TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State probably does not have to worry about an NCAA tournament berth as it hits the Oregon trail on Tuesday. Its resume is just too strong. But the Sun Devils refuse to play it that way.
"We want to be desperate, but in a good way," point guard Jahii Carson said.
"We know we pretty much have a solid lock, but we want to finish out. We don't want to be stressing about it. We want to know we have a safe spot, but we also want to protect our record."
ASU (21-8, 10-6) will play Oregon on Tuesday night before finishing the regular season at Oregon State on Saturday afternoon. A victory over a desperate Oregon team would make the three dead days on the road a lot more palatable.
The Sun Devils would finish no worse than third in the conference with a sweep and with a split would put themselves in position for one of the four first-round byes in the Pac-12 tournament that begins March 12 in Las Vegas.
"We're never satisfied," Carson said. "We're trying to get a good seed in the Pac-12 tournament. We're trying to finish strong. It's always been a dream to get to the NCAA."
Two mock NCAA tournament projections have ASU as a No. 8 NCAA seed entering the the week, and the Sun Devils' RPI is 28, bumped up by victories over then-No. 2 Arizona, Stanford and California in the last five games. RPI is a factor the NCAA selection committee weighs heavily.
Oregon (20-8, 8-8) is considered a long-shot to make the NCAA tournament. The Ducks beat UCLA last week, but the Bruins were without top scorers Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams because they violated team rules. Oregon State (15-13, 7-9) would have to win the Pac-12 tournament to make the 68-team NCAA field.
"We are definitely moving in the right direction," ASU forward Jonathan Gilling said. "(The Ducks) are not a pushover. I know UCLA was without their two best guys, but they are still good, and it is in their house. They smell blood, definitely. We have to come out like we did the last two games and play together."
ASU has played three of its best games of the season recently, starting with the 69-66 double-overtime victory over Arizona on Feb. 14. After losses at Colorado and Utah, the Sun Devils beat Stanford by 12 and Cal by 18 thanks to contributions from all corners.
Carson scored 26 points against Stanford, taking over the game in the second half with his consistent penetration. He had 23 points in the second half, when he was 7 of 7 from the field and 8 of 8 from the foul line. When Cal took Carson's penetration away, he turned into a facilitator, helping Jermaine Marshall to 22 points and Gilling to 15. ASU went 10 of 19 from 3-point range against the Bears.
Marshall had 38 points in the sweep of the Bay Area schools, making nine 3-pointers. Gilling had his best game of the season -- 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, no turnovers -- against Cal. While center Jordan Bachynski has deferred his offense recently, he broke his own Pac-12 season record for blocked shots with four against Cal to reach 123.
"We have different weapons for different days," Gilling said.
The Sun Devils have come to understand themselves, and it could not have come at a better time. Carson is fourth in the Pac-12 in scoring (17.6 points per game) and seventh in assists (3.9) in league games. Marshall is 11th in scoring (15.9) and has 39 treys, second to Washington's C.J. Wilcox (42) and three more than Oregon's Jason Caliste. Bachynski leads the league in blocks (3.75) and is tied for ninth in rebounds (7.3).
"Right now is when we're starting to play our best basketball," Carson said. "Teams around the country are starting to get a feel for their team ... and it definitely has shown dividends for us. Jermaine (Marshall) is playing his best ball. I think I'm starting to play mine. I definitely feel that everything is falling into place.
"Everybody knows their role. I know when I need to score. I know when I need to distribute. I know I have to be a leader. Same thing with 'J.B.' (Bachynski). Same thing with Jermaine. And our guys just follow. That's something we didn't have last year, and that's something we didn't have early on in the season. I think we are putting it together. When teams start keying, we have other weapons. They have to pick one."
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