Can an 18-wheeler still cruise along a highway without one of its wheels? Can a dining-room table survive without a leg?
Can a family stay together without one of its members?
The Oregon men’s basketball team will find out the answer to those questions tonight. And there can be only one answer: Win, or lose.
The Ducks will face a gritty USC team tonight at McArthur Court (tipoff is set for 5:30) without their sixth man — guard Andre Joseph. The junior transfer was suspended for the game after a heated argument with coaches in the second half of Saturday’s loss at Washington. The decision was reached Monday by the coaches and team members.
“Obviously we’re missing a key component,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “It’s something we’re going to have to adjust
to. Brandon Lincoln’s going to have to step in and play some major minutes.”
Lincoln and the other Oregon players will have to make up for Joseph’s 11.8 points per game in Pacific-10 Conference play. Lincoln, a freshman, will play in Joseph’s first-guard-off-the-bench role, but he is still recovering from a sprained ankle he suffered in a game against Oregon State.
“He’s not back at 100 percent, but hopefully with a couple days rest he’ll be fine,” Kent said after practice Tuesday.
The most important thing for the Ducks may be keeping their focus on the Trojans, who beat Oregon by 15 points less than a month ago. With the media’s attention on Joseph’s suspension, the fact that Thursday’s game is close to must-win for the Ducks has almost been overlooked.
“It’s going to be a very big basketball game for us,” Kent said. “We didn’t play well down there. It’s a good chance to come back and give them our ‘A’ game.”
The players agree with Kent.
“Our focus is just on SC right now,” Jackson said. “We definitely want these games.”
And Oregon needs them, if the Ducks want to assure themselves an NCAA Tournament berth. Oregon is 18-7 overall and probably needs 20 wins to get an invite to March Madness.
“Twenty, to me, gives you numbers,” Kent said. “It’s kind of a benchmark. It’s just a positive number.”
The Ducks travel to Arizona, where wins are never assured, next week. Oregon has a 3-4 road record in conference play and a 5-2 record at home. The numbers tell the story: The Ducks need to capitalize on this weekend’s games to get to 20 wins.
And as if that wasn’t enough motivation, at least two players will be playing with an extra push this weekend. Seniors Robert Johnson and Brian Helquist will be playing in their final games at McArthur Court.
“It’s going to be tough,” Helquist said. “It’s exciting because I’m moving on, but it’s hard because it’s been great here. We have a great fan base. I’ve just had a blast.”
The seniors are just two links in the Oregon chain, but it’s a chain that will be broken when the Ducks take the court tonight. The question, then, remains. Can the chain survive without a link? Oregon will find out.