When the ASU men's basketball team meets the No. 22 USC Trojans for the second time this season on Sunday night at Wells Fargo Arena, the Sun Devils must show up in the second half.
On Jan. 20, the Trojans outscored the Sun Devils 30-18 by the half and went on to win by the score of 58-49 on their home court.
Although ASU played tougher in the second half, outscoring its opponents 21-28, the damage from the first half proved to be costly.
Sophomore forward Jeff Pendergraph scored 13 points to lead the Sun Devils, but the best performance came courtesy of USC's sophomore swingman Nick Young.
Young scored 18 points to lead all scorers, cashing in on eight of 11 shots from the charity stripe.
ASU freshman point guard Derek Glasser scored 10 points last time around against USC, the school he originally committed to.
Another positive from the last meeting was the Sun Devils were able to hold USC to a 39 percent field goal percentage.
The Trojans' starting backcourt of Lodrick Stewart and Gabe Pruitt struggled especially, making just three of 12 shots.
On the season, USC has the highest team field goal percentage in Pac-10 play entering this weekend's games, shooting 49 percent from the field.
Helping that percentage is the 43 percent the Trojans shoot from beyond the three-point line, which is also best in the conference.
USC has shown it can fill it up offensively with the rest of the Pac-10, as the Trojans have already beaten UA and the No. 15 Oregon Ducks.
For ASU, the focus must be to stop Young. He comes into the game averaging 18 points per game in conference play.
The Sun Devils will look to keep tabs on him throughout the game to make sure he doesn't establish an offensive rhythm early.
ASU must also continue to go to its stud on offensive, Pendergraph, who is averaging just under a double-double with 12.8 points per game and 9.2 rebounds.
Pendergraph against the mostly non-physical Trojan post players is a match-up ASU coach Herb Sendek will likely try to exploit.
Game free for students
Just like both games against the Washington schools, Sunday's game will be nationally televised and admission is free to all ASU students with their Sun Card.
The game starts at 6 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ABC.
Sendek On YouTube
Sendek's ejection from the Feb. 1 game against Washington is now available for download on YouTube.
While it may not be a moment in which he is proud of, it is a moment that will stay with the 7,000 plus in attendance that night.
