Arizona State Basketball

Carrick Felix entered his senior season with something to prove.

The hometown product from Millennium High School in Goodyear, Ariz., just west of Phoenix, was not recruited to play Division I basketball after averaging 19.7 points and 13 rebounds per game in his high school career.

He signed with the College of Southern Idaho in 2008 and received a medical redshirt in his first season. The 2009-10 season saw Felix average 14.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game at Southern Idaho and earned him a spot on the Sun Devils' roster after the departure of standouts James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph.

Felix struggled to make an impact in the 2010-11 season, seeing action in 30 games, but only getting the start in eight. He averaged a mere 4.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He shot a paltry 39 percent from the field and 20 percent from beyond the arc. The Sun Devils won 22 games that year but lost in the first round of the NIT, an embarrassing end to a promising season.

The 2011-12 season was an outright disaster for the Sun Devils. Their record of 10-21 was one of the worst in a long time, and Carrick Felix was the second-leading scorer behind Trent Lockett. Felix’s 10.5 points and four boards per game were an improvement, but nowhere near what head coach Herb Sendek had hoped to see in the junior wing who started all but two games.

Felix graduated with a B.S. in Communications in the spring of 2012 and was accepted into the Masters of Liberal Studies program in the summer. Heading into the 2012-13 season, there was a new attitude or swagger in Tempe. The freshman phenom, Jahii Carson, was academically cleared to play, and there were two new assistant coaches with NBA pedigrees in Eric Musselman and Larry Greer on the sidelines.

In two seasons at Arizona State, Felix averaged 7.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. He shot 41 percent from the field and 28 percent from three-point territory. He also had zero career double-doubles; this season, he recorded three in a one-week span.

After the 2012-13 regular season, he led the Pac-12 with 12 double-doubles and nine in-conference. His 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds combo per game are second best in the Pac-12 behind Stanford’s Dwight Powell with 15.6 points and 8.8 boards.

Felix finished the season in the top 15 of six categories in the Pac-12, including No. 6 in steals and No. 7 in rebounds.

His field-goal percentage jumped to 51 percent and his three-point shooting improved to 36 percent. He started all 31 games and led the Devils in field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, rebounds and steals.

His 14.2 points and 34 blocks were second best on the team as well. He scored in double digits in 25 games this season and 20 or more in seven games including 22 in his final regular-season game against rival Arizona.

The numbers are astounding, and Felix was named to the second-team All-Pac-12 as well as the exclusive Pac-12 All-Defense team with teammate Jordan Bachynski.

The 6’6”, 196-pound guard/forward had a bumpy road to begin his college basketball career, but he peaked at the best time possible. If Felix does not get picked up in the 2013 NBA draft, he has the talent and skill to play in Europe or the D-League to prove that he can play for the NBA. I am sure wherever he goes will be better than southern Idaho.

David is the Featured Columnist of Arizona State Athletics for B/R. Follow him on Twitter at @asudave.

The season is on the line for Herb Sendek and the Arizona State basketball team.

Regardless of the three-game losing streak and losing five of the past seven, the Sun Devils always consider the season a success if they beat the Arizona Wildcats, especially in Tucson.

The Details

Where: McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz.

When: Saturday, March 9 at 4:30 p.m. EST

Watch: FOX Sports Net

Listen: KTAR-FM 92.3 in the metro Phoenix area, KCUB 1290-AM in the metro Tucson area. 

Coach Sendek holds a 7-7 record against Arizona, including a 3-3 record in Tucson. Prior to Sendek's arrival, the Sun Devils had only won at McKale Center twice in the past 20 years including a double-overtime victory in 1995.

The Wildcats lead the overall series 142-80 and hold a 15-7 lead in the past 10 seasons. The Sun Devils did win five straight against Arizona and former Arizona State baller James Harden can say that he never lost to Arizona in his college career.

Although Harden is no longer on the team, the influx of freshman phenom Jahii Carson and the resurgence of the Pac-12's most improved player, Carrick Felix, the Sun Devils can pull off the upset. Here's how.

Play In-Your-Face Basketball

The Wildcats are in the midst of a two-game losing streak of their own after being swept on the road by the Los Angeles schools. For a team that only surrendered 62.3 points per game on average, the Wildcats gave up 74 to UCLA and an incredible 89 points to a 12-16 USC team.

The Arizona defense has been struggling and are horrible on the boards. The trio of Felix, Jordan Bachynski and Jonathan Gilling are all out-rebounding Arizona's big three—by a large margin.

