Saturday’s football Civil War between the Ducks and Beavers is anticipated by many — Oregon men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent included.
Kent expects a few of his players to attend the game and cheer on their fellow athletes. But once Sunday rolls around, the focus will be back to basketball as Oregon (4-1 overall) travels to Portland’s Chiles Center to take on the Pilots at 3 p.m. Oregon has won the last 20 meetings with Portland; their last loss came in 1964.
Kent said he hopes the excitement generated by the football team this fall will roll over into the basketball team.
“Football’s done their part, and now it’s our turn,” Kent said. “They’ll still have the bowl game after Saturday, but we’ll have a lot of big games in between, especially with our Pac-10 season starting earlier this year.”
Indeed, on Dec. 20 and 22, the Arizona schools will visit McArthur Court to open up the always-tough Pacific-10 Conference. But Kent has made the point of emphasizing the challenging non-league games that Oregon has on its schedule.
For example, remember that Western Michigan team that the Ducks beat 91-48 on Nov. 16? Well, that same team turned around and beat the Michigan Wolverines, 79-73, a week later.
And Kent took notice of Pepperdine’s upset win at UCLA on Wednesday, as Pepperdine will be visiting The Pit on Dec. 14.
“It shows people that we put together a tough schedule,” Kent said.
The Ducks looked impressive over Rick Pitino-coached Louisville in a 90-63 victory, but then stumbled on the road Tuesday against Massachusetts.
The game was close throughout, but the Minutemen made all the right plays in the end to come away with the four-point win.
“We needed a game like U. Mass,” Kent said. “We learned from it and we know there’s a lot of basketball left. We’re a little fatigued from all the travel.”
Because of the East Coast trip and the impending finals next week, the Ducks took Wednesday and Thursday off
before returning to practice today.
Oregon knows it can’t afford to look past the Pilots. Portland is 2-2, with wins over Cal-State Riverside on Nov. 17 and Idaho on Wednesday, while its first loss was a hard-fought 96-90 overtime contest at Idaho State.
That other loss came against top-ranked Duke in the Blue Devils’ home opener at rowdy Cameron Indoor Stadium. So Kent knows the Pilots will be battle-tested and eager to play the Ducks on their home turf.
“This is probably their biggest home game of the season,” he said. “It’s going to be another tough game on the road for us.”
Oregon had trouble with Portland last season, winning only 66-60 at Mac Court, but Kent said both teams have changed dramatically.
“People need to get off last year,” Kent said. “We’re a much different team. And Portland is going to be a different team with a different coach and a different system. I don’t think you can compare the two seasons.”
Casey Frandsen and Coky Rochin lead the Pilots with 18.5 points per game while Rochin also leads the team in rebounds with nine per game.