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