Jahii Carson is fourth in the Pac-12 in scoring with 17.8 points per game, and Bachynski's 59.3 field-goal percentage is No. 2 in the conference.

Don't Allow The Easy Shots

Arizona loves shooting the three and is the most proficient team in the conference, hitting 36.3 percent of the time. The Devils need to force them inside where the Sun Devils excel—blocking shots. They are averaging 6.3 blocks per game, best in the Pac-12 and No. 6 in the nation.

Jordan Bachynski is No. 4 in the country in blocks averaging 3.7 per game with Felix, Gilling and backup center Ruslan Pateev adding another 2.5 combined.

Win the Bench Battle

The bench for Arizona has struggled as of late. Their stellar sixth man, Kevin Parrom, has started the past four games and Brandon Ashley has been non-existent off the bench despite averaging 20 minutes per contest. Grant Jerrett, Jordin Mayes, Angelo Chol and Gabe York are making little, if any, impact in the games. 

The bench for the Sun Devils isn't much better, although seniors Chris Colvin and Ruslan Pateev would love their final regular season game in Tucson to be memorable. Eric Jacobsen has played in all but one game this year, and it is time for him to show up and prove his worth. Bo Barnes has seen action in 23 games this year but has yet to find his rhythm. No better time than at Arizona for Barnes to come alive.

Win the Turnover Battle

Arizona loves to turn the ball over. Their 13.2 turnovers per game is fifth most in the Pac-12 as well as point guard Mark Lyons' 2.8 per game. This is also Jahii Carson's Achilles' heel as he turns the ball over a shocking 3.4 times per game, most in the conference.

If Carson can maintain the handle and still force turnovers from Arizona, this game could very easily go Arizona State's way.

Arizona's average of 13.2 steals per game is just better than ASU's 12.3 in Pac-12 standings, but the Sun Devils have two players in the top ten of the conference while Arizona only has one.

If they follow this blueprint, it could lead to an upset victory, but they would also need to win a couple games in the Pac-12 Tournament, if not the whole thing, to punch their ticket to the dance.

David is the Featured Columnist of Arizona State Athletics for B/R. Follow him on Twitter at @asudave. 

The Arizona State Basketball team is walking on thin ice right now or should I say a thin bubble.

The Sun Devils (19-7, 8-5 Pac-12) are looking for the elusive 20th victory when they host the Washington State Cougars in Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. EST. This game is a must-win if they hope to keep their tournament hopes alive.

While several teams in the country win 20 games year in and year out, this will be head coach Herb Sendek's fourth 20-win season in his seven years at the helm. The Devils had only three 20-win seasons in the quarter-century prior to Sendek's arrival—talk about elusive.

With two home games remaining, the Devils are 14-3 at home and need both of them to tie the school record for most home wins with 16, a feat not accomplished since a beardless James Harden dominated the hardwood.

The home games are not going to be the problem for the Sun Devils; it is a couple upcoming road games that are going to test their mettle and will make or break their NCAA tournament bid. Granted, if they lose to either Washington or Washington State, they can kiss their chances goodbye, but this article is written with the assumption that they win out at home this week.

Arizona State travels to Pauley Pavilion next Wednesday for a late-night matchup with the UCLA Bruins. The game is set for an 11:30 pm EST tip-off and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

The Bruins (19-7, 9-4 Pac-12) are in the middle of an eight-day break before heading across town to exact revenge on their rival, the USC Trojans. Revenge will also be at the forefront of Ben Howland's mind when the Sun Devils visit on Feb. 27.

The Sun Devils humiliated the Bruins in Tempe in late January by starting off strong and pummeling them by 18 points when all was said and done. The Bruins shot 34 percent from the field and a miserable 5-of-24 from beyond the arc.

This is a game that has drastic implications for both teams as they are both fighting to stay alive down the final stretch. The Bruins and the Sun Devils both still have to face the No. 12 Arizona Wildcats and it is highly doubtful that they both beat the 'Cats, so this game takes on even more importance.

Speaking of the basketball team from Tucson, the Devils and Wildcats will each have a week-long break in preparation of the basketball version of the Duel in the Desert.

Arizona State held strong with the 'Cats in their first meeting in Tempe. The Sun Devils even led for a bit in the first half. The final 10 minutes of the game were disastrous for the Devils as they were outscored 25-10 and the crowd was left muttering about "the same old Devils."

