Each time Oregon head coach Kelly Graves and his staff debriefed Oregon’s 11 nonconference wins, they made sure to point to the beginning of conference play.
Against the Pac-12’s elite competition, they said, they couldn’t afford to make the same mistakes.
“We’ve been really, really setting our sights on this weekend,” Graves said. “I think our kids are really excited, no question.”
The undefeated Ducks on Saturday get their first taste of conference play against No. 21 UCLA on Saturday (2 p.m., Pac-12 Networks). They’ll also square off against 12-1 USC while in Los Angeles on Monday night.
“I think the conference is terrific,” Graves said. “Here we are, 11-0 and quite frankly, you look at our first six games, and I’m not sure we would be picked as the favorite in any of them.”
After the opening weekend, the Ducks will face No. 10 Oregon State in back-to-back games and then welcome No. 19 California and No. 11 Stanford to Eugene the following weekend.
“That’s an amazing stretch of games,” Graves said.
UCLA boasts a stellar backcourt. Jordin Canada averages 18.0 points a game and 6.25 assists. Nirra Fields so far is averaging 17.5 points a game and 7.3 rebounds. Down low, UCLA’s Monique Billings has two straight double-doubles and has 20 or more points in four of her last six games. Billings also pulls down 8.6 rebounds a game.
Maite Cazorla, who has been terrific for the Ducks so far this year, will play a key role for the Ducks against UCLA’s guards. Cazorla is third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.37) and fifth in assists per game (7.5).
“I think she really wants to see what she can do against elite competition,” Graves said. “That backcourt of Fields and Canada might be as good as any in the country. That could be the best 1-2.”
Last year, the Ducks won three of four games against the Los Angeles schools, including a sweep in Eugene, the program’s first since 2007. The Ducks held Canada and Fields to a combined 23 points last January.
Through nonconference play, the Ducks are atop the conference in scoring (87.7 points a game) and field goals with 52.4 percent.
“This is going to be quite a test, and really our first test since [North] Carolina,” Graves said. “I think we’re all excited to see where we are and what we have. I know our kids believe that we can go down and win.”
UCLA’s three losses so far have come against ranked opponents in No. 2 South Carolina, No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 19 California.
Oregon senior forward Jillian Alleyne will travel home to Los Angeles for her final time as a Duck. The Fontana, California native ranks third in the Pac-12 in points (18.9) and first in rebounds (13.8). She had 30 points and 25 rebounds in Oregon’s 67-65 win over UCLA last season.
Ducks have landed in Los Angeles 🙌🏾 so happy to be back in my home state again and so excited to be playing in front of my family & friends💚
— Jillian Alleyne (@SuperrJaay) January 1, 2016
“We’re going to need her to have a lot of monster games,” Graves said of Alleyne, who ranks first in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (68.5 percent). “No question, I think she’s going to be the key, all season long.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne
