The phrase “they’re a much improved team” is sometimes used as a back-handed compliment.

When Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller says that about rival Arizona State, he intends all the flattery that the words denote.

“I think that not only are they much improved from a year ago, but I think they’re one of the best teams in our conference,” Miller said Tuesday on the Pac-12 basketball coaches teleconference.

Seventh-ranked Arizona (15-1 overall, 3-1 Pac-12) travels to Tempe this week for a Saturday game against Arizona State, which is a surprising 14-3, 3-1.

This comes after a 10-21 season and a prediction of an 11th-place finish in the Pac-12 by the league’s media.

While the impact of slippery-quick freshman point guard Jahii Carson was easy to anticipate, the huge growth spurt, figuratively speaking, of 7-2 junior Jordan Bachynski and the emergence of 6-6 wing Carrick Felix weren’t as predictable.

Together, Miller calls them ASU’s Big Three.

Carson is averaging 17.1 points and 5.2 assists. Opponents are daring him to shoot from beyond the arc (30.4 percent) and dribble to his left, but they still have a hard time preventing Carson from getting into the lane and getting fouled.

Jahii Carson is fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring. Photo by Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

He has attempted 105 free throws, tied for the most in the Pac-12 with Colorado’s Spencer Dinwiddie, who has played one less game.

“He makes everybody better,” Miller said of Carson.

“An electric player. A fun guy to watch. He gets the ball out in transition. He gets his teammates easy shots, and then you look at how easy it is for him to get to the foul line and score.”

Bachynski has 12 more blocks (76) than Arizona has as a team. His average of 4.47 per game is twice as good as the next-best mark in the Pac-12.

He is averaging 10.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and shooting 61.3 percent from the field.

“On the defensive end, Bachynski is really a difference-maker,” Miller said.

“He’s a great shot-blocker and he’s become a good scorer. … He’s learned how to score with his back to the basket and really developed. I think he is one of the best players in our conference.”

Felix is the only player in the Pac-12 to be ranked in the top 10 in scoring (15.1 points) and rebounding (8.1). He is eighth in both categories.

“He’s also an all-conference player,” Miller said.

With 3-point shooters Evan Gordon and Jonathan Gilling filling out the lineup, the Sun Devils have a well-balanced starting five, although ASU lacks the kind of depth the Wildcats have.

“They are doing a great job so far this year,” Miller said of ASU after his team beat Oregon State on Saturday. “We have to have a really good week of practice leading into that game.”

The Arizona-Arizona State game begins at 12:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Net. The game is sold out at Wells Fargo Arena.

Arizona State fans will be giddy, at least for the next couple of weeks.

The Sun Devils are 4-1, have found a quarterback in sophomore Taylor Kelly, are on the fringes of the Top 25 and should, with relative ease, post another victory next Thursday at Colorado.

That will set up a huge Thursday night “Blackout” game on Oct. 18 — at home vs. Oregon — that already has launched a mascot war.

With league wins over Utah and Cal, ASU should be considered ahead of schedule in its first season under Todd Graham. The Sun Devils would be 5-0 if they could have made a play at the goal line at Missouri.

But, as was the case last year, we really won’t find out what kind of team the Devils have until they hit the tougher part of their schedule in the second half of the season. ASU has yet to face a dynamic quarterback. That will change.

Meanwhile, Arizona’s first year under Rich Rodriguez already is in its critical stretch, with the Cats facing their third No. 18 team in the country this week at Stanford. UA split against its previous No. 18 foes — beating Oklahoma State and losing last week to Oregon State.

What to make of the Wildcats?

On the one hand, the defense is vulnerable and perilously thin (thinner?), making it unlikely Arizona can hold up through this minefield that features Washington, USC and UCLA after Stanford.

On the other hand, Arizona was a play or two away from beating Oregon State and getting to 4-1.

At close to maximum efficiency — that’s always the rub, isn’t it? — the Cats have enough firepower on offense and fight on defense — to hang with most teams.

But, as of now, Arizona State seems to be in better shape to make something of this first-year rebuilding project.

There’s not much separating the programs — after all, the past three meetings have been decided on the final play — but the Sun Devils have two important things Arizona doesn’t right now.