Arizona has struggled as of late, losing two of its last three, but is looking to rebound with wins over the Washington schools at home this week and at the Los Angeles schools next week. The 'Cats aren't going to miss the NCAA tournament if they lose at home to Arizona State—it will take a lot more losses for them to be snubbed by the selection committee.

For the Sun Devils, winning out with road wins at UCLA and Arizona would guarantee an invite, but winning the next four and losing to a top-15 team in Arizona might still get them in, and that's a mighty big might.

David is a Featured Columnist of Arizona State Athletics for B/R. Follow him on Twitter at @asudave.  

The Arizona State basketball team was riding high after their Jan. 31 victory over the Washington State Huskies in Pullman. They were 7-2 in conference and within striking distance of the regular season crown.

Then came February.

The Sun Devils have now lost three of their last four and have to travel to Boulder to take on the reigning tournament champion Colorado Buffaloes.

Many labeled Wednesday night's game at Utah a "must-win" for the Devils if they wanted to keep their tournament hopes alive. Utah was a miserable 10-13, and only 2-9 in conference play. Beating this team would do nothing to build their resume, but losing would all but destroy it.

In Seattle on Feb. 2, the Devils were outrebounded by the Washington Huskies 36-20 and gave up 50 points in the paint. At one point the Devils trailed by 15, but thanks to great shooting by Jahii Carson and some key three-point shots by Jonathan Gilling, the Devils were able to tie the game with a minute remaining. Arizona State then crumbled inside and eventually fell to Washington 96-92. 

After beating the Cal Golden Bears, the Sun Devils welcomed the Stanford Cardinal on Feb. 9, who were 5-5 in the Pac-12. Once again the Devils fell behind by as many as 16 points, but this time poor shooting was to blame. The team shot a paltry 34 percent from the field, 30 percent from beyond the arc and an alarmingly-low 50 percent from the charity stripe. 

Looking to rebound against a struggling Utah team and avoid its second 2-game losing streak of the season, the Devils went to Salt Lake City on Wednesday night with confidence—too much confidence.

They trailed by as many as 10 in the first half and finished with only 22 points on another poor 34-percent shooting effort. They only trailed by seven at the half and would pull out to an eight-point lead with just under seven minutes remaining. However, the Devils only scored two points in the final three minutes of the game, missing on six of their seven attempts.

The Devils are now 3-3 on the road and visit Colorado, who is 9-1 at home—their only loss being to UCLA. Arizona State handily beat the Buffaloes in Tempe on Jan. 6, even after the Buffs pulled out to an early 20-7 lead.

The Sun Devils definitely took a hit in Wednesday night's loss to Utah, but ESPN's Joe Lunardi had already removed Arizona State from his bracketology before the loss. It now seems that the Devils will have to fight for a No. 1 seed in the NIT. 

Everything considered, regardless of how the Devils finish their remaining six games, this season is a drastic improvement over the past two seasons and should leave Sun Devil Nation somewhat pleased.

The three toughest games remaining on the schedule are all on the road. If they were to pull out wins at Colorado on Saturday, at UCLA on Feb. 27 and at No. 9 Arizona on Mar. 9, the NCAA Tournament Committee might have to rethink the Sun Devils resume.

I'm not holding my breath.

David is a Featured Columnist of Arizona State Athletics for B/R. Follow him on Twitter at @asudave. 

Arizona State Basketball (18-5, 7-3 Pac-12) is having one of its best seasons in a long time. At this point last year, the Sun Devils only had three conference wins and six wins overall. The year prior to that at this time saw the Devils in the midst of a nine-game losing streak.

In fact, this is the first time in nearly 20 years that the Sun Devils have seven conference wins at the halfway point of conference play.

Suffice it to say that this year's success has a lot to do with one person—Jahii Carson.

The redshirt freshman has been electric for coach Herb Sendek and the Sun Devils this year. He leads the team in points and assists per game along with most minutes played, most field goals and free throws made.

Carson's outstanding numbers are not only tops for the team, but also across the conference and the nation. His 18.0 points per game is fifth best in the Pac-12 and fourth best in the nation among freshmen.

His 5.2 assists per game is second best in the conference and third best in the nation among freshmen. Carson is shooting 102-of-142 from the free throw line which are both tops for freshmen nationally and second among all players in the Pac-12.

While Jahii Carson has made the most impact on the Sun Devils squad this season, basketball teams cannot win on the strength of one player alone.

A large amount of the credit has to go to the new assistant coaches Eric Musselman and Larry Greer. How else can we explain the drastic turnaround of seasoned veterans Carrick Felix, Jordan Bachynski and Ruslan Pateev?

