UCLA and USC Venture to Arizona in Pac-10 Action

Four of the five teams that are tied for second place in the Pacific 10 will meet tonight as UCLA faces Arizona State in Tempe at 7 and USC takes on Arizona in Tucson at 7:30.

Oregon State leads the conference with a 3-0 mark. UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State and Washington are all 2-1.

The Bruins (5-6) have won two straight and are coming off their first victory over a team with a winning record (Washington State). However, UCLA has yet to win on the road this season.

The Sun Devils (7-6) opened conference play at home by blowing a six-point lead in the last minute and lost to Arizona, 61-60, on forward Eddie Smith’s three-point play at the buzzer. Last week, they went on the road to beat Cal and Stanford.

ASU is led by Chris Sandle, a 6-foot 7-inch, 205-pound freshman forward from Long Beach Poly High School. UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard will let his point guard, Nigel Miguel, guard Sandle. Last week, Miguel held Washington State forward Joe Wallace, the Pac-10’s leading scorer, to 4 baskets in 18 shots.

Sandle averages a team-leading 12.9 points a game and is second in rebounds with an average of 5.6. Guard Bobby Thompson, who played alongside UCLA guard Corey Gaines at St. Bernard High, is Arizona State’s third-leading scorer at 12.1.

Last week, USC suffered its only conference loss against a taller Washington team. Tonight, the Trojans (8-4) will have the height advantage against the Wildcats (11-4).

Arizona Coach Lute Olson doesn’t have a starter taller than 6-7, but he has a quick team. Center Pete Williams and Smith are two of the Pac-10’s best players.

Williams led the conference in rebounding last year with a 9.9 average. Smith has made remarkable improvement as a shooter, averaging 17 points a game and shooting 57%, contrasted with 47% last year.

USC’s front line of 6-10 Clayton Olivier, 6-8 Wayne Carlander and 6-6 Derrick Dowell match up better against the Wildcats’ Williams and Smith (both 6-7) and 6-5 David Haskin.

Trojan guard Ron Holmes leads the team in scoring with an average of 15.9 points per game. Point guard Larry Friend leads the Pac-10 in assists with a 6.9 average. Although he handles the ball most of the time, he has committed only 23 turnovers in 12 games.

USC is off to its best start since it went 13-4 in 1981-82. That season, the Trojans finished 19-9 and made the NCAA playoffs.