Adam Amato Emerald
Oregon coach Ernie Kent was a player for the Ducks the last time the program cracked its way into the Top-10 back in 1975.
More historic numbers keep popping up in regards to the banner season the Oregon men’s basketball team is having.
The Ducks captured their first league championship since 1944-45 and first outright title since 1939.
They beat UCLA at Pauley Pavilion for the first time since 1984.
They finished the Pacific-10 Conference schedule with a 14-4 record, which was their best league mark since that ’39 championship squad went 14-2 in the Pacific Coast Conference.
And now they can add an Associated Press top-10 ranking to the list. Oregon vaulted into the No. 9 spot in Monday’s AP writer’s poll for the first time since being ranked eighth on Feb. 4, 1975.
The 1974-75 Ducks reached the top 10 after starting out 15-2, but then lost six straight to fall out. Both Oregon head coach Ernie Kent and assistant coach Greg Graham were players on that Oregon team and realize the magnitude of bringing the Ducks back to the elite level and winning the Pac-10 title.
“Ernie and I have been waiting for this for about 30 years,” Graham said. “We’ve been here a long time. It’s been neat to have a bunch of ex-players calling us and giving us encouragement and telling how much it means to them.
“So it’s double special for us.”
The news wasn’t all good out of the Oregon camp Monday, though. Junior center Brian Helquist will miss this week’s Pac-10 Tournament with a strained right knee, and it’s questionable whether he will return for the NCAA Tournament.
Helquist suffered the injury in Oregon’s win at USC last Thursday, scoring two points in 11 minutes. He sat out Saturday’s UCLA game and had his knee checked out Sunday.
Because he didn’t tear any ligaments, the Ducks are hopeful of his return — most likely in the Sweet 16 if Oregon were to make it past the first weekend with two wins. But nothing will be known for sure until Helquist goes through some rehabilitation and sees how it feels.
In Helquist’s absence, more playing time will go to senior Mark Michaelis and sophomore Jay Anderson in the roles of backing up starter Chris Christoffersen, who can help the Ducks by staying out of foul trouble.
Pac-10 Tourney info
Oregon is the top seed in this week’s conference tournament at Los Angeles’ Staples Center and will play eighth-seeded Washington at 1:15 p.m. Thursday on Fox Sports Net.
In other first round pairings, No. 4 USC plays No. 5 Stanford, No. 2 Arizona plays No. 7 Arizona State and No. 3 California plays No. 6 UCLA.
If the Ducks do get past the Huskies, which is no certainty given how well Washington has played against Oregon, the Ducks would advance and play either the Cardinal or the Trojans at 6 p.m. Friday. The championship game is set for 3 p.m. Saturday and will be nationally televised on CBS.
Tickets for the Pac-10 Tournament are still available and can be purchased through the UCLA ticket office at (310) 825-2946 or via the Pac-10 Web site at http://store.fansonly.com/pac10tix.
The Final Bracketology
Oregon has played itself right into where it wants to be.
In ESPN.com’s latest “Bracketology,” where the entire NCAA Tournament field is projected, the Ducks have jumped all the way to a coveted No. 2 seed in the West region.
Oregon is predicted to play McNeese State (19-8) on March 14 in Arco Arena in Sacramento. If the Ducks were to get past the McNeese State Cowboys, they’d face a likely second round match-up with seventh-seeded Wisconsin.
Looking further in the bracket that ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has projected, if Oregon were to win two games, it would stay in California and play in San Jose for the Sweet 16. Probable opponents for that match-up would be No. 3 seed Gonzaga or No. 6 seed Texas Tech, which is coached by none other than Bobby Knight.
And if the Ducks win that game? Well, then they could be facing off with the top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners for a berth in the Final Four.
But this is all fantasy talk right now. The conference tournaments take place this weekend, and a lot still can change.
Nobody will know for certain until the real bracket is released on the Selection Sunday show, which will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday on CBS. Fans are encouraged to come watch the show live with the Oregon team on big screen televisions at McArthur Court.
“The real celebration will be on Selection Sunday because I think that’s a time where we’ll celebrate the Pac-10 championship and have the fans experience that with us,” Kent said.
E-mail assistant sports editor Jeff Smith
at [email protected].