Carrick Felix has been experiencing the best year of his career after graduating with a B.S. in Communications in the spring. He was accepted in to the Masters of Liberal Studies program and began classes over the summer.

He has been named Pac-12 Player of the Week three times and has scored in double digits in 20 of 23 games this season. Also of note are his five double-doubles, he had a grand total of zero in his previous 65 career games.

Felix leads the team in rebounds, steals, field goal and three-point percentage. He is the only player in the conference that is in the top ten in five separate categories.

Jordan Bachynski is also having a renaissance this season and leads the charge when it comes to blocking shots. The Sun Devils as a team are No. 4 in the nation with 6.96 blocks per game and Bachynski is also No. 4 with 4.0 blocks per game—fitting. He also leads the team in offensive rebounds with 58. 

While the nucleus of Carson, Felix and Bachynski have been integral in most games, Thursday night's game saw great performances by Evan Gordon and Ruslan Pateev. The beauty of playing as a team is that when the "stars" are having an off night, it is refreshing to see others step up and carry the load.

Pateev made a couple statement dunks in the first half and continued his gritty play in the second half. He finished the game with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He also added eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists. 

Evan Gordon struggled a little out of the gate this season but has been lights out in the last seven games. He is averaging 16 points and two rebounds per game in the stretch and because of this, his playing time has increased, averaging over 38 minutes per game.

As a whole, the team leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage at 46.5 percent, is No. 3 in assists with 14.7 per game, No.4 in scoring with 73.3 points per game and fifth in steals and three-point percentage.

There has been a huge culture change on the football team with new coach Todd Graham and it looks like there is lot to be thankful for with this year's basketball team.

I'm just glad that Jahii's mother, Vanae didn't run off with his signing paperwork.

David is the lead writer for Arizona State Athletics for b/r. Follow him on twitter at @asudave. 

The Arizona State basketball team is prepping for yet another Saturday afternoon showdown with a familiar conference foe.

Fresh off a 98-93 overtime victory over the USC Trojans, the Sun Devils (15-4, 4-2 Pac-12) are prepping for a big-time challenge from the UCLA Bruins (16-4, 6-1 Pac-12).

The Bruins have taken their fans on quite the roller coaster ride this season and nobody is sure which team will show up on Saturday; Coach Herb Sendek and Sun Devil Nation hope that it is the one that lost to Cal Poly in late November.

The Bruins took down the No. 6 Arizona Wildcats on Thursday night with little problem. If you believe in the associative property of mathematics, this means that the Bruins are going to destroy the Sun Devils.

Thankfully, this isn't math—this is sports. Any given team on any given day can win if all the pieces fall properly into place.

The Details

Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz.

When: Saturday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. ET

Watch: FOX Sports Net

Listen: 620-AM in the metro Phoenix area, Sirius 94/XM 190 

The Competition

Traditionally, this has been a lopsided series with the Bruins winning 13 of the last 16 meetings. The Devils have lost four straight to the Bruins but took three of the previous four when James Harden was on the roster.

This is a much different team than the Sun Devils remember, different as in better. The Bruins only compiled 19 wins last season and did not participate in an any postseason tournaments. With 16 wins in their first 20 games, the Bruins could finish the regular season with 27 wins—incredible.

The Bruins lead the conference with 78 points per game and are tied with Saint Mary's College for No. 18 in the nation. They also lead the conference in field goal percentage and assists.

Freshman phenom Shabazz Muhammad leads the conference in three-point shooting at 47 percent and is fourth in scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game.

Point guard Larry Drew II leads the conference in assists and is No. 3 in the country averaging an incredible 8.2 dimes per game.

The Devil's in the Stats

Arizona State is averaging 73 points per game, No. 5 in the Pac-12. They are also hitting 46 percent of their field goals, good enough for No. 2 in the conference—with UCLA at the top. They lead the conference by a large margin and are No. 4 in the nation with 7.26 blocks per game.

Freshman sensation Jahii Carson leads the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game, one spot behind Muhammad in the conference in the No. 5 spot. He also leads the team in assists and is No. 2 in the conference with 5.3 per game, behind another Bruin, Larry Drew II. He also leads the team in minutes and free throw percentage.

Senior swingman Carrick Felix had a tough game against Arizona on Saturday but returned to form on Thursday night. He also leads the team in three-point percentage, steals and rebounds with 8.1 per game. He is the only player in the Pac-12 that is in the top 10 in five different categories (scoring, rebounds, field goal percentage, steals and blocks).

