It sometimes seems as if Derek Glasser has been the point guard at Arizona State forever.

"Before every game now, the refs come up to me and say, 'You still here?' " Glasser said with a grin. "And I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm still here.' "

The Sun Devils are glad for that. The 6-foot-1 senior from Marina del Rey, Calif, is a throwback to a forgotten time in college hoops, when players came to campus as raw freshmen and grew into trusted, tested seniors.

Little more than an emergency fill-in when he arrived in the summer of 2006, Glasser has become the school's assists leader, its most accurate free throw shooter and a cornerstone of a revived program (10-3).

"In my mind, Derek is as improved as most any player in college basketball in the last three years," coach Herb Sendek said.

Glasser has 467 career assists. He broke the ASU record in a victory over UC Santa Barbara on Monday night. He also tops the ASU list in free throw shooting, at 83.5 percent.

"He has made tremendous strides at each stage in his career and has established himself as a really good Pac-10 player," Sendek said. "Derek is a gamer."

•After three straight holiday seasons spoiled by Illinois, finally Missouri coach Mike Anderson had his chance to crow. "We're the ultimate team," Anderson said not once but several times after the Tigers dominated throughout in an 81-68 victory over Illinois in the annual "Braggin' Rights" game Wednesday night. Missouri had lost nine in a row, the last three under Anderson, in the series.

AP