When the Oregon men’s basketball team last played Washington State on Jan. 20, the Ducks were apprehensive after dropping a close game to Washington the previous Thursday. Oregon managed to beat the Cougars, 81-66, in Eugene.
Now, the Ducks are apprehensive after losing three straight games, for various reasons, and dropping fast in the Pacific-10 Conference. If Oregon loses both games this weekend, it could find itself last in the conference.
But the Ducks are still in good spirits. Now, instead of talking about NCAAs and NITs, Oregon talks about having fun and enjoying the rest of the season.
“We’re still capable of having a great finish,” said Ernie Kent, Oregon head coach.
The Ducks will try to put the season back together north of the Oregon-Washington border.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Oregon guard Freddie Jones said. “They’re two tough teams, and they’re going to come out and battle us. We’ve got to battle back.”
The Northwest rivalries have been intense recently. Three of the Ducks’ last five games with Washington have gone into overtime, while the Ducks have gone to overtime in Pullman the past two seasons.
From a nuts-and-bolts perspective, Kent said he hopes Oregon’s offense can get back on track soon. The Ducks have averaged 63.3 points over their past three games, after they averaged 76.9 in eight Pac-10 games prior to the losing streak.
Oregon has shot a combined 39.1 percent from the field over the past three games, well below its season average of 45.9 percent.
The biggest blow may be from behind the three-point line. The Ducks have shot threes at a 28.2 percent clip over the past three games, dragging their season average down to 34.4 percent.
On the flip side, Oregon has played tough defense recently. Besides its slip-up against Arizona State, Kent said, the team has played better defense than when it started the season.
Kent said the road may actually be a good place to get back the basketball skills that have evaded the Ducks recently.
“It’s good that we can get by ourselves and figure some things out,” Kent said. “Sometimes our mental focus can come back to us when we get out on the road.”
The Washington State team Oregon plays tonight will be different than the one the Ducks faced in Eugene earlier this season. WSU junior Framecio Little, sophomores Nick Graham, Jerry McNair and Kendall Minor, along with freshman E.J. Harris, were suspended for the Cougars’ game in Oregon after they broke curfew and went to a Eugene bar the night before the game. All those players will be suited up against the Ducks tonight.
Notably missing will be senior Eddie Miller, who was kicked off the team after he supposedly led the band of Cougar players — many of them under 21 — to the bar. Miller had been one of WSU’s leading scorers.
The Cougars home court may be a tougher place to play than the Ducks expect. Oregon won at Friel Court in Pullman last season, 81-80, in overtime. Two seasons ago, the Ducks won, 87-83, in triple overtime. This season, WSU is a surprising 7-2 on its home floor, and is looking forward to three more home conference games after taking on the Oregon schools.
Tonight’s game starts at 7 p.m. in Pullman and will be broadcast on the Oregon Sports Network. Saturday’s matchup with Washington, starting at 5 p.m., will be shown on Fox Sports Net.