Six games are left in the Pacific-10 Conference season, and Oregon knows the importance of each one.
No, the Ducks can’t win four and they can’t win five. To feel comfortable enough to get into the NCAA Tournament regardless of their Pac-10 Tournament showing, the Ducks know six wins in six games is important.
“I think every game for us is a must-win,” Oregon forward Luke Jackson said. “That’s how we’re looking at it and that’s how we’ll approach every game. We’ve got to have all the games; we’re going to try and go out and take them.”
Tied for third in conference play with California, the Ducks (12-7 overall, 7-5 Pac-10) are not in a solid position. With the conference lauded for its parity this season — and in turn, a lack of NCAA Tournament-caliber teams — third may not be good enough.
As it stands right now, the Ducks would probably be one of the last few teams to be left out of the Big Dance, according to Joe Lunardi on ESPN.com’s Bracketology, although RPI rankings also support that prediction.
Oregon’s six-game stretch begins Thursday with Arizona, a team that beat the Ducks by 24 in January. The Wildcats swept the Ducks last season, but have been decimated to an unaccustomed five Pac-10 losses this season. Injuries and a lack of playing depth have left Arizona further down the Pac-10 food chain this season.
Perfect chance for the Ducks to make it two wins in a row?
Maybe, but it will take some effort.
“If we can get this victory, it will help us out,” Oregon guard Andre Joseph said. “I definitely feel that we need to beat Arizona or Stanford. It’s the best-case scenario (right now). We’re at home and we have the crowd behind us. The team really needs to pull together on Thursday.”
Lose one more game, and the Ducks’ NCAA chances lessen. Lose two, and the National Invitation Tournament looks like a sure thing.
“Like coach (Ernie Kent) says, the margin of error is getting smaller every game,” Oregon forward Mitch Platt said. “We need to win the rest of these.”

Leftovers
Final thoughts on the Nate Robinson game-ending dunk flap?
“Coach (Lorenzo Romar) will probably make me run,” Robinson told The (Tacoma) News Tribune after the game. “But it’s worth it. I’ll run all day if I get a little extra dessert for the team.”
And this came from Oregon’s Ian Crosswhite after the game.
“Nate wanted to prove a point and he proved it,” Crosswhite said. “He knows what he did.”
Imagine what will happen if the Ducks and Huskies meet in the Pac-10 Tournament in March.
Or even next year at McArthur Court.

Injury check
Kent said Tuesday that freshman guard Aaron Brooks probably will not play Thursday against Arizona, but that it is not a final decision.
Kent said Brooks could play Saturday, although it might be more likely that Brooks will see his first game action since Jan. 2 when the Ducks visit California next week.
Kent also said guard Jordan Kent was upgraded to probable for Thursday. The younger Kent injured his right ankle in Oregon’s loss to Washington and did not play Saturday against Washington State.

Hey, he went to Oregon
Soon after the Ducks were done slipping past Washington State in Pullman, former Oregon guard Fred Jones was on his way to winning the NBA’s slam dunk contest at the All-Star game in Los Angeles.
Jones, who plays for Indiana, combined to score 92 points on two dunks in the first round. He then proceeded to defeat Golden State guard Jason Richardson in the final.
Jones scored a perfect 50 on his first final round dunk, then received a 36 on his second for a total score of 86.
Richardson finished with a 78.
“It was an honor to be out here, because Jason Richardson is one of the greatest dunkers ever,” Jones told reporters afterward. “I was just trying to be creative and do something different.”
Richardson had won the previous two times.

Of note
Since Arizona and Arizona State joined the Pac-10 for the 1978-79 season, the Ducks have swept the two at McArthur Court seven times. The last time came during Oregon’s perfect season at home, 2001-02.
Oregon has been swept six times, the last coming in 1998-99.