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.