UA has picked on ASU for the past decade, but tonight at Wells Fargo Arena, the Sun Devils will try to stand up to their longtime bully.
The Wildcats have won 14 of the 15 meetings during ASU coach Rob Evans' tenure, and 20 of the last 21 overall. The Sun Devils' lone victory came at home four years ago.
But ASU junior guard Kevin Kruger said the team is not rattled by the tradition and prestige UA exudes.
"They have a successful program, but we try not to treat the name on the jersey any different," he said. "It's a rivalry game, so everybody will be ready to play."
Like the current ASU team (7-10, 1-7), the 2002 squad that defeated UA struggled through a disappointing season. But Evans added that the win paid off in the long run when ASU went to the NCAA Tournament a year later.
"It gave the young guys that were here as freshmen at that particular time a little bit of confidence that they could play on a grand scale," Evans said. "So anytime you're able to beat a team like Arizona it's important."
ASU's young team could use a little confidence of its own right now after dropping seven of eight conference games. The Sun Devils gave away late second-half leads in three of the last four contests.
But Evans said his team is not down on itself.
"Our job as coaches, regardless of what happens, is we have to bring these guys back mentally," he said. "You can't give young kids a whole lot of time to feel sorry for themselves."
UA (12-6, 5-3) is a storied basketball program but is going through an identity crisis of its own. The Wildcats carried a No. 9 national ranking at the beginning of the season, but have since dropped out of the top 25 for the first time in 18 years.
UA's guard rotation is thin since coach Lute Olson dismissed defensive stopper Chris Rodgers from the team indefinitely for unspecified reasons.
But the Sun Devils still will have their hands full trying to contain the Wildcats' starting backcourt of Hassan Adams and Mustafa Shakur. The two have combined to lead UA in scoring 14 of 18 games this year.
Adams ranks second in the Pac-10 in scoring at 20.5 points per game and leads the conference in steals with 2.75 per contest.
"He's unbelievably athletic," Kruger said. "He's looking for that highlight reel to get him going and once he gets going, everybody else does too. So we need to keep him under control."
UA has been vulnerable on the road this season (3-3) and Evans said the home court could prove to be valuable for ASU.
"In this rivalry you always feel a bit more comfortable at home, especially when you have a relatively young basketball team," he said.
Three ASU starters will have their first taste of the rivalry: transfer guard Antwi Atuahene and freshmen Sylvester Seay and Jeff Pendergraph.
Pendergraph will try to pick up where he left off against Stanford on Saturday, when he scored 14 points in 10 minutes before spraining his ankle.
"Not living too far from Arizona and seeing the games [on television], I know this is a big game coming up," said Pendergraph, an Etiwanda, Calif., native.
But Evans said that despite its inexperience his team is ready to handle all the pressure and attention that comes with playing UA.
"You're always concerned with how they'll react in a ballgame of this nature," he said. "But they're pretty resilient. They come back after difficult things happen to them, so I think they will be OK."
Reach the reporter at derrik.miller@asu.edu.