1. Will Sutton.

2. A depth boost from junior college transfers.

Sutton, a junior defensive tackle, is playing like an All-American. He has 10 tackles for loss, including 6.5 sacks. Those would be remarkable season-long numbers for an interior lineman. He has those after five games.

“He needs to go ahead and start getting paid,” Colorado coach Jon Embree said on the Pac-12 coaches teleconference Tuesday. “He’s the best D-lineman I’ve seen, by far, in our conference.”

Todd Graham has ASU off to a 2-0 start in the Pac-12. Photo by Dak Dillon-US PRESSWIRE

Sutton, by himself, has more sacks than the entire Arizona defense. The Wildcats have a scant five sacks, with only half a sack coming from a defensive lineman.

As for depth, Graham and Rodriguez each took a different approach with their first recruiting classes.

Graham signed nine junior college transfers. Rodriguez signed only one JC transfer, adding quarterback B.J. Denker months after the February signing day.

Arizona has only two junior college recruits — center Steven Gurrola of Glendale Community College and cornerback Prince Holloway of Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College — committed for the 2013 class, which is nearly full.

Former head coaches Dick Tomey and Mike Stoops routinely added five or six junior college transfers each year (with Tomey having much more success — Chris McAlister, Glenn Parker, Edwin Mulitalo, Frank Middleton, Jeremy McDaniel, Josh Miller — to name several).

Rodriguez won’t be sign as many, even though he admits his team has “quite a few immediate needs” that could be addressed by junior college additions.

“I think it’s personal philosophy from a coaching standpoint,” Rodriguez said of recruiting junior college players.

“We’ll try to get a few junior college guys every year. We didn’t really have time this past recruiting class to do much of anything. This year, there may be a couple. Again, you have to be able to get them into school.

“Everybody’s admission standards are a little bit different. So, for us, there are more challenges that way to get guys. There are a few we’re looking at. We won’t ever take a huge junior college class. We may take one, two or three — four maybe at the most — and then build around the freshmen.”

No doubt, junior college recruits have been a key factor in ASU’s good start.

Marion Grice has 36 rushes for 206 yards and five touchdowns in a deep backfield. Outside linebacker Chris Young has a team-high 36 tackles, including 9.5 for loss. Steffon Martin is a starting linebacker. At least a few others provide depth, although touted nose guard Mike Pennel is now on his second suspension.

Let’s further break down the teams so far:

Three ASU strengths

1. QB Taylor Kelly — Has managed the game, limited mistakes (only two INTs) and his mobility gives the offense versatility.

2. Discipline — Arizona State is among the national leaders with only 4.2 penalties for 31 yards per game. The Devils have picked up an extra 50 yards per game over last season just by eliminating the flags that were so prevalent under Dennis Erickson.

3. An attacking defense — The Devils rank second in the country with 9.8 tackles per loss per game.

Three Arizona strengths

1. QB Matt Scott — The coaches don’t want him to take too many shots in the running game, so he isn’t a read-option wizard like other Rodriguez quarterbacks, but he can be a threat and he’s proven he can handle the passing game. He ranks fifth nationally with an average of 367.2 yards of total offense. We’ll say it again because we like repeating ourselves: Matt Scott gives Arizona a chance.

2. Sophomores — Rodriguez can build around a promising group of sophomores that includes running back Ka’Deem Carey, wide receiver Austin Hill, offensive tackles Mickey Baucus and Fabbians Ebbele, safeties Jared Tevis, Tra’Mayne Bondurant and Jourdon Grandon, and cornerback Jonathan McKnight.

3. Tackling — Although the Cats are giving up about the same number of yards per game as last season, you have to factor in tempo. Playing faster on offense, means more possessions for everybody, which means the Wildcats are having to defend more plays. Bottom line: Arizona has improved defensively, in no small part due to better tackling, and is allowing 5.41 yards per play after yielding 6.59 yards per play last season.

So that’s the five-week check-up on the rival programs.

Short-term, give the edge to Arizona State. Long-term … well, fans of each school have to like their chances.

Nick Johnson thorouhgly enjoyed his first game against ASU. Photo by Pat Shannahan/The Arizona Republic

A two-hour basketball game between Arizona and Arizona State, followed by about 30 minutes of interviews, can be summed up like this:

“I’m just glad I’m on this side of it,” Wildcats freshman guard Nick Johnson said of the rivalry.

