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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2000)
Tuesday Best Bet MLB: World Series, Game 3 N.Y. Yankees at N.Y. Mets 5 p.m., FOX SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com Ducks in the hunt for national title same iifiiliii Erin Swanson-Davies Emerald Oregon tailback Maurice Morris and the Ducks blew by Arizona’s Antonio Pierce Saturday and now find themselves ranked eighth in the BCS. ■The Ducks’ 6-1 record has vaulted them into the No. 8 spot of the all-important Bowl Championship Series rankings By Scott Pesznecker Oregon Daily Emerald Forget about roses for a moment — the nationwide race for the Orange Bowl is on, and Oregon isn’t out of the running. The long-awaited Bowl Champi onship Series standings were released Monday during halftime of ABC’s Monday Night Football, and Oregon is ranked No. 8. Nebraska is on top of the BCS, fol lowed in order by Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Florida and Clemson. Washington is No. 9 in the standings, followed by Kansas State. At the end of the season, the BCS rankings determine which two teams play for the national title at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The standings are gen erated by a complex formula that con siders the AP and coaches’ polls, eight different computer ratings, strength of schedule and losses. Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti didn’t have much to say about the BCS rankings after practice Monday. “I’m not going to pay much attention to it, to tell you the truth,” he said. Bellotti’s reaction is best for the Ducks, who can’t afford to lose a single game if they want to retain an inside track to the Rose Bowl, or receive an at large bid to the Fiesta Bowl. But if defense wins championships, perhaps the Ducks should start think ing about something bigger. Following Oregon’s thrilling 14-10 win over Arizona at Autzen Stadium Saturday night, almost every sports.corn-type Web site on the Inter net had some sort of centerpiece about the Ducks. Those who logged on to ESPN.com’s college football page Sunday or Mon day saw the headline “Ducks flying un der the radar,” accompanied by a large Turn to Football, page 12 For us, the one thing I do know is that if we win out we control our opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl. We’re becoming a good football team, we’ve got the at tention of people, but we have to continue to prove that. Mike Beilotti Oregon head coach yy It s official: Pac-10 basketball to have own tourney ■The Pacific-10 Conference brings back its own postseason basketball tournament after a 10 year absence By Jeff Smith Oregon Daily Emerald March just got a little madder in the Pacific-10 Conference. Ten years after it discarded a postsea son basketball tournament, the Pac-10 officially voted in favor of reinstating its own tourney Monday. In order for it to be passed, eight of the 10 Pac-10 presidents had to vote in fa vor. The result, as expected, was 8-2 for the tourney, with only Stanford and Ari zona voting against. The vote was identical to the one that took place in early August between the Pac-10 athletic directors. It now leaves the Ivy League as the only Division I conference without its own postseason. There will be both a men’s and women’s Pac-10 tournament, with the first one taking place in March 2002 dur ing the week between the final league game and the first NCAA Tournament game. The winner of each tournament, regardless of what place it finishes dur ing the regular season, will receive an automatic bid to the “Big Dance.” “My first impression is just, ‘That’s su per,’” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “I think it’s an excellent opportunity to showcase this conference coming down the stretch. I think it’s great for the fans up and down the West Coast that support Pac-10 basketball.” The Pac-10 did have a men’s tour nament from 1987-90, but low attendance was believed to be its downfall. The league has been trying to get the tournament accepted for the past three years, but has fallen just short every time with a 7-3 vote. UCLA had been joining Arizona and Stanford in opposition, but decided to be for the tournament this time around. “I don’t know what caused them to be in favor of it all of a sudden,” Kent said. The men’s tournament will include eight of the top 10 teams in the league and Turn to Basketball, page 8 Erin Swanson-Davies Emerald Oregon coach Ernie Kent and his team were all smiles Monday when learning about the Pac-10 basketball tournament.
