Don’t blame Oregon head coach Bev Smith if she has mixed emotions when the Ducks travel to the Bay Area for tonight’s game at California.
For one, the first-year coach will take her squad to Haas Pavilion for a 7 p.m. contest against the Golden Bears, a team searching for its first Pacific-10 Conference victory. Secondly, No. 5 Stanford looms large, with the Ducks heading to the South Bay on Sunday for a game against the conference’s top team.
Who could blame Oregon (9-6 overall, 4-2 Pac-10) if they looked ahead to the Cardinal?
Cal hasn’t won in conference play and has defeated the Ducks only once since 1993. Stanford, on the other hand, is simply Stanford — its tradition speaks for itself.
But the Ducks can’t afford to look ahead to the red and white. The Berkeley blue and gold is all that matters right now.
“Every game in the Pac-10 is huge,” senior Edniesha Curry said. “There are a lot of good teams, and we can’t overlook anybody. We just have to find a way to win.”
To an outsider, the Bears (5-8, 0-4) don’t seem to represent much of a challenge for Oregon. After all, they return only one starter — senior Ami Forney — from last season’s squad, which finished 12-16.
But anything can happen when a team is hungry for its first win. It will take a total team effort for the Golden Bears to remain competitive.
“Our goal is that we need to be able to defend teams the last five minutes of the game,” California head coach Caren Horstmeyer said. “Our mental toughness needs to be at a level that’s tougher than any team that comes to play us in the last five minutes.”
Cal’s record is deceiving, with five of their eight losses coming within six points. However, their soft non-conference opponent schedule is nowhere near the talent level of the Pac-10, and their 59-56 loss to Bucknell last week gave them eight losses in their last nine games.
The one edge Cal may have is that Oregon has been inconsistent away from McArthur Court. They are 2-3 on the road, with their only wins coming against second-tier teams Kansas and UCLA. In their three losses, they have been outscored by an average of nine points.
“On the road, you’re always looking for the split,” Oregon assistant coach Dan Muscatell said. “And the best way to do that is to beat Cal this week.”
After their tune-up against California, the Ducks head straight into the lion’s den.
Stanford (14-1, 4-0), ranked fifth in the nation in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and sixth in the ESPN/USA Today poll, awaits Oregon at Maples Pavilion, with the game televised on Fox Sports Net at 1 p.m.
The Ducks are only one game back of Stanford for first place in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Oregon is reeling after taking a split last weekend at Mac Court. Oregon controlled the game in a 19-point win over Arizona, but saw Arizona State come in two days later and dominate, winning 86-72.
“ASU was a good wake-up call,” Smith said. “They had a mission, and we didn’t respond. They came at us with all pistons firing.
“We just need to be greedy defensively.”