As you wake up in a new year, Arizona fans, aren’t you glad you’re on this side of it?

Not just because of UA’s 68-51 victory over the Sun Devils on Saturday night — the Cats’ third in a row in the series, all by double-digit margins — but, clearly, the gap is re-widening again after ASU made a run when Arizona was in the loooong transition from Lute Olson to Sean Miller.

Miller is now 4-1 against Herb Sendek, the man he assisted for five seasons at North Carolina State, and the arrival next season of the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class only figures to expand the distance between the programs.

“Just go out there and beat them,” UA forward Jesse Perry said of his mindset vs. Arizona State. “And not just beat them by one or two points, but try to make a statement.”

Arizona, at 10-4, is still very much a work in progress, with defense — and not the easy offense Derrick Williams provided last season — having to be its calling card this time around. That defensive intensity was there from the start against ASU, which committed 10 turnovers in the first 12 minutes.

The Sun Devils are 4-9 and likely will only be spared the Pac-12 basement by an epically horrific Utah team. Arizona led by as many as 24 in the second half on Saturday before tapping the brakes in the final six minutes.

As for Johnson, he scored 14 points in his first rivalry game against Arizona State, where his father, “Jumpin” Joey Johnson, played for two seasons.

“I’d like to say it was just another game, but my dad played at ASU and I was pretty emotional,” he said.

“I was excited. I woke up like at 5:30 this morning. I was tossing and turning all night.”

Johnson grew up in Gilbert, Ariz. — he was offered a scholarship to ASU after finishing middle school — and spent his final two seasons of high school ball at powerhouse Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev.

Johnson — showing the springy legs that gave his father a reported 52-inch vertical leap — had a couple of major jams vs. ASU and slipped a fast-break pass down low to Perry for another slam.

Johnson also was 3 of 5 from 3-point range after going 2 of 15 from behind the arc in the previous five contests.

“It was great to see him make a few threes,” Miller said. “He’s been working hard on it.”

Johnson has been the best of Arizona’s freshmen, although point guard Josiah Turner has been making steady progress, especially since he was suspended and left at home for the game at Florida on Dec. 7.

Turner had five steals against Arizona State. He had a career-high five assists in the previous game. One of his two assists vs. the Sun Devils came on a superb fast-break alley-oop pass to Johnson.

When the night ended, Arizona had beaten ASU for the 28th time in the past 35 meetings. Or, as the Sun Devils would prefer to say, they have won six of the past 10.

That recent stretch included a 4-0 record against UA interim head coaches Kevin O’Neill and Russ Pennell, when the Devils had superstar guard James Harden.

“When you look at when they were successful, all you say is one player — James Harden,” said UA junior forward Solomon Hill. “Other than that, it’s really been heavily one-sided.”

ASU, which doesn’t have a senior on its roster, sorely misses freshman guard Jahii Carson, who is ineligible this season. The Devils will improve in 2012-13 when he is expected to join the roster … but so will the Wildcats, who have visions of national championship runs in their future.

And that is not a bad side to be on.

Nick Foles was intercepted three times at Colorado, including one in the final minute. Photo by Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

Beat ASU.

That’s it. That’s all that’s left to do for the Arizona Wildcats.

They couldn’t beat Oklahoma State, Oregon, Stanford or USC. That’s understandable.

They couldn’t win at Oregon State. That was the final straw that got coach Mike Stoops fired.

They couldn’t win at Washington or beat Utah at home — two decent, but beatable teams — when there was still a postseason to play for. Oh well.

And then they flat-out embarrassed themselves at Colorado on Saturday, losing 48-29 to a team that hadn’t won a Pac-12 game. To a team that was averaging 18 points a game. To a team that had given up at least 500 yards in five consecutive games.

In reaching a new low, the Wildcats did their most unforgivable thing of the season.

“We have a lot of guys that play really, really hard, but I’m not sure we have a whole team that is doing that,” said interim head coach Tim Kish.

Said senior safety Robert Golden: “When the going gets rough for us, we fold somewhat. I feel like some guys on our team competed and other guys didn’t.”

From the start, Arizona didn’t match Colorado’s effort, and the Wildcats made the same kind of mistakes against the Buffs as they did against the elite teams. UA’s record fell to 2-8 overall and 1-7 in the Pac-12 — the worst mark in the league.

Some guys gave up when the potential reward was beating lowly Colorado.

You would think that playing against Arizona State would inspire a peak performance, but there is no counting on that.

“If you can’t get jacked up to play this weekend, then you might as well not even play,” said senior receiver David Douglas.

That sounds good, but will the Wildcats put that into action?

It’s not as if Arizona State is coming out with any momentum, either.

The Sun Devils surrendered control of the Pac-12 South race with a loss at UCLA on Nov. 5. And then on a cold and wet Saturday night in Pullman, Wash., with a chance to get back into the driver’s seat in the division after the Bruins’ loss at Utah, Arizona State sputtered and lost 37-27 to Washington State.

Plagued by injury issues in the secondary, the Devils gave up a staggering 494 passing yards to redshirt freshman quarterback Connor Halliday in the first extended playing time of his career.

ASU still is in decent shape to get to the Pac-12 championship game because it has an easier closing schedule than UCLA; the teams are tied at 4-3 in the conference. The Bruins get Colorado at home and USC on the road. The Devils get Arizona and Cal at home.

Yes, ASU needs help, but at least it still has big prizes in play. The Devils will be coming back home. They will be wearing their all-black uniforms.

“This is a true test,” senior receiver Gerell Robinson said of this week’s game.

“We will see what we are made of. Either we are going to stand up or we are going to lie down. That is just what it is.”

Same deal for Arizona.

This is all that’s left — beat ASU. Arizona finishes the following week against Louisiana-Lafayette in what will be an Arizona Stadium ghost town.

By then, Arizona could have a new coach in place or will be zeroing in on its candidate. The topic will be the future.

For this week, the topic is A-S-U.

“I challenged our guys to make it meaningful for them,” Kish said of what he told the team after the loss to Colorado. “We have to come back and start working hard on Monday the hardest they have worked all year. It’s not going to get any easier.”

Time to stand up.

The Arizona Republic had seven of its writers/media partners predict the score for the Arizona-Arizona State … and five went for the upset.

Yep, five of them are on record as picking the Sun Devils, a 5.5-point underdog to beat the Wildcats at Arizona Stadium.

Here is a sampling of opinion from up north (click on this link for all the predictions), and keep reading below for my take:

The Zona Zoo made a statement in the 2008 game, which Arizona won 31-10. Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Dan Bickley, Arizona Republic columnist
Nothing makes sense about this rivalry. Sometimes the better team loses. That will be the case in 2010, as ASU surprises the Wildcats with team speed and a hot quarterback. Brock Osweiler looked a lot like Andrew Walter in a brilliant showing against UCLA, and appears to be seizing his latest opportunity. The Sun Devils are catching their rivals at the right time. ASU 31, Arizona 27

Paola Boivin, Arizona Republic columnist
This one has the makings of a down-to-the-wire heart-stopper. Brock Osweiler has added a bounce to ASU’s step but the Wildcats have a home crowd on their side. Hard to believe a Sun Devils’ win would give both teams the same conference record (4-5). How did that happen? Arizona 35, ASU 34

Doug Haller, Arizona Republic writer
Arizona has a tough task. Playing the top team in the country (Oregon) one week and your chief rival the next can’t be easy. Can the Wildcats’ match last week’s intensity? On the other side, Brock Osweiler’s performance against UCLA has revived ASU. The Sun Devils feel confident, knowing they have played well (the Cal trip excluded) on the road. The guess here is this contest comes down to a field goal. Thomas Weber has missed his share of big kicks this season. This time he delivers. ASU 23, Arizona 20

OK, so what do I think?

I have had a hard time this week convincing myself that Arizona is going to win this game, but it seems as if the Phoenix media is trying even harder the other way. Each of the seven media members cited Osweiler as a positive factor for Arizona State in this matchup.

Really? A sophomore making his second career start and first of the season? Osweiler looked sharp last week in relief of an injured Steven Threet, but, c’mon, he was throwing against UCLA.

For as leaky as Arizona’s defense has been in the past few weeks, it is still better than whatever the young Bruins are putting out on the field. And after facing Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley and Darron Thomas (and all those other super-speedy Ducks), I’m guessing the Wildcats aren’t living in fear of Brock Osweiler.

On the other hand, Arizona looks a bit whipped, physically and emotionally. The Cats are limping to the finish line.

“We’re beaten, a little down,” offensive tackle Adam Grant said Monday.

“You just have to get back up. I think the guys can do it. We’ve played three straight good teams and we have one more to go. But, hopefully, mentally, we’re there and we get the plays done that we need to get done. Hopefully, we came through and play for each other, because that’s what it’s about.”

It’s about finishing an acceptable 8-4, which is 100 times better than finishing at 7-5 record with a four-game losing streak and a sub-.500 conference record.

Anyway, bottom line …

I like the matchup for Arizona, because the ASU offense doesn’t have the power of Stanford or USC, or have the other-worldly skill of Oregon. This should be more like the Arizona defense from the first two-thirds of the season.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats offense is capable of moving the ball against anyone. Can it convert better in the red zone? That’s the question.

As far as motivation … if the Arizona team that showed up for the first half against the Ducks makes a 60-minute appearance, you can start planning those trips to the Alamo Bowl.

And, really, why wouldn’t that team show up?

Arizona 27, Arizona State 24.

The first four are defensive linemen. The next three are linebackers. The totality is a defensive front seven that is good enough to beat Arizona.

ASU true freshman Vontaze Burfict has a penchant for big hits and costly penalities/photo by Michael Chow, The Arizona Republic

There. I said it.

“Arizona State’s front seven is as good as any in the Pac-10, if not the country,” Washington State coach Paul Wulff said earlier this season.

A bit of hyperbole from a coach who hasn’t won a conference game this season? Perhaps. But he’s in the right ballpark.

ASU’s defense has deserved a better fate than the team’s 4-7 record. The Sun Devils allow 3.3 yards per rush — the stingiest mark in the conference.

Arizona will be without starting running back Nic Grigsby. UA could very well be without running back Keola Antolin.

Hard to see the Wildcats busting big plays from Greg Nwoko and Nick Booth — two good backs, but neither has the wiggle or the speed as UA’s top two runners.

If UA can’t run, the Sun Devils can drop eight players into coverage against Arizona’s spread offense. It could be like the Cal game all over again. You remember Cal. A 24-16 loss in which Arizona ran for all of 72 yards.

“They’re pretty good up front,” Arizona coach Mike Stoops said of ASU.

“They make it very difficult to run. They’re very fast and physical up front, and their linebackers are very stout, too, with Vontaze in there. They present some big challenges. They’re big. They’re hard to move around and get running space. They do a good job clogging up the run and we’re going to have to find ways to move it.”

Yes, ASU allowed 268 rushing yards to Oregon, but Arizona is not Oregon.

Yes, ASU allowed 237 rushing yards to Stanford, but Arizona is also not Stanford in the running game.

If Saturday’s game in Tempe turns into a defensive grind, which is what ASU wants, the advantage tilts to the home team, which will gain confidence and has nothing left to lose.

Arizona has everything to lose.

The season is OK as it is. The Wildcats are 6-4. According to the point spreads, they should be 6-4. According to the preseason projections, 6-4 is right on target, perhaps even a bit closer to the bulls-eye.

Losing at ASU would turn a once- and still-promising season into a disaster.

It would potentially leave UA out of the bowl picture. With a game at USC remaining, it would shove the Wildcats closer to a season-ending four-game losing streak.

Ugh.

No doubt, Arizona has a better overall team than ASU. Strange things happen in this rivalry game, but being concerned about Arizona State isn’t about strange things having to happen.

It’s about ASU being big and tough up front on defense. It’s about ASU’s defense making a play — or two or three — that turns the game toward the Sun Devils.

It will have to be their defense. Their offense can’t do it. Not much sizzle there. Sophomore Samson Szakacsy will make his second career start at quarterback.

He adds a different dimension because of his running ability, but Arizona won’t be awed by his feet after seeing Oregon’s Jeremiah Masoli last week. Szakacsy threw an interception for a touchdown last week at UCLA. One of his three fumbles was returned for a touchdown.

Arizona’s defense might be able to make a few plays, too.

But if Arizona State’s defensive front seven asserts itself, it could be a long day for the Wildcats no matter what else happens.