Saturday’s Civil War showdown with
Oregon State marks an early season crossroads for the Oregon men’s basketball team.
With a win, the Ducks execute damage control after a tough loss to UCLA on
Sunday and prepare for their first Pacific-10 Conference road trip with a 2-1 conference record. With a loss, Oregon stumbles through three straight home games with a 1-2 ledger before traveling to take on No. 12 Washington.
While the Ducks could certainly
rebound from a loss to Oregon State (or collapse after a win), they have an opportunity to send their season in the right
direction by defeating the Beavers.
“You want to start 3-0 (in conference play) and obviously we can’t do that, so the next best thing is to go 2-1,” head coach Ernie Kent said. “It’s important,
period, to win all of your home games in the Pac-10 Conference because it’s so tough on the road.”
Facing the Beavers on the hardwood
has always brought an extra source of
motivation for the Oregon basketball team and its fans. This season, however, the Civil War hype has taken a back seat to
the idea of the Ducks simply needing a home win against a much-improved
Oregon State squad.
With each roster featuring only four
players from the state of Oregon, Kent said the rivalry lacks the “old school mentality” present during his days as a member of the Kamikaze Kids during the mid-1970s.
“These kids have played with each other during the summer time and some of these kids even hang out together,” Kent said. “But it’s still the Ducks, and it’s still the Beavers, we understand that. We’re going to get up to play, they’re going to get up to play. It’s going to make for a great college basketball game.”
Even someone who is familiar with
the rivalry managed to downplay the
importance of playing in the Civil War.
“I haven’t really thought about it in
that way,” said Redmond native and
freshman forward Maarty Leunen. “It’s just another Pac-10 game. I have nothing against them so it’s just a game with us against Oregon State.”
The Beavers enter Saturday’s contest with a 10-3 record, including victories against UCLA and Southern California last week. If the Ducks expect to win, they’ll need much more of an impact performance out of
freshman guard Malik Hairston, who was limited to 14 points during the first Pac-10 weekend of his career. If Oregon doesn’t get more out of the McDonald’s All-American and the rest of its perimeter players, it
could be a long night against the Beavers’ talented group of big men.
“I had a rough weekend,” Hairston said. “It made me come in and work even harder.”
The veteran players know it. Coach Kent has known it for a long time. And if the freshmen don’t know it yet, they soon will: Winning home games is essential to winning the Pac-10 title and any dreams of advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
If the youthful Ducks want to consider themselves legitimate contenders for a spot in the postseason, defeating the Beavers on Saturday is a good way to start.
“We want to protect our house,” Hairston said. “We don’t want to lose anymore at (McArthur Court).”
While rivalry games are always fun for a team and its fans, winning at home and focusing on the
long-term goals of the season carry more weight for the Oregon men’s basketball team.
And that’s exactly how it should be.

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