Having lost six of their last eight games, maybe playing basketball isn’t as much fun for the Ducks as it was during the first stretch of the season.
When a team starts losing after having tremendous success, people will look for things to blame. One criticism is that the starters are too fatigued at this point in the season after averaging roughly 30 minutes of playing time.
But the Ducks won’t use that as an excuse.
“At this point of the season everyone’s in as good of shape as they’re going to be in,” junior guard Bryce Taylor said. “It’s more about taking care of your body rather than getting any extra conditioning.”
Regardless of being tired, it’s still hard to be enthused when the team is in the midst of a losing streak.
“It’s hard to have fun when you’re struggling,” senior guard Aaron Brooks said. “But you just have to get momentum, and this is a good time to do it.”
Still, asking No. 23 Oregon to end the losing streak against No. 9 Washington State is expecting a lot from the team, even if the Ducks have won their past 12 games against the Cougars.
Oregon coach Ernie Kent says Washington State has a bevy of scorers on the team, which makes them difficult to defend. The Cougars’ leading scorer, Derrick Low, had a season-high 37 points the last time the two teams met, and stopping his offensive outburst will be one of the keys to beating the No. 9 team in the nation.
“We just can’t let him get hot early,” Taylor said. “I’m sure we’re going to be focusing on limiting his touches and not letting him have a huge game.”
If the Ducks can find a way to contain Low, they still need to worry about somebody else.
“If you put all of your attention on him and let Cowgill or Harmeling get away on you – you can be in for a long night,” Kent said. “It isn’t just about one guy, it’s about a defensive scheme that’s going to slow down what they try to do to you.”
“Defensively, they’re one of the toughest teams to guard,” Taylor said. “They clog up the middle and they don’t give you anything easy. They force you to beat them and they don’t make too many mistakes.”
The fact that Oregon has won the past 12 meetings over Washington State, including a 77-74 overtime victory in Pullman this season, though it helps the Ducks’ confidence heading into the game, can be added incentive for the Cougars to exact vengeance for all the seasons of heart-breaking games.
“They’ve wanted payback for a while now,” Kent said. “We’ve beaten them 12 times and the games up there (in Pullman) have just been very difficult, and I’m sure that’s been weighed in their minds.”
With that in mind, the Ducks said they need to cut down on the simple mistakes they’ve been making in their recent losses and understanding the potential impact these last few games have on their postseason.
“We have to value each possession and realize the importance of these last games coming up,” Taylor said.
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