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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2001)
Wednesday Best Bet NCAA Men: Oregon vs. California 7:30 p.m., KEZI SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com 2000 season advanced Pucks* upward climb The Ducks have accomplished many things this year and look to build off that success in the months to come By Jeff Smith Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon football team didn’t reach the Rose Bowl. But that’s about the only blemish on a remarkable season that will surely be remembered for its heroics and fervor. From its league-opening win against UCLA to its Holiday Bowl victory against Texas, the Ducks packed as many of their fans into the back of their bus as possible and let them enjoy the ride. The result ended up being a 10-2 sea son, a Pacific-10 Conference co-cham pionship and a final ranking of No. 7 in the Associated Press poll. It also repre sented a season that put the small city of Eugene on the national map. “In the beginning of the season, everyone was thinking that we weren’t going to do as good because we had the least amount of starters coming back in the Pac-10,” said senior defensive Saul Patu, who was the only player to start in each of the school’s four straight bowl games. “Take back three plays in our whole season ... then we’re sitting pretty nice and probably in the national championship game.” One of the plays that Patu is referring to could be Wisconsin’s blocked punt of a Kurtis Doerr attempt in the end zone back on Sept. 9. The Badgers re covered it for a touchdown and went on to win, 27-23, in Madison, Wis. The others could be any of the six Oregon turnovers against Oregon State in the 23-13 Civil War defeat on Nov. Turn to Football, page 9A Craig Mitchelldyer for the Emerald Oregon junior Rashad Bauman, raising his helmet in celebration after Oregon’s Holiday Bowl win, announced that he is staying for his senior season instead of opting for the NFL Draft. Oregon eyeing Cardinal, but first, Golden Bears Tom Patterson Emerald Senior center Jenny Mowe (34) is shooting 58.9 percent, good for second best in the Pac-10. ■The Ducks must beat California before setting its sights against Stanford on Saturday By Scott Pesznecker Oregon Daily Emerald Returning to McArthur Court for its first Pacific-10 Conference homestand of the season, Oregon turns its focus to the visiting California Golden Bears. Well, almost all of it. Following today’s 7 p.m. game against Cal (4-8 overall, 0-2 Pac-10), the No. 20 Ducks (8-3, 1-0) do battle with No. 24 Stanford at 7 p.m. Saturday. And there’s al ways drama when the Ducks dance with Stanford (7-5, 1-1). In the first meet ing of the two teams last season, it seemed that Oregon would roll to victo ry when it took a 26-point lead in the first half at Maples Pavilion. But Stan ford came back and overtook the Ducks with a stunning full-court press, record ing the 78-62 win and the greatest come from-behind victory in Cardinal history. The second match of the season went down to the wire. Oregon clung to a 59 57 lead as forward Angelina Wolvert went to the free-throw line for a one and-one penalty. She missed the first, but the Stanford players were confused and thought it had been a two-shot penalty. They failed to rebound the ball, and the clock virtually ran out. Needless to say, no love is lost be tween the Ducks and Cardinal. But before the big game, there’s Cal. “Of course [the focus] is on Cal be cause it’s our next game, and we can’t overlook anyone in the Pac-10,” forward Lindsey Dion said. “Cal’s a lot better than they have been. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about Stanford at all, but as far as game preparation goes, I’m preparing for Cal.” Oregon head coach Jody Runge expects California to play similar to Oregon State. Runge said “there’s definitely no looking past Cal,” as the Bears’ roster contains sev en seniors. Cal’s record may also be de ceiving, considering it ranks No. 10 na tionally in strength of schedule. “We watched the Oregon State film, and I think Cal’s going to be a very simi lar challenge, athletically on the perime ter,” Runge said. “There are things that could have been better in that game, so I don’t think it’s hard to get their attention about those things in particular.” The Bears are led by 5-foot-8 senior point guard Courtney Johnson, who en tered the starting lineup 11 times as a freshman and led the Pac-10 with 76 steals last season. Johnson is now averaging 12.1 points per game and is third in the conference in steals with 2.6 per contest. “We’re preparing for very in-your-face Turn to Women, page 8A On Tap: Who: Oregon vs. California When: Tonight, 7 p.m. Where: McArthur Court UO men ready for Cal despite No. 1 Stanford looming The Ducks will face their first Pac-10road test of the season when they take on California in the Bay Area tonight By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald As the Oregon men’s basketball team prepares to face California and No. 1 Stanford this week, one game stands out on the schedule. That game isn’t tonight’s matchup with the Golden Bears at 7:30 p.m. at Haas Pavilion. After all, the Ducks haven’t played a No. 1 team since 1995, and they haven’t played in a game on network television — Saturday’s game against Stanford will be on ABC — since their 72 71 overtime loss to Seton Hall in last year’s NCAA Tournament. / ' Still, Oregon head coach Ernie Kent insists that the Ducks aren’t looking ahead to their game with the top-ranked Cardinal. “All our focus is on Cal,” Kent said. The Golden Bears (9-4 overall, 1-1 Pacific-10 Conference) pro vide an intriguing matchup for Kent and the Ducks (10-1, 1-0). Cal had an up-and-down presea son and then almost upset Ari zona before blowing out Arizona State. The Bears have fiercely de fended their home court, going 8 0 at Haas Pavilion during the pre season. Kent thinks the Golden Bears match up well with Oregon. “It’s going to be a tough battle,” Kent said. “But I’m anxious to see how they respond to that battle.” Kent said the Ducks will focus their defense on Cal forward Sean Lampley, the second-leading scorer in the Pac-10 behind Ore gon’s Bryan Bracey. Lampley and Bracey will most likely be pitted against each other tonight. “That will be a tough matchup for myself,” Bracey said. “We’re going to lock in and learn their of fense and how to defend them.” Kent thinks the team’s second biggest test will be the road, but the coach is also confident in his team’s ability to win on the road. “If we can weather and have some success on this road trip, that’s going to be huge for us,” Kent said. “This team is going to be a good road team because of their character.” Bracey and his teammates are also aware of Cal’s home edge. “This is going to be a big game because they’ll probably be sold out and ready for us,” Bracey said. “We’re going to go down there with a lot of intensity,” Oregon guard Freddie Jones said. “We’re going to try and steal one, maybe two wins.” Turn to Men, page12A
