PAC-10
continued from page 13
be named Pac-10 Player of the Year.
Stanford faces Washington State,
which nearly upset the Cardinal on its
final road trip. If the Cardinal wins, it
would face the winner of the Oregon
Califomia game.
2. Washington (17-10,12-6)
Washington posted its best confer
ence finish since a second-place show
ing in 1986. And the Huskies have
momentum on their side.
After beginning the season 0-5 in
conference play, the Huskies went on
to win 12 of their last 13 Pac-10 games.
Sophomore guard Nate Robinson
leads the Huskies into their matchup
against No. 7 UCLA at 6:15 p.m. to
day. Robinson is averaging 12.4
points and 1.7 steals per game.
3. Arizona (19-8,11-7)
Arizona, which isn't used to finish
ing any lower than second in the Pac
10, will face off against No. 6 USC at
approximately 8:45 tonight, or 30
minutes after the conclusion of the
Washