• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Harden, Arizona State face stern test

Dec 20, 2008 - 3:26 PM Brigham Young (10-0) at No. 17 Arizona State (8-1), 4:30 p.m. EST

GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- After a lackluster showing last Sunday, Arizona State will need to perform better to defeat its next opponent.

The 17th-ranked Sun Devils host unbeaten Brigham Young on Saturday.

Arizona State fell behind, 34-18, at the break and the team was still trailing by 12 with nine minutes to go before rallying for a 59-58 victory over IUPUI last Sunday.

Leading-scorer James Harden was held in check for a season-low nine points, but Rihards Kuksiks stepped up with 18 points to lead the Sun Devils to their fourth straight win. Harden is averaging 23.7 points and 6.9 rebounds this season.

BYU, which owns the nation's longest home winning streak at 53 games, is off to its best start since it went 17-0 to begin the 1987-88 campaign.

Lee Cummard is averaging 19.6 points to lead the Cougars, who are coming off a 91-76 victory over Portland on December 13.

Jonathan Tavernari scored 25 points in the win and is second on the team at 16.8 points per game.