Oregon faces a stiff test for its first Pacific-10 Conference homestand this week when the Bay Area schools come crashing in with their imposing front courts.
No. 23 Stanford and California have had success in their non-conference schedules and now look to add on to their records with a victorious weekend in Oregon. Both also have different styles of play as the Bears play high-scoring with little-to-no defense while the Cardinal limit their opponents’ point total by playing grind-it-out basketball.
Both are threats to have the Ducks come away with zero wins this weekend.
“Defensively, there’s going to be some things we’re going to do differently with these two teams coming up because of their size,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “It’s going to come down to the ability to work every single possession and play with a tremendous amount of energy and confidence. And just play smart. That’s how we beat these two teams last year.”
Cal
The Bears (10-3 overall, 1-1 Pac-10) have been leaning heavily on two of the top-10 scorers in the Pac-10. Sophomore forward Ryan Anderson leads the conference with 20.8 points per game and sophomore guard Patrick Christopher is eighth with 17.1.
“Cal’s very quick, big, they’ve got a lot of perimeter players,” Oregon freshman point guard Kamyron Brown said.
Senior 6-foot-11 center DeVon Hardin, who has recovered from last year’s stress fracture, is fourth in the Pac-10, averaging 9.8 rebounds per game. Hardin was shut down after the Jan. 5 game against UCLA, the game before Cal was set to play the Ducks.
“They’ve got a shot blocker in there,” Kent said. “They’re a much different team defensively with him in the middle.”
Kent said he might have senior forward Maarty Leunen take twenty outside shots to help draw Hardin away from the basket.
Stanford
The Cardinal have emerged as one of the top teams in the Pac-10 after losing once during the non-conference schedule and having a lead on UCLA before falling apart late in the second half. Stanford’s record (12-2, 1-1) has the team fourth in the conference and looks to compete for the top of the standings now that 7-foot sophomore center Brook Lopez is back on the court.
Lopez was academically ineligible until the Dec. 19 game against Santa Clara and leads the Cardinal averaging 15.8 points per game in the five games since returning to action.
His presence, alongside his twin brother, center Robin Lopez, makes Stanford a team that’s difficult to match up against.
Stanford has also benefited from the strong play of junior Anthony Goods who is second on the team averaging 13.0 points per game. Goods also acts as the Cardinal’s main outside scoring threat, scoring on more than 40 percent of his three-point attempts.
Oregon came away with a 66-59 win in Eugene against Stanford, holding the Lopez twins to a combined 16 points in January last year but suffered a 88-69 loss when traveling to the Bay Area in February when Brook Lopez further developed his game and dropped 26 points on the Ducks.
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