Oregon head coach Ernie Kent cracked a huge smile after Saturday’s win against Washington State and said his team is finally starting to turn the corner.
His young Ducks were a few plays
away from knocking off Oregon State to
open the second half of Pacific-10 Conference play Feb. 5. Oregon was a successful
free throw or two away from upsetting
No. 11 Washington a week ago and finally pulled out a win against the Cougars during the weekend.
With six regular season games remaining, Kent and the Ducks have aspirations of catching fire before entering the Pac-10 Tournament – Oregon’s only chance of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
“In terms of this team making adjustments and making a transition, they’ve done that,” Kent said. “Now they just need to continue to get better.”
Reality check: Oregon travels to Tucson, Ariz., tonight to take on No. 10 Arizona at 5:30 p.m. The McKale Center has been a house of horrors for Oregon – and plenty of other schools – where the Ducks have won only twice in the past 20 years.
The Wildcats (21-4 overall, 11-2 Pac-10) have won 18 of their last 20 games, own sole possession of first place in the conference, and beat Oregon 74-66 during the season’s first meeting at McArthur Court.
Is Oregon actually a team on the rise?
Staying competitive in the McKale Center would certainly help answer that question..
“You don’t want to go down there and
put too much focus on the building,”
Kent said. “You want to focus on your
game plan.”
Whatever game plan Kent has cooked up for his Ducks (12-9, 4-8), it surely includes containing Salim Stoudamire. The lethal sharpshooter is averaging 17.9 points per game and knocking down three-pointers at a 55 percent clip.
“We have to play as tough as we possibly can on him and try not to let him get the ball,” Oregon swingman Malik Hairston said. “He’s a good scorer but nobody can make every shot.”
True. But while Stoudamire doesn’t
hit every shot he takes, he’s one of the
few players in the country who puts fear
into the opposition every time he touches
the ball.
Against Oregon in January, Stoudamire knocked down several off-balance perimeter shots, including a three-pointer by the left-hander in front of the Ducks’ bench, while leaning to his right.
“He’s amazing,” forward Maarty Leunen said. “He can get a shot off whenever
he wants.”
To compensate for Stoudamire’s
shooting talents, Oregon will continue to
go with a smaller, quicker, more energetic lineup that can defend the perimeter more
effectively. Hairston, Aaron Brooks,
Bryce Taylor and Jordan Kent will be
essential in keeping the Ducks’ defensive
energy high, while Chamberlain Oguchi
and Adam Zahn will be important factors off the bench.
Kent sprained his left ankle during the end of Tuesday’s practice, but should be fine
by tipoff.
“If we play strong the first five or 10 minutes and show them we’re ready to play, I think we’ll be OK,” Taylor said. “We need to take this small lineup we’ve been playing with and use it to our advantage.”

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