They’re the 13th-best men’s basketball team in the nation after being unranked a week ago.
They’re Dick Vitale’s “Team of the Week” in his
column on ESPN.com.
They’re the sole owners of first place in the unpredictable
Pacific-10 Conference.
Yet, they feel that some people still doubt them, and they plan on changing that this week.
The Ducks (17-5, 9-2) returned to practice Tuesday after taking two days off to rest their bodies after sweeping the L.A. schools in an energized atmosphere at McArthur Court.
Oregon raised its home record to 13-0, with the list of victims now including No. 11 Arizona, No. 15 UCLA, No. 20 Stanford and No. 25 USC.
But — and here’s the Ducks’ mantra for this week — Oregon has yet to prove it can consistently win on the road, where it’s just 4-5.
And this week’s road trip means a visit to Stanford’s Maples Pavilion, where the Ducks have lost 16 straight, and California’s Haas Pavilion.
So, let the road talk begin.
“We’re really looking forward to getting on the road and proving to people that we can win there too,” sophomore Luke Ridnour said.
“We have to play twice as hard on the road, and now going on the road is totally different because we’re on top,” senior Anthony Lever said.
“It’s going to be a tough road for us, but we have to come out with victories that’ll tell everybody else that we’re for real,” senior Freddie Jones said. “We know we are. We just have to continue to try and prove ourselves.”
These Ducks know what it’s like to be in the bottom half of the standings after experiencing last season’s dismal 5-13 Pac-10 record and don’t plan on going back down there.
Now, Oregon has first place all to itself but is only a game ahead of USC (8-3) and Arizona (8-3).
“I haven’t looked at the standings, but I know we’re at the top, and that’s where we want to stay,” Ridnour said.
Of the seven remaining Pac-10 games, three are at the Pit against the league doormats in Oregon State (Feb. 16) and the two Washington schools (Feb. 21-23). The other four games are on the road, which begin with the two Bay Area teams this week and a rematch with the Trojans and the Bruins at the end of the month.
“We just have to bring it every night,” Jones said. “We have a target on us now, and that’s what good teams want. They relish the situation.”
Should the Ducks beat the Cardinal on the road Thursday for the first time since Jan. 13, 1986, they will no doubt continue to receive more national attention as the Pac-10 leader.
Clearly, though, some big-time personalities need to do more homework on the Ducks. While ESPN’s Dick Vitale did give Oregon respect, he misspelled Jones’ first name as “Freddy” and spelled out McArthur Court
as “MacArthur.”
“He still don’t know us yet, so we got to prove some more,” Jones said.
“I don’t know about him, we’ll see,” Lever said of Vitale. “Once he gets it all straight, we’ll be happy with him.”

Norwood who?
In head coach Ernie Kent’s postgame press conference following Oregon’s win over USC on Saturday, he again referred to senior guard Anthony Lever as “Anthony Norwood,” which he has done throughout the season.
“It’s never going to change,” Lever said, laughing. “The day where he can consistently say ‘Lever,’ I’ll be happy, but it doesn’t matter anymore. The funny thing now is that everybody else on the team nudges me every time he says it.”
Lever legally changed his name over the summer in honor of his father, former NBA player Lafayette “Fat” Lever.
Sometimes, Lever will be on the bench during a game and hear Kent yell for “Norwood” to get in there.
“I can’t just sit there, I have to get in the game,” Lever said.
So, coach, what’s his last name?
“Lever,” Kent said with a smile. “But hey, all the guys do the same thing too when they call him ‘Wood.’ I have to catch myself though.”

Bracketology
The calendar has flipped to February, leaving March Madness looming in the distance. In this week’s ESPN.com “Bracketology,” where the NCAA Tournament field is projected, the Ducks are a fifth-seed and have a first round match-up with 12th-seeded Tulsa.
Oregon’s predicted to play on March 14 at Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif. The 476 miles of travel distance for the Ducks would sure beat the 2,761 miles they flew to Buffalo, N.Y., for their one-and-done tourney experience in
March 2000.