Though it’s unlikely he’ll be able to play, Luke Jackson is optimistic about returning to action this weekend after suffering a severe laceration on his right index finger Thursday in a win over Washington.
“I want to play on this road trip some time,” the Oregon forward said Tuesday. “I can at least go in there and play some good defense. I’m not sure how big of a factor I will be offensively, but I can get in there and hopefully help us get some wins, which is all that matters.”
The Ducks, ranked No. 22 in this week’s Associated Press poll (No. 19 by ESPN/USA Today), face UCLA on Thursday and USC on Sunday in their second Pacific-10 Conference road trip of the season. The first road swing for Oregon (14-4 overall, 4-3 Pac-10) turned into a nightmare in the Bay Area, where Cal and Stanford swept the Ducks by a combined 40 points.
And not having Jackson makes the Los Angeles trip that much more difficult, which is why the Ducks are preparing to play without him.
“Whether or not he’ll play this weekend, I doubt that very highly,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said.
Jackson needed 13 stitches to repair the cut, which wrapped around about three-quarters of the base of his finger. He wore a sling for two days to keep the finger elevated and prevent swelling. Jackson said the stitches would be removed “in a couple weeks.”

As the Ducks practiced Tuesday, Jackson worked out on his own, running sprints, dribbling and shooting short jumpers, though he never used his right (non-shooting) hand, which was wrapped in tape.
“It doesn’t really hurt that bad,” Jackson said. “It feels so much better day-by-day. Every day I get up and I can bend it a little farther and close my fist a little bit more. The biggest problem is that my tendon is so tight that I can barely extend my finger and I can’t really make an open palm yet.”
When he does play — realistically, next week against Stanford and Cal — Jackson will likely have his three outside fingers taped together or wear a glove.
In the meantime, Andre Joseph is replacing Jackson in the starting lineup.
“I feel like I gotta step up,” Joseph said. “Right now, I’m confident and just excited to get down there and play.”

Is Lavin leaving?
Despite leading the Bruins to five Sweet 16 appearances in six years, Steve Lavin’s days at UCLA appear to be winding down. Fans boo the Bruins at home and boosters are already dropping names for a possible new head coach.
The Bruins (4-11, 2-5) are having one of the worst seasons in school history, and Lavin is taking the brunt of the blame.
“He’s had so much success down there — every coach in the country would love to have his record of success; I know I would,” Kent said. “My heart goes out to him because he’s in a really tough situation right now.”
Oregon point guard Luke Ridnour, recruited by Lavin in high school, said he has a lot of respect for the coach.
“UCLA’s a tough job — there’s a lot of pressure,” Ridnour said. “I feel for what he’s going through.”

More Rid records
Already in the top-five for career three-pointers and steals, Ridnour is one assist shy of becoming the third Duck to record 400 career assists. His 399 assists rank him behind Kenya Wilkins, the school’s all-team assist leader with 614, and Ron Lee (572).
With 29 assists in the last three games, Ridnour leads the Pac-10 with 6.5 assists per game and is second in scoring at 19.4 points.

Bracket busting
It’s still a bit early to start making plans for the NCAA Tournament, but isn’t it fun just thinking about the madness of March?
In this week’s version of Bracketology, ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi has Oregon projected as the No. 6 seed in the South, with a first-round matchup against 11th-seed Auburn (15-4) in Birmingham, Ala.
But Lunardi isn’t ready to jump on the Oregon bandwagon. “Not going to take the Ducks seriously until they win some league games on the road,” he wrote. “This weekend provides the perfect opportunity.”