Thursday
Best Bet
NBA: San Antonio at Portland
5 p.m.,TNT
SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Pac- 7 0 tourney
would be ideal
for2001 Ducks
THE HOME
STRETCH
ROBBIE McCALLUM
As we enter the first weeks of March, it is be
coming less likely that the men’s or women’s
basketball teams will be participating in any of
the madness that comes with this month.
Both teams are wrapping up disappointing seasons in
which upsets were few and losses were many. Instead of
Mayor of Bracketville ballots, coaches Ernie Kent and
Jody Runge may be on the NIT City ballot at best.
Things don’t look bright for the month of March.
If this were to happen next year, however, things
would be much different. The first Pacific-10 Confer
ence Tournament in 10 years will be instated, and the
top eight teams in the conference will be vying for the
top spot and an automatic NCAA tournament bid.
Teams like the 13-14 Duck men and 16-11 Oregon
women will have a chance next year to reach the field of
65 despite less-than-perfect regular seasons.
At first, many in the Oregon sports scene denounced
the conference tournament, saying “there are a lot of
unanswered questions” and that “the logistics need to
be worked out.”
Many coaches around the Pac-10 preferred letting the
regular season decide the conference champion instead
of a three-day tournament.
Now that Oregon is in a position to benefit from a con
ference tournament, opinions are changing.
“When I first heard about it, for this year I really did
n't want one,” Oregon guard Alissa Edwards said. “But
now that the season's almost done, I kind of wish we
had one this year because of where we’re at in the stand
ings. I wish we could prove ourselves, now that we’ve
dug ourselves a hole.”
Both the men and women experienced disappointing
seasons but showed the ability to explode in big game
situations — much like they would need to in the Pac
10 Tournament.
If the tournament were today, the women would host
No. 5 seed Arizona, a team they beat 83-78 on Saturday,
and could face either Washington, Southern California
or Washington State in the semi-finals.
The men, however, would face league-leading Stan
ford at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Ducks led
top-ranked Stanford by seven points at home on Feb. 9
before falling 69-62.
Aside from Oregon s potential gains this year, the con
ference tournament would bring a part of March Mad
ness that has been absent from the Pac-10 for more than
a decade.
This week, die-hard hoops fans are riveted to ESPN
for “Championship Week.” Conference tournaments
from all around the nation bombard our television sets
and let us know that it’s tournament time. Where are the
Oregon men? Getting ready for the mighty Beavers to de
cide whether they’ll have 13 or 14 wins this season.
Whoopee!
Having a conference tournament would not only give
Oregon a chance for something better this season, it
would give them a warm-up for the NIT or even the
NCAA Tournament.
A conference tournament “gives you big game experi
ence, which is helpful as you go through the Big
Dance,” said guard David Jackson, who went through
the Western Athletic Conference Tournament and
NCAA Tournament while at Utah.
The conference tournament provides fans and players
alike a chance to warm up to a tournament atmosphere
before the real tournament starts.
Both Oregon teams will be in different situations next
year, when the first tournament happens. And if the
Ducks don’t happen to win the first Pac-10 Tournament
next year, there’s always the NIT.
Robbie McCallum is a sports reporter for the Emerald. He can be
reached at coach_robbie@lycos.com.
Emerald
In previous Civil Wars, the matchup at center between Oregon’s Jenny
Mowe and Oregon State’s Ericka Cook has been anything but civil.
TOUGH
LOVE
■The surprise friendship of arch-rivals Jenny Mowe
and Ericka Cook shouldn’t cool down the always
heated rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
An unlikely alliance was
formed when the Oregon
women’s basketball team ar
rived at the Eugene Airport
in early February.
The Ducks, traveling to
road games at Stanford and
California, were dismayed
when they discovered they’d
be sharing a flight with their
in-state rival, Oregon State.
more ap
palled
than
Oregon center Jenny Mowe
and Beaver forward Ericka
Cook.
One
could
specu
late that
nobody
was
The teams’ two post play
ers have shared nothing but
shoves, elbows and fouls
since they first stepped on
the court together. Their ri
valry was immortalized
when, at a Jan. 29,1999 game
in Eugene that Oregon won
59-46, Mowe delivered a
sharp elbow to Cook’s jaw,
sending the Beaver to the
floor.
Cook was treated for 10
minutes on the bench before
returning to the game. By the
game’s end, Cook — then Er
icka Brosterhous — gave
Mowe a bloody nose.
So you know what Mowe
was thinking last month
about being trapped in a
plane with Oregon State
players.
“They pulled up to the
Stanford flight, right outside
the airport, and I go, ‘Oh
great, now we’re going to
have to go with Oregon
State,”’ Mowe said. “I said
‘With my luck, I’m going to
have to sit right next to
Cook.’”
Guess what happened
next?
“Sure enough, I’m like,
‘yeah, I got the exit row,
yeah!’” Mowe continued. “I
walk in the plane, and I’m
like, ‘oh, no!”’
Neither player will soon
forget the moment when
Turn to Women, page 14
‘Refreshed’ Ducks still eye NIT bid
■ I he Ducks say they are rejuvenated after taking some
days off and continue to hold out hope for an NIT bid
with a Civil War win
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
Luke Ridnour threw up dur
ing last Thursday’s loss to Ari
zona State.
“Twice,”
said the
freshman
point guard.
No, this
was not a
result of
Oregon’s
awful play
last weekend, but rather be
cause he was battling the flu all
week.
The trip to Arizona, though,
did make many of the Ducks
sick to their stomachs as they*
dropped both games in the
desert by a combined 51 points.
The defeats dropped Oregon to
13-14 overall and 4-13 in the
Pacific-10 Conference.
“It was ugly,” senior Flo
Hartenstein said. “We weren’t
ready to play.”
The Ducks played flat, and as
a result, Oregon head coach
Ernie Kent gave his team Sun
day, Monday and Tuesday off to
rest up for this week’s practice
preparation for Saturday’s Civil
War game in Corvallis.
“I thought they needed that,”
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent
said. “I thought we were a very
tired basketball team down
there in the desert. They cer
tainly were more refreshed to
day.
“And of course when the
sun’s out, it seems to give you a
little more energy.”
The rare Eugene sunshine
combined with the three-day
break appeared to have a posi
tive effect on the Ducks during
Wednesday afternoon’s practice
— the only practice open to the
media all week.
Many Oregon players sported
smiles and played with enthusi
asm as they wound down their
workout with a five-on-five drill.
They know that their season
could be over after Saturday, but
want to at least go out on a win
ning note.
“We just got to go for it all
when we’re on the court, be
cause that’s it, it’s your last one,”
Ridnour said. “If we win, we
have a chance, but if you lose,
you’re done.”
Yes, that’s right, despite losing
13 of 16 games, Oregon still has
a chance at the NIT. Before, the
talk was that the Ducks had to
win two of its remaining games
to receive an invitation. But in
actuality, all they have to win is
Turn to Men, page 16
. ■ ; ■ ;
Tom Patterson Emerald
Oregon freshman point guard Luke Ridnoursays he feels better
this week after being plagued with the flu in games in Arizona.