— Tomorrow night, recently ranked No. 23 Oregon men’s basketball will travel to Tucson to face No. 18 Arizona. Despite dropping to Cal 74-73 in their last game, the Wildcats are riding a 49-game home winning streak. According to Emerald sports reporter Ryan Kostecka, “to become a legitimate contender,” Oregon is “going to have to win on the road in hostile environments, starting with Thursday’s game at Arizona.”
— The Oregon softball team, which will soon break in its brand new stadium, will start the new year ranked No. 4 in the preseason USA Softball top-25 poll. The Ducks, who have won three straight Pac-12 championships, received 428 points to come in at No. 4, just behind LSU with 446 votes in third in the USA Softball poll. The reigning champion Gators came in at the top spot, followed by Michigan.
— The Oregonian’s Tyson Alger writes about graduate-transfer Dylan Ennis and his impact on the sidelines. “Ennis won’t have an impact on the floor this year for No. 23 Oregon, but the Ducks can’t keep him out of the gym.”
— Jillian Alleyne was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after helping lead the Oregon women’s basketball team to its first road sweep since 2009.
— Emerald sports reporter Kenny Jacoby believes that Oregon baseball head coach George Horton could be on the hot seat if team doesn’t meet expectations.
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim