Olson Gets His 700th Victory

TEMPE, Ariz. —  Arizona Coach Lute Olson simply pointed toward the scoreboard in response to Arizona State’s rowdy fans.

The fourth-ranked Wildcats gave Olson his 700th career victory Saturday, with Channing Frye playing preseason All-American Ike Diogu to a standstill in a 93-74 rout of the Sun Devils on Saturday in the Pacific 10 opener for both teams.

“I’ve been learning all sorts of new words from that student section down there for years, and I thought, ‘You probably should learn to keep your mouth closed when you’re down 30-something,’ ” Olson said.

Salim Stoudamire had 26 points and Frye had 17 points and seven rebounds in helping the Wildcats (9-1) win their eighth in a row.

“I can’t make this a one-on-one battle,” Frye said. “I think Ike is a great player, and he does what he has to do for his team to win. But this is a team game.”

Olson is 700-240 in 31 years as a coach at Long Beach State, Iowa and Arizona -- 508-148 in 21 years with the Wildcats. The 2002 Hall of Fame inductee is the 19th college coach to reach 700 and the fourth still active, trailing Bob Knight, Lou Henson and Eddie Sutton.

Diogu had 18 points and 11 rebounds, but double teams by Frye and a teammate forced him outside in the first half, and the sophomore had one of his worst games, making only five of 17 shots.

Steve Moore had 23 points for the Sun Devils (6-4), who have not beaten a team with a winning record and lost to Western Michigan at home on Tuesday.

The same night, the Wildcats committed a season-high 23 turnovers and were extended before beating Louisiana Lafayette on a three-point basket by Andre Iguodala.

Stoudamire, who was scoreless for the second time in his career in the Fiesta Bowl Classic championship, made six three-point shots -- one short of a career high -- in nine attempts.

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The 700 Club

With Saturday’s 93-74 victory over Arizona State, Arizona’s Lute Olson notched his 700th coaching victory in 31 seasons. Olson ranks fourth among active coaches:

*--* ACTIVE COACHES WITH MOST VICTORIES Coach Current Team Seasons Wins Bob Knight Texas Tech 38 820 Lou Henson New Mexico St. 40 762 Eddie Sutton Oklahoma St. 34 733 Lute Olson Arizona 31 700

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*--* ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES Coach Team(s) Seasons Wins Dean Smith North Carolina 36 879 Adolph Rupp Kentucky 41 876 Jim Phelan Mt. St. Mary’s 49 830 Bob Knight Army, Indiana, Texas Tech 38 820

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