Washington State made its trip through Oregon in mid-January and swept Oregon and Oregon State to improve to 3-2 in Pacific-10 Conference play.
The Cougars have dropped five of six games since, though the lone win was an impressive 65-55 one at then-No. 14 Arizona State. They currently sit tied for No. 7 in the conference standings with Arizona and Oregon State, despite deploying what is statistically the best defense in the conference.
“This road trip will be a learning experience,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “We must continue to play.”
Washington State has dropped its last three games, the most recent a 71-63 loss at California, and coach Tony Bennett said in a telephone conference with reporters Tuesday that it isn’t necessarily because his team has played poorly. Contrary to national sentiment that the conference is in a down year, Bennett said the league is as tough as ever and the Cougars just lost to good competition.
“If you are not real good, you’re not going to win, and the league is stronger, I think, than many people have thought. We have a lot of teams that are capable,” he said.
Washington State welcomes the struggling Oregon Ducks (6-17, 0-11 Pac-10) into Friel Court on Thursday at 7 p.m., and won’t be caught looking past the winless Ducks, Bennett said.
“(Oregon) is playing with a sense of urgency at this time and that will be the challenge to our team is to come out with that,” he said. “They’re very inconsistent, as we have been, but with a lot of young kids that have played stretches of good basketball.”
The game presents another challenge for Duck freshman center Michael Dunigan in the paint, as the Cougars start 6-foot-10 senior Aron Baynes in the middle. Baynes averages 12.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the season and notched 19 points and 12 rebounds against the Ducks in the Cougars’ 74-62 win at McArthur Court on Jan. 17. It was Baynes’ second double-double of the season and the fifth of his career.
Washington State also features veteran leadership at guard with senior Taylor Rochestie, who torched Oregon with a career-high 30 points in January, including 16-of-16 from the free throw line. The Cougars were a combined 28-of-28 from the charity stripe in the game to set a new Pac-10 record (previously 22-for-22, USC vs. Oregon, March 8, 2002).
Oregon goes to Pullman seeking its first conference win. A loss to the Cougars would cement Oregon’s worst conference start of the conference’s 10-school era, (1978-present) at 0-12. With their 87-77 loss to Arizona on Saturday, the Ducks tied Jerry Green’s 1992-93 squad in the category. Bennett said Oregon’s motivation to get that first win will be something his team is mindful of in preparation.
“They’ll be hungry to try and get that first win so we’re going to have to meet that and just execute at a high level,” he said.
“I am looking forward to next weekend on the road,” freshman Drew Wiley said Saturday. “The whole team is working really hard and we have good chances to win.”
There is no televised broadcast of the game. Radio play-by-play is available on 590 AM and live streaming audio and statistics will be available on GoDucks.com.
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