Joshua Smith suited up for ASU game

ANAHEIM — Sam Strong here filling in for fellow fat guy Jon Gold (get well soon, Gold) in Anaheim.

Not much to report in the early proceedings other than that Josh Smith is dressed out and warming up.

Luckily for UCLA fans, the Pac-12 continues to be terrible in basketball so the Bruins’ opening weekend losses may be less of a problem than originally thought. UCLA is now one of five Pac-12 teams with two or more conference losses. UCLA could drag ASU down to those ranks with a win over Herb Sendek’s Sun Devils tonight.

As reported Thursday by friend of this blog and ASU expert Doug Haller, Sendek suspended two starters and a reserve guard for the L.A. road trip.

That left ASU with just six scholarship players and in the wacky world of Pac-12 basketball, that was enough to beat USC by nine on the road with just two subs. The Sun Devils still have leading scorer Trent Lockett and third leading scorer Carrick Felix who poured in 22 against the Trojans.

A reminder to follow me on Twitter for in-game updates.