Ernie Kent survived to coach another day.
Of course, the Oregon head coach isn’t in jeopardy of losing his job like UCLA’s Steve Lavin.
But the gulf between the coaches was clear Friday night as Kent out-coached Lavin in the final two minutes and the Ducks came back from an 11-point deficit to stun the Bruins,75-74, in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament semifinals.
Oregon will face the winner of Friday’s other semifinal between California and USC in the Staples Center on Saturday.
A night after Luke Ridnour hit a lay-up with 3.3 seconds left to lead Oregon past Arizona State, it was the other Luke who got the job done Friday against the upstart Bruins. With 20 seconds left and the Ducks down by two, Ridnour penetrated, dished to Jackson at the top of the key, and Jackson tickled the twine to put Oregon up by one point with 17 seconds left.
After a timeout, everybody from the waterboy to the guy watching the television in Punxatawney, Pa., knew the ball was going to UCLA’s Ray Young. The senior guard hit a three-pointer to lead UCLA past Arizona on Thursday, and as he held for the final shot, it was clear he wasn’t giving up the ball. Oregon’s Andre Joseph, who was guarding Young, also knew this. So he stuck with Young as the Bruin drove the right side of the lane, Young missed an off-balance leaner, and Jackson tipped the rebound to the sideline to seal the win.
So how was it that Kent out-coached Lavin?
“In the last three minutes, instead of playing to win, UCLA played not to lose,” Oregon assistant coach Fred Litzenberger told KUGN-AM after the game.
UCLA held an 11-point lead with 3:12 left, and Lavin switched his team into coast mode. Meanwhile, Kent applied a full-court press. The press caught UCLA off guard, and the Bruins didn’t score a field goal in that time frame.
No wonder he’ll be out the door as soon as next week. Kent and the Ducks, meanwhile, solidified their trip to the NCAA Tournament and may have even improved their seed, as many pundits favored UCLA in the game because of the Bruins’ tendency to come on late in the season.
The Ducks will learn their March Madness fate during Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show, set for 3 p.m.
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