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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1997)
BEST BETS NBA Neu' jersey at Boston TNT(27), 5p.m. Emerald Oregon Basketball Ducks’ season gets under way The men will travel to Utah to face a Brigham Young team that lost to WSU on Wednesday By Rob Moseley Sports Reporter Ready or not, the men’s basketball reg ular season starts tonight for Oregon as the Ducks open on the road against Brigham Young. “You would hope the team’s ready to play because they know now these games are counters," head coach Ernie MEN'S BASKETBALL Kent said. “You think you’re ready, but only time will tell.” Although Oregon will be facing a less-than stellar Cougar team that finished 1-25 last season and lost Wednesday 78 49 to Washington State, which is pre dicted to finish in the bottom half of the Pacific-10 Conference, Kent is cautious about starting the season away from the friendly confines of McArthur Court. “You’re going into a hostile environ ment on the road, which should get your attention,” Kent said. “But generally speaking, when teams go on the road they lock in better, the intensity comes up and they perform at a higher level. I’m looking to see if this team is in position to have that type of growth within it.” The team experienced what can only be termed marginal growth in its two ex hibition victories over teams from Russia and Australia. The Ducks beat Russia’s Central Army Sport Club 89-54 on Nov. 8. Then they defeated the Outback All-Stars 85-76 four nights later in a game that featured sloppy play on both sides, as evidenced by a combined 48 fouls and 45 turnovers between the two teams. Senior forward Henry Madden shot a combined 17 for 24 in the two contests (70.8 percent), on his way to averaging 20.5 points in 22 minutes per game. Sophomore A.D. Smith, who redshirt ed last season, led the team with 20 re bounds in the two games, while sopho more Yasir Rosemond, a junior college transfer, dished out five assists in each contest. Turn to MEN, Page 13A CHAO PATTESON/Emerald Senior Mike Carson and the rest of the Oregon men’s basketball team begin the reg ular season Friday night against Brigham Young in Provo, Utah. Six-Joot-Jwe center Jenny Moive needs to make her presence felt against the undersized Vandals. CHAD PATTESON/Emerald Women kick off season in Idaho Tonight’s contest with Idaho is the first of nine nonconference games for the Ducks, six of which will he played on the road By Alex Pond Sports Reporter It’s time for the games to begin. The Oregon women’s basketball team has high expectations for the 1997-08 season, including goals of an undefeated nonconference season, a Pa cific-10 Conference championship and playing host to the first two rounds of the NCAA Tourna ment. The journey toward these goals begins tonight, when the Ducks take on Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, at 8 p.m. “We’re very excited,” point guard Natalie Hugh es said. “We’re sick of seeing green and white jer seys in practice the past few weeks. We want to play someone and see how we’re doing and where we’re at.” Turn to WOMEN, Page 13A Oregon closes out season with WSU, UW Following their first Poe-10 win of the season, the Ducks go on the road to face the No. 12 Cougars and No. 16 Huskies By Rob Moseley Sports Reporter This weekend marks the turning point from fall to winter for Oregon sports, as the men’s and women’s basketball teams begin their regular seasons, while the football and volleyball teams finish theirs. The volleyball team winds up what, so far, has been a 0-19 season overall and 1-15 in the Pa cific-10 Conference. The lone victory came on Sat urday as the Ducks defeat ed Arizona State in a thrilling five-game match. "We feel good about the VOLLEYBALL win, but tin; last tiling I want to have hap pen is for us to be satisfied,” head coach Cathy Nelson said. “We have two opportu nities this weekend to get more wins. It’s not going to be an easy task, but it's an opportu nity.” The Ducks open their final weekend of play at No. 12 Washington State, a team they haven’t faced since the second match of the Pac-10 season on Sept. 20, when the Cougars took a four-game win. “That’s one thing I don’t like about this Pac-10 schedule,” Nelson said. "The teams you see first are the teams you see last.” Washington State is 22-6 overall and 10-6 in the Pac-10 but has lost two of its last three Turn to DUCKS, Page 12A Wrestlers eye No. 6 Arizona at tournament The Southern Oregon Open will give the No. 22 Ducks a chance to improve their Pac-10 and national rankings By Joel Hood Sports Reporter The stakes will be raised for the Oregon wrestling team this weekend as it continues its march toward the Pacific-10 Conference crown. The Ducks will resume action Saturday in Ashland against several Pac-10 teams in an uncon ventional format at the Southern Oregon Open, a tournament that highlights the individual as much as the team. WRESTLING At stake lor the No. 22 Ducks is a chance to crack the nation's top 20 and get a leg up in the Pac-10 race — enough to keep the wrestlers’ minds on the competition at hand, head coach Ron Finley said. “This gives us a great chance to look at our guys in an individual format,” Finley said. "We'd like to see as many of our guys as we can wrestling in their respective championship matches.” Oregon appears the favorite in several weight classes, including 134 and lf>8 pounds, but look for No. 18 Oregon State to challenge in nearly every event, 142-pound sophomore Dusty Morgan said. “I think a lot of matches with Oregon State will be real close," Morgan said. “But we have really improved our conditioning Turn to UO, Page12A