Big man Jordan Bachynski's 59 percent field goal percentage leads the team as does his 80 total blocks or 4.21 per game. This astounding number leads the conference and is No. 3 in the country. He is a master clean-up artist with a team-leading 47 offensive rebounds keeping the ball in play for the Sun Devils.

The Prediction

This is going to be a tough game for the Sun Devils, and they will need to come out strong at the outset of the game. With backup point guard Chris Colvin still believed to be riding the pine on Saturday, it will extremely important for shooting guard Evan Gordon to continue his hot streak. Reserve guard Bo Barnes will also need to step up and fill in at the shooting guard spot when Gordon spells Carson. 

Defense will need to be the highest priority for Sendek and crew as we saw how Shabazz Muhammad and company carved up the Wildcats on Thursday night. The Sun Devils can run a fast-paced high-octane game without having to live and/or die by the three-point basket.

If the Sun Devils can get off to a good start and not have to spend the game playing catch-up with the Bruins, they have all the components to win this game; it just depends on if they fall perfectly into place.

UCLA 82, Arizona State 76

Arizona State Basketball has been prepping for this game all season long.

The Sun Devils are looking to continue the good fortune that they experienced last March in Tempe when they beat a Wildcat team that had more conference wins than the Devils had total wins, 87-80.

The game is a rare sellout for Wells Fargo Arena and the crowd is going to be electric thanks to a 14-3 record and one of the best freshmen in Arizona State basketball history in Jahii Carson. Carson had back-to-back 20-point games in Oregon last week and is closing in on arguably two of the best players that ever worn an ASU hoops jersey in Ike Diogu and James Harden.

Diogu finished his freshman season with 12 20-point games and Harden with 16, but neither of them had back-to-back games in a conference road trip.

Let's take a closer look at the matchup.

The Skinny

Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz.

When: Saturday, Jan. 19 at 2:30 p.m. ET

Watch: FOX Sports Net

Listen: 620-AM in the metro Phoenix area, 1290-AM in the Tucson area, Sirius 94/XM 193 

The History

This will be the 223rd meeting of the teams with Arizona holding a 142-80 lead. The 'Cats have won 62 times in Tempe while the Sun Devils have won 51. Recently, Arizona State has won seven of the last 11 meetings between the two but have only won six times in the last 20 years at home.

Head Coach Herb Sendek has a record of 7-6 against Arizona in his career at ASU. He is 3-3 at home, 3-3 in Tucson and 1-0 at a neutral site (Pac-10 Tournament.) Sendek is looking to make the No. 7 Wildcats the eighth ranked team that he has beaten while at Arizona State and the 37th in his career.

The Freshmen

The Sun Devils are a much improved team with the addition of redshirt freshman phenom, Jahii Carson. Carson is fifth in the conference in scoring with 17.1 points per game and has played all 40 minutes in the past three games. Sendek also brought in a couple big men in 6'10" Eric Jacobsen and 6'8" Kenny Martin.

Jacobsen has seen minutes in all 16 games this season and is averaging 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Martin has seen limited time in nine games this season.The Sun Devils are playing a non-Herb Sendek style of game this year in which they are taking it to opponents and playing a much faster offense with Carson at the point. 

The Wildcats have a big team up front and an even more impressive depth. The addition of the "Big Three" freshmen in 7'0" Kaleb Tarczewski, 6'10" Grant Jerrett and 6'8" Brandon Ashley will be tough to defend and could cause fits for the Sun Devils.

Tarczewski is the Wildcats only true center and has started all 16 games. Ashley has started 13 of the last 14 games and Jerrett started the first two games of the season before giving way to Ashley. The trio is basically interchangeable and average anywhere from 17-21 minutes per game.

The Seniors

Arizona State's Carrick Felix has been on fire in his senior season.

He is currently the only Pac-12 player in the top 10 of six different categories. An all-around stud that is No. 5 in field-goal percentage, No. 6 in steals, No. 8 in scoring and rebounds and No. 9 in three-point percentage and blocks. He has scored in double figures in every game this year and has five career double-doubles—all this year.

Chris Colvin and Ruslan Pateev have shown their leadership coming off the bench and have proven to be more than serviceable while giving the starters a much needed break. Colvin is averaging over 20 minutes per game and is a stellar defender with 48 defensive boards and 19 steals. Pateev is only averaging about seven minutes per game, but he makes sure that his playing time isn't wasted and goes hard at all times.

