Maples Pavilion is a tough place to play for any team.
But for the No. 13 Oregon men’s basketball team, which hasn’t won there since 1986, it’s a death trap. The Ducks have come close to beating the Cardinal at Maples in those 16 years, losing by two points in 1990 and five points in 1993, but mostly Oregon has been blown out of Palo Alto like a row boat in a hurricane.
“We have not had much success down there, so it’s a big game for us to hopefully get over that hurdle with our program,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said.
Oregon and Stanford will square off at 7 p.m. tonight. The game will not be televised because of Fox Sports Net national games, but fans can listen to the game locally on radio station KUGN.
Maples is small, old, and loud, and the students sit courtside. Remind you of a certain Eugene basketball arena?
“It’s a real tough place to play,” Oregon guard Luke Ridnour said of Maples. “The fans are on you. The student section is right there on the floor, like here, and they know everything about you. So they’re going to be on us, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Maples Pavilion, as well as California’s Haas Pavilion on Saturday, will be the venues of Oregon’s redemption if they can prove to national doubters that they can win on the road. The Ducks are a perfect 13-0 at home, but have lost close games and hold a 4-5 overall record away from McArthur Court.
But the Ducks could be ready to break that pattern. Coming off two huge wins against conference contenders UCLA and USC, the Ducks have added confidence from a win earlier this season over the Cardinal, albeit in Eugene.
“It certainly gives you a comfort zone of knowing you can play with them,” Kent said of Oregon’s 87-79 win over Stanford on Jan. 12. “In the past, they have just been so dominant of a team with our program.”
The game is big for Stanford as well, which is mired in the middle of the conference race and has struggled to be consistent all season. The Cardinal are ranked at No. 20, but have the worst overall record (13-6) of any of the six Pacific-10 Conference teams that are likely headed for the tournament.
Everyone knows about Stanford star Casey Jacobsen, an All-American last year who recently dropped 49 points on the unsuspecting Arizona State Sun Devils. But the Cardinal’s most important player could be Curtis Borchardt, the 7-foot center who averages 16 points and 11 rebounds per game. The versatile Borchardt scored a career-high 29 points against Oregon in January.
Oregon center Chris Christoffersen noted the importance of containing Borchardt tonight.
“Last time he got the best of me,” Christoffersen said of Borchardt. “He’s a great player. It’s going to be another challenge for the big guys to step up.”
Stanford’s most glaring weakness this year has been its lack of depth. Other than Jacobsen, who averages 21 points per game, and Borchardt, the Cardinal get 11 points per game from junior guard Julius Barnes and promptly drop off from there. Stanford’s other two starters, sophomore forward Teyo Johnson and senior guard Tony Giovacchini, both average four points per contest.
When Stanford came to Eugene, the Cardinal were as shallow as a wading pool. Behind Jacobsen’s 32 points and Borchardt’s 29, Stanford’s next highest scorer had five. “The Big Two” accounted for 77 percent of the Cardinal scoring.
But when you cut through the hype, tonight’s game is about one thing. Can the Ducks win a key game on the road to stay on top of the Pac-10 race? They’ve proved it once, beating Arizona at the McKale Center, but now they’ve got back-to-back chances to beat marquee teams on the lonely road.
For the players, it’s all about simplifying the situation.
“It might not be the building,” Oregon guard Freddie Jones said about Oregon’s long losing streak at Maples Pavilion. “We’re going to have to beat their team more than beat their arena.”