Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Monday, December 2,2002
-Oregon Daily Emerald
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Oregon’s bowl picture clouded by USC
The Ducks will wait to see
where the Trojans go before
making their bowl plans
Football notes
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
If Oregon’s bowl picture was ab
stract before, it’s now a Picasso.
When now-No. 5 Southern Cali
fornia crushed now-No. 11 Notre
Dame 44-13 Saturday night, it
threw Oregon’s bowl picture — and
the national bowl picture — into
disarray. The Ducks will now wait
on two different factors before
booking their flight to either Seattle
or San Francisco.
Oregon currently has two bowl
options: the Silicon Valley Bowl on
Dec. 31 in San Jose, Calif., or the
Seattle Bowl at Seahawks Stadium
on Dec. 30.
The Ducks’ determining factor No.
1 will be the outcome of Saturday’s
contest between No. 7 Washington
State and UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
The Cougars will be playing for the
Pacific-10 Conference title and a trip
back to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. If
UCLA wins that game, USC would
win the Pac-10 title, earn a trip to the
Rose Bowl and tip the rest of the con
ference down a notch, dominoes
style, and the Ducks would likely be
headed to Seattle.
But if Washington State wins,
USC’s fate will be in the hands of
the Bowl Championship Series
computers and bowl executives,
which is Oregon’s factor No. 2. If
the Trojans finish in the top four of
the BCS standings, they will auto
matically qualify for a BCS bowl, ei
ther the Orange Bowl or Sugar
Bowl. When Oklahoma — formerly
third in the BGS standings — lost to
Oklahoma State on Saturday, it
paved the way for USG to break the
BGS top 5, but probably wasn’t
enough to move them past Georgia
or Iowa for the fourth spot.
Georgia and Miami, both ahead of
USG in the BGS standings, each have
a game remaining. If Miami loses to
Virginia Tech on Saturday, it likely
wouldn’t be a big enough blow to
drop the Hurricanes out of the top 5.
In fact, Miami still could go to the na
tional championship game even if it
loses. But if Georgia loses the South
eastern Conference Championship
to Arkansas on Saturday, the Bull
dogs likely would drop from the top 5
and open a spot for USG.
If USG does get pulled into a BGS
bowl, that would bring everybody in
the Pac-10 up a slot — reverse
dominoes — and the Ducks would
likely be headed to the Silicon Val
ley Bowl.
The USG debate is quickly turn
ing into a national issue. The Tro
jans played the most difficult sched
Oregon currently has
two bowl options: the
Silicon Valley Bowl on
Dec. 31 in San Jose,
Calif., or the Seattle
Bowl at Seahawks
Stadium on Dec. 30.
ule in the nation this year according
to the BGS computers, playing eight
teams ranked in the top 25 at the
time they faced USG. The Trojans’
only losses came to No. 6 Kansas
State, by seven points, and Wash
ington State in overtime.
Since that loss to the Cougars,
USC has gone 7-0 and outscored its
opponents by an average of 21
points per contest. Senior quarter
back Carson Palmer has developed
into a legitimate Heisman Trophy
candidate, putting an exclamation
point on his file by throwing for 425
yards and four touchdowns against
Notre Dame.
Still, if USC doesn’t get a guar
anteed BCS berth by finishing in
the top 4, Notre Dame could get
selected to a BCS bowl because it
has a bigger national following
than USC. The Irish have an iden
tical record to the Trojans, 10-2
overall, but have the BCS’ 29th
ranked schedule.
In the end, USC could be the lat
est victim of the young BCS system,
Turn to Bowls, page 10
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Ian Crosswhite (11) had the best night of his young Oregon career with 12 points in 20 minutes against Pacific.
Oregon shut out in Paradise
The Ducks lose two of two games
in the Virgin Islands over the break
Women’s basketball
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
There must be no better way to spend the Thanks
giving holiday than in the Virgin Islands.
Unless of course, you’re the Oregon women’s
basketball team.
The Ducks, coming off a tough loss to Wisconsin
Green Bay early last week, lost 67-40 Thursday to
South Carolina in the first game of the Paradise Jam
Tournament in St. Thomas.
Then, on Friday, the Ducks (1-3 overall) fell again,
this time to No. 18 Boston College, 64-47.
« “We didn’t do the little things well,” Oregon junior
forward Cathrine Kraayeveld said after Oregon’s loss
to Boston College. “Our passes to the post need to be
crisper. But I still think we’ve come a long way in
these last three games.”
Against the Eagles (3-1), the Ducks failed to com
pete on the boards, garnering just 23 rebounds to
Boston College’s 40.
Kraayeveld led Oregon with nine rebounds, in
cluding two of the Ducks’ five offensive boards. How
ever, Boston College was that much better on the of
fensive boards, grabbing 15.
Kraayeveld led Oregon with 12 points, while sen
ior Shaquala Williams—who shot just 2-of-9 against
South Carolina — pitched in with 11 points on 5-of
12 shooting.
Defensively, senior Alissa Edwards was solid, lim
iting Boston College’s Brianne Stepherson to three
points. On the offensive side of the ball, Edwards was
3-of-5 for seven points.
“Alissa did a great job tonight,” Oregon head coach
Turn to Womeh, pdge12.
Oregon rolls over
not-so-tough Tigers
Pacific can’t capitalize on Oregon’s
sub-par shooting, and the Ducks
pull off an 88-69 win at Mac Court
Men’s basketball
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
When Pacific’s Miah Davis launched a
half-court shot that bounced off the back
board and through the hoop at the
buzzer, it put an exclamation point on a
game that didn’t deserve one.
The No. 9 Oregon men’s basketball
team rolled through another game Satur
day night, moving to 3-0 on the season by
beating up on Pacific, 88-69, in front of
8,834 fans at McArthur Court. The Ducks
shot less than 47 percent from the floor,
but the Tigers didn’t have the firepower
to make the game close like California
State Northridge did Monday, and Oregon
pulled away from Pacific in the second
half for the victory.
“It says a lot about our team, that we
can have an off night shooting and still
score 80 points,” Oregon head coach
Ernie Kent said.
It does, indeed, show a lot about the of
fensive powerhouse that Oregon has be
come. Point guard Luke Ridnour led all
scorers with 24 points, and added seven as
sists. Forward Luke Jackson went only 2
for-14 from the floor but notched 12 re
bounds and five steals one game after he
had no rebounds against Northridge.
“We challenged him, and we’re
pleased with how he responded,” Kent
said ofJackson.
After a forgettable first half in which
the Ducks scored 39 points and led the
Tigers by six as the teams headed into the
locker rooms, Oregon came out fired up
and on fire in the second. The Ducks
went on a 17-3 run to open up the second
frame, and later went on a 9-1 run to put
the game out of reach.
Oregon was helped by an emotional
play early in the second half, a hard foul
by Ridnour on Pacific’s Demetrius Jack
son that got both teams up and jawing at
each other.
“That was just my competitive nature,”
Ridnour said. “It got us going a litde bit.”
Minutes after that tussle, the teams
poured their emotion onto the court in a
battle for a loose ball that lasted several sec
onds and had bodies from both teams flying
across Mac Court. The home crowd gave
both teams a rousing round of applause.
For the third time in the Oregon’s three
games, at least four Ducks scored in dou
ble figures. James Davis had 14 points,
and newcomers Ian Crosswhite and An
dre Joseph — who scored a combined
Turn to Men, page 12
Mark McCambridge Emerald
‘ 'AliSsa Edwards* (12) wasdne of few Oregon players to have a good weekend at the Paradisejarri.