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message boards. ODE archives.
www.dailyemerald.com
‘Dream season’ among
best in Oregon’s history
BThe Ducks’ banner season
has earned Oregon its first
NCAA Tournament
appearance in five years
By Brett Williams
Oregon Daily Emerald
One sentence sums up Ore
gon’s 1999-2000 season: They’re
going to the Dance.
After improving by leaps and
bounds last year and advancing
to the final four of the National
Invitational Tournament, the
Ducks made a commitment this
season to take it one step further
and earn a bid into the NCAA
Tournament.
Their goal is a now a reality, as
Oregon (22-7, 13-5 Pacific-10
Conference) prepares for its first
round matchup Friday in Buffalo,
N.Y., with Seton Hall.
The Ducks have come a long
way since the tumultuous presea
son they experienced.
With new role players coming
off the bench, including Bryan
Bracey, Anthony Norwood, Ben
Lindquist and David Jackson, it
was clear that Oregon had talent,
but it was unclear when the team
would gel.
After forward A.D. Smith
helped the Ducks hold off Illi
nois-Chicago with some key free
throws down the stretch and Ore
gon beat Portland at McArthur
Court, the Ducks showed a
glimpse of their potential, with
three players scoring 20 or more
points for the first time in ten
years in a 91-87 win at Portland
State.
That’s when a former Oregon
player made his return to Mac
Court and left victorious. Andre
Larry — who left the Ducks after
the 1996-97 season for academic
reasons — hit some key baskets
as Cal State-Northridge upset
(above) The ball has been bouncing Freddie Jones’ way lately, and the Ducks will
need Jones to continue to produce, (below) First-team All Pac-10 member Alex Scales
is excited to close out his spectacular collegiate career in the NCAA Tournament.
Oregon, 79-77.
It was a wake-up call for the
Ducks, who used a total team ef
fort against
Minnesota at
the Rose Gar
den, winning
„ the Port
land Jam
82-75. For the
first time in school his
tory, seven different players
scored in double figures, includ
ing Alex Scales’ who had a
game-high 15 points.
The win against the Gophers
and a decisive 91-54 victory
against Northern Arizona put
Oregon in good position for the
Outrigger Hotels Rainbow
Classic in Honolulu.
First, Oregon upset
then No. 19 Wake For
est 67-66 on
Scales’
jumper with
five sec
onds left.
The Ducks
pulled off an
other upset in the
second round, beat
ing Gonzaga 70-64 after falling
behind by as many as 10 points
in the first half.
But Hawaii refused to lose on
its home floor, knocking off the
Ducks 66-63 in the champi
onship game, despite Smith’s
M 29-point, nine-reboUnd effort.
After a tough preseason,
Oregon had confidence they
could be successful in con
ference play.
“As we came down the
stretch, we had been
through so much,” Kent
said. “Beating Wake Forest
in a tough environment
4 on the road, and beating
fe ..Jill Gonzaga, when both
those teams were in the top 25.
Losing to Hawaii and letting that
game get away from us was a
learning experience. When we
got into conference play, we felt
we could beat anyone.”
Oregon knocked off every Pac
10 foe at least once with the ex
ception of Stanford. The Ducks
started the season with a win at
home against California before
the Cardinal stole a win at
McArthur Court.
The next road stretch was one
that could have easily sent the
Ducks into a tailspin, but it in
stead gave them momentum. Ore
gon had to rely on some late bas
kets to get its first road sweep of
the Washington schools in six
years, first in overtime at Wash
ington 76-74 and then in over
time again to Washington State,
81-80.
Oregon’s much-anticipated re
turn to Mac Court was a success.
The Ducks moved into a tie for
first place with a win against USC
and topped that with in a 73-58
blowout victory over slumping
UCLA.
The transition to the second
half of the conference schedule
begat mixed results. Oregon
played Arizona tough at the
McKale Center, but Loren Woods
blocked 14 of their shots in the
Wildcats’ 77-71 victory before the
Ducks slowed Eddie House and
the Sun Devils 86-73 in Tempe.
The start of the second half
took place at the Maples Pavilion
in Palo Alto, Calif. The Cardinal
once again topped the Ducks, but
Oregon rebounded with a win at
California, courtesy of a late
three-pointer by Scales.
Kent said he knew before the
season the importance of those
midseason games.
Turn to Basketball, page 5B