The senior class for the Wildcats is their nucleus. Point guard Mark Lyons and power forward Solomon Hill lead the team in scoring with 14.6 and 13.6 respectively. Swingman Kevin Parrom has only started one game this year yet still averages nearly 23 minutes per contest. He also ranks in the top four in five separate categories on the team.

The Prediction  

This is going to be a hard fought battle in the trenches and under the boards. The Wildcats like to live by the three-pointer and they been living well. They lead the Pac-12 Conference with 38.6 percent on an average of 21 attempts per game. The Sun Devils take nearly 23 attempts per game on average yet are only hitting them 34 percent of the time.

The frontcourt of the Wildcats is daunting but the Sun Devils also lead the conference and are third in the country in blocked shots. Their 128 blocks on 1,044 opponents means that Arizona State blocks a shot on average every 8.1 shots—amazing.

This game means a lot to both teams and I don't mean simply for the in-state rivalry, but also for the conference standings. With three teams still undefeated in UCLA, Washington and Oregon, a second conference loss this early would be a difficult hole from which to climb out of.

The Wildcats will start off slow as usual and the Tempe crowd will make it as uncomfortable as possible for Miller's squad. They will turn on their afterburners and tie the game at the end of regulation. I am predicting an upset—in overtime.

Arizona 84, Arizona State 87

The Arizona State Basketball team (13-2, 2-0 Pac-12) is off to one of its best starts since moving to the Pac-10 prior to the 1978 season.

In 35 years, this is only the fourth time that the Sun Devils have started with a conference record of at least 2-0 and only the second time in the past 15 years.

So, who is ready to jump on the bandwagon? There are plenty of seats available.

I reported early in the year that Sun Devil head coach Herb Sendek was out to prove his critics and sportswriters across the country wrong in the 2012-13 season, and things are looking good—for now. 

The Road Trip

Arizona State hits the road for the first road trip of the season visiting the Oregon schools starting in Corvallis. The game against the Beavers is set for an 8:30 p.m. PT tipoff on Thursday night. They meet the Ducks at 6 p.m. PT on Sunday.

Both games will be televised on the Pac-12 Network, so if you have DirecTV, you are out of luck.

Coach Sendek has fared well against the Oregon schools in his six years as Arizona State head coach, posting a 8-3 record against Oregon St. including a 3-2 record in Corvallis. The Sun Devils closed Oregon's McArthur Court on Jan.1, 2011 and will be playing for the first time at Matt Court on Sunday.

Coach Sendek is 7-5 against the Ducks, including a 3-2 record in Eugene.

If the Devils return to Tempe with a 4-0 Conference record, it will be the second-best start in 35 years. It will also set the stage for their biggest game of the season—hosting in-state rival, the AP No. 4 Arizona Wildcats.

The Players

Senior Carrick Felix had another banner week, earning his second Pac-12 Player of the Week nod. He has been on fire recently, scoring in double figures in his past 14 games. He has also tallied four career double-doubles—all this season.

He leads the team in rebounds and is the only player in the Pac-12 that is in the top 10 in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounds (7.9 rpg) and steals (1.73 spg.) The Sun Devils are the No. 3 team in the country in blocks with eight per game.

Felix lends a hand, literally, by adding an average of 1.53 per game.

Leading the charge for blocks is junior Jordan Bachynski. The nation's No. 3 blocker averages an insane 4.6 blocks per game. Bachynski also leads the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage with 65.6 percent, which places him at No. 13 in the country.

Felix and Bachynski have made marked improvements since the 2011-12 season, due in large part to the team's freshman phenom point guard, Jahii Carson.

Carson has been the court general that has led the Devils to a high-octane performance that looks good on Arizona State. He is the team's leading scorer and places No. 5 in the Pac-12 with 16.7 points per game. His 81 total assists and 5.4 per game also lead the team and is second best in the conference.

The Outlook

The season is still young and the Sun Devils' RPI is a paltry 52 with a strength of schedule rank of 137, so it is a little too early to get excited about the Devils. They have only played one true road game this year in front of a hostile crowd and defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders 77-62.

They are 1-1 on a neutral court and 11-1 at home, losing to DePaul in an embarrassing showing, 78-61.

Oregon State lost their conference opener on Sunday to Oregon but only lost by six to a tough 12-1 Kansas team. The Ducks would be 13-1 if not for a heart-breaking triple-overtime loss in El Paso to UTEP.

If, and that's a strong if, the Devils can win these two games on the road, the national media will see what I have known all along—this is not the same team that was picked to finish in the bottom third of the Pac-12 Conference.

Follow me on twitter at @asubasketball