Embarrassing was how Oregon described its loss at Arizona last season.
Embarrassing is how Arizona described its loss at Oregon on Saturday night.
The coach may say that you can’t compare last season to this season and that whatever happened in the past should stay there.
But the players know better.
Memories of the Ducks’ 39-point loss at Tucson stayed in the players’ minds. They remembered how Arizona treated them like the lowly Washington Generals as the Wildcats celebrated their seniors in their last home game.
So there was no Duck lacking a smile after Oregon turned the tables and gave the Arizona players a lesson in humiliation.
In front of a sold out McArthur Court crowd of 9,087 and a Fox Sports Net television audience, the Ducks upset the 11th-ranked Wildcats, 105-75, in a game that grabbed the attention of the national media.
“I just had a chance to talk on ESPN radio and the whole thing was, ‘Who was this Oregon team?’” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “People need to appreciate this team.”
They’re beginning to.
After a so-so non-conference performance, including that one-point loss at Portland, the Ducks are off to a sizzling start in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Because of the new Pac-10 tournament this season, league play began in December and Oregon didn’t seem to mind.
The Ducks (8-3, 2-0) beat Arizona State 103-90 on Thursday and then made a significant statement as to what kind of team they can potentially be with their 30-point victory Saturday.
“They remind me of our ’97 team where every guy can create,” said Arizona head coach Lute Olson, giving a high compliment to Oregon since the ’97 Wildcats won the national championship.
For Oregon, it was the type of game where everything went right. Five
players scored in double figures, with Luke Jackson leading the way with 28, Freddie Jones adding 21 and Luke Ridnour contributing 18. The spark plug off the bench continued to be James Davis, who scored 12 of his 14 points off three-pointers.
“We know that we’re a better team than last year,” said Oregon center Chris Christoffersen, who nearly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. “We understand how good we can be. We can do even better than this. This probably sent a message to the rest of the Pac-10.”
At the very least, it was a punch to the gut for the Wildcats. In a somber Arizona locker room, Luke Walton and Rick Anderson had a tough time holding back the tears after a game in which they were simply outplayed.
“We let down Arizona basketball tonight,” Anderson said. “We just played
terrible. I’m mad about what happened. This is a horrible feeling. I let Luke Jackson tear me up. He got the best of me.”
Jackson admitted afterwards that he had last year’s 104-65 loss in the
desert on his mind throughout the game.
“Last year they beat us pretty bad down there,” Jackson said. “They really put it on us. It was just an embarrassing loss. We hadn’t forgotten about that.”
Now, it’s the Wildcats who are going to store this loss in their minds and use it to fuel their fire for the rematch with the Ducks, which is right around the corner. The next Pac-10 game for both teams is Jan. 4, when Oregon will return to the McKale Center.
“I think we would rather have a little more time to get ready for them,”
Olson said. “I’m just not a believer that you should start Pac-10 play in December. But that takes nothing away from the Ducks. They could have beat anybody tonight.”
But as each Duck that took the post-game podium said, the real test will come on the road when Oregon will have to play without the benefit of their faithful crowd.
“We have to win on the road,” Jackson said.
Oregon will get a few days off for the holiday and then a home tune up
against Morris Brown on Dec. 27 before going down to Arizona for what should be an interesting rematch.
And this time, it’ll be the Wildcats who will have revenge as their
motivation.
“It’s going to be better when we’re at home,” Anderson said. “This loss is going to be on my mind when we play them next time.”
Emerald assistant sports editor Jeff Smith can be reached at [email protected].
Ducks show Wildcats how it feels to be humiliated
Daily Emerald
December 22, 2001
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