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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 1997)
ON THE TUBE Men's College Basketball, Cincinnati at Louisville, ESPN (34), 6:30p.m. DAILY TRIVIA When was the last time Oregon beat UCLA in men's basketball? See scoreboard for answer. Oregon vs. UCLA UOregon is 11 -5, and we’re disappointed. I don’t remember the last time in the history and annals of Oregon basketball that has happened. We’re not pleased with where we are. 99 —Jerry Green, UO head coach UCLA BRUINS A Tale of Two Teams ■ RECORDS: UCLA and Oregon both hold 11-5 marks, but the teams’ records don’t tell the true story By Andrea DeYoung Assistant Sports Editor What does an 11-5 overall record mean? It depends on who you are. The UCLA men’s basketball team is 11-5 and relatively happy to be there. The Oregon men’s basketball team is 11-5 and is not pleased. The two teams have followed two com pletely different paths to get to McArthur Court tonight. Where the Bruins seem to be gaining momentum, the Ducks are losing speed. When the Associated Press put out its preseason poll, UCLA was No. 5 in the country. Six weeks later, they had fallen off the list. The Bruins lost to Tulsa in their first game of the year and lost to Kansas a couple of weeks later. Although they beat Cal State Northridge, Ohio and Jackson State, the AP voters were obviously not impressed. A loss to Illinois overshadowed wins against Saint Louis and Morgan State. When the Pacific-10 Conference season began, UCLA owned a 5-3 record and had people wondering what happened to the team that won the National Championship only two seasons before. And then there were the Ducks, who seemingly could do no wrong. Although Oregon was snubbed in the preseason polls, head coach Jerry Green was not worried. His line was, “All that matters is where we are when the final poll comes out.” It didn’t take too long for the Ducks to make their debut on the AP poll. In fact, it happened the week that UCLA fell off of it. Oregon accumulated a 7-0 record, including a win over then, No. 13 Fresno State, and eventually got off to its best start in 22 years at 10-0. This happened one game into the Pac-10 season with a win over Oregon State, but after that, the Ducks would not be seen in the poll again. The conference season would change the fates of both UCLA and Oregon. The Pac-10 is not known for being a powerhouse in men’s basketball. Year-to year the teams are generally on a fairly Turn to RECORDS, Page 8 EMERALD Not only has UCLA been the dominant team during much of the rivalry, but it has also proved that it is the most steady among the other Pacific-10 Conference teams Oregon faces. First-place Bruins visit Mac Court ■ MEN'S BASKETBALL: Oregon attempts to get back on track against the top-ranked Bruins By Chris Hansen Sports Reporter Having lost five of the last six games and in desperate need of a win, the Oregon men’s basketball team is probably relieved that it will play the next four games at home — the longest home stand of the year. So there might not be a better time than right now to square-off against the Pacific-10 Conference leader UCLA (11-5 overall, 6-1 conference). in nit; jjcisi, nit; home game against the Bruins has been a mo rn e n t u m builder for the Ducks and now, more than ever, Ore gon needs mo mentum. With a 2-5 conference record, Oregon can ill afford two or three more losses the rest of the Mens Basketball ■ TIP-OFF: 7:05 p.m. ■ RECORDS: Oregon 11-5,2-5 UCLA 11-5,6-1 ■ RADIO: Oregon Sports Network, 590 AM season it it plans on making the NCAA tournament come March. With that said, the Ducks have to take advantage of any opportunity that gives them an edge. “We are getting to the point where we know where we are within the Pac-10,” Oregon head coach Jerry Green said, referring to the team’s 7th-place standing in the conference. “We could help out our tournament situation by getting back on track against UCLA. We got about five weeks left, so it is important for us to play well.” The Bruins come in as the defend ing conference champions and after a disappointing non-conference sea son this year, look to be heading in the direction of a repeat perfor mance. The Bruins boast a six-man rota tion loaded with future NBA players like Charles O’Bannon, Jelani Mc Coy, J.R. Henderson and Toby Bai Turn to MEN’S B-BALL, Page 8 YESTERDAY’S RESULTS NHL Pittsburgh Buffalo .. ...1 ...3 Ottawa .1 New Jersey .1 Philadelphia.2 Washington.1 St. Louis.4 Toronto.0 Phoenix .3 Detroit.0 Anaheim.1 Dallas .3 Los Angeles.3 Colorado.6 San Jose. Edmonton .1 .3 DAILY TRIVIA ANSWER The Ducks last beat the Bruins on Jan. 5,1995, by a score oj82-72 at McArthur Court. Brooks hired as Falcons’ defensive coordinator ■ COACH: The former Oregon head coach was fired by the Rams at the end of the season The Associated Press ATLANTA — Rich Brooks, fired as coach of the St. Louis Rams after two straight losing seasons, was named defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday. Dan Reeves, the Falcons’ new coach, said he was im pressed with Brooks’ credentials, which include being a head coach the last 20 years. “His background is defense, and he wanted to stay in the league,” Reeves said. “His philosophy is to attack on defense but also to be sound and not make the big mistakes that cost you big plays. Philosophy-wise, we’re on the same page.” Brooks, 55, was fired by the Rams after going 7-9 in 1995 and 6-10 this season. Prior to that, he spent 18 years as coach at Oregon. Reeves, who took over the Falcons after being fired by the New York Giants just one day after Brooks was BROOKS fired by the Rams, said he was not concerned about taking on an as sistant who spent two decades as a head coach. “The guy wants to coach,” Reeves said. “He could have sat out and not done anything, but he wants to be in the game. He’s ac cepting a tremendous challenge to turn this thing around and hope fully get a chance to be a head coach again.” Brooks, who had two years left on the bt, Louis contract that paid him about $600,000 per year, was not available for comment. He was vaca tioning with his wife, Karen, and planned to report to Turn to COACH, Page 9
