games as head coach at ASU. The low was on Feb. 6, 1999, when ASU had just five at Washington...ASU was 18-of-20 (.900) from the free throw line against Canisius on Dec. 28, its best mark since Jan. 24, 1998, when it went 15-of-16 (.938) at Oregon...ASU's win over tenth-ranked Arizona marked the first time an unranked Sun Devil squad beat a ranked team in Tempe since March 12, 1994, when ASU beat seventh-ranked Arizona 94-87...ASU's 51-point win over Washington State on Feb. 7 is the biggest victory margin in a Pac-10 game for the Sun Devils and was just four points shy of matching the Pac-10 record of 55 set by Arizona on Dec. 20, 1988, when it beat Washington 116-61...ASU's win at UCLA snapped a 15-game losing streak at Pauley Pavilion that dated to Feb. 16, 1987...the win over No. 20 UCLA was ASU's first road win over a ranked opponent since Jan. 31, 1998, when it beat fourth-ranked Stanford 90-87 in overtime....The Dec. 20 game at Oregon marked ASU's earliest Pac-10 game since since Nov. 30, 1989, when it opened the regular season vs. Oregon State. In its 24 Pac-10 seasons, ASU is 6-18 (.250) in its first Pac-10 road game. ASU has not won its first Pac-10 road game since it beat WSU 95-86 on Jan. 16, 1992 (10 straight defeats).
ABOUT THOSE RANKINGS NOTES: ASU's win over tenth-ranked Arizona marked its first win over a ranked team since it won at fourth-ranked Stanford 90-87 on Jan. 31, 1998, ending a streak of 26 straight losses to ranked foes. Not only were a lot of those opponents the best in the Pac-10, but the best in the nation as well. ASU faced 15 top-10 teams in that time, including eight teams in the top five. ASU also faced a No. 1 ranked Stanford team twice in that time, both times in Palo Alto.
BAD LUCK: Since 1990, 49 of 50 Pac-10 teams who have won at least 11 conference games have been selected to the NCAAs. The exception? ASU in 1992-93, when it was 11-7 and tied for third. Also, 53 of 55 teams since 1990 who have posted 18 wins and 10 Pac-10 wins have qualified. Again, the odd teams out were ASU in 1992-93 and 1999-2000.
STREAK BUSTER: ASU ended a 15-game losing streak at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion that dated to 1987 and Rob Evans is a coach who knows about ending a road losing streak. Almost five hoop seasons to the day (Feb. 14, 1998), Evans' Ole Miss Rebels went to Lexington and beat seventh-ranked Kentucky 73-64, the first win for Ole Miss in Lexington since Feb. 11, 1927. That victory broke a 41-game road losing streak at Kentucky.
ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (14-15; 7-11) 2001-2002 FINAL ROSTER Pos # Name Yr. Ht./Wt. PPG RPG Notes G 1 Jason Braxton Fr. 6-2/180 6.1 2.4 8.6 ppg. in 10 games vs. ranked teams/26.3 minutes, 8.8 ppg. in final 14 games F 2 Donnell Knight Jr. 6-7/200 3.9 2.7 14 pts. and 10 rebs. vs. WSU on Feb. 7/made final 10 FTs on season G 3 Kyle Dodd Jr. 6-0/175 3.2 2.3* 66 assists and just 20 turnovers on year, 3.3-to-1 ratio F 4 Tommy Smith Jr. 6-10/215 11.7 5.3 22 pts. and 10 boards vs. Cal on Feb. 28/15 pts. and 7 rebs. at Cal Feb. 2 G 12 Kenny Crandall So. 6-3/195 6.3 2.0 35-of-83 (.422) from the 3-point stripe/out with foot sprain Jan. 31-Feb. 28 G 14 Curtis Millage Jr. 6-2/175 13.5 4.1 Averaged 14.3 points in final 25 games/27-33 (.818) FTs in final 8 games G 20 Brad Nahra Sr. 6-4/217 1.3 0.8 Played 32 minutes at UCLA on Feb. 16 and had 4 assists/24 games this year F 24 Justin Allen So. 6-7/225 1.8 0.9 Redshirted '00-01 with Hodgkin's Disease/7-15 (.467) from 3 in his final 8 games G 32 Brandon Goldman Jr. 5-9/165 0.8 0.5 Two-year walkon who played in four games last year F-C 33 Chris Osborne Jr. 6-9/240 2.1 0.9 Wrist injury kept him on the sideline until Dec. 1 Prairie View A & M game F 42 Shawn Redhage Jr. 6-7/225 5.2 2.6 169-209 (.809) from the FT line in his career, tied for 5th-best in ASU history Non-returners in 2002-2003 F 11 Awvee Storey Sr. 6-6/225 7.6 4.0 29 points vs. UNLV on March 12 in NIT/out with swollen left retina Feb. 9-28 G 15 Tanner Shell So. 6-6/216 4.0 3.3 Took personal leave of absence on Nov. 27/9.1 ppg. in Pac-10 in 99-00 C 22 Tyson Johnston Sr. 7-0/264 0.8 1.0 15 minutes vs. Utah on Dec. 4/5 games played in 2001-2002 G 23 Jonathan Howard So. 6-4/200 2.2 1.1 Local product from Brophy Preparatory/28 games played in 2 years F-C 52 Chad Prewitt Sr. 6-9/241 17.0 7.3 All-Pac-10 Selection/Finished career as 18th-best scorer in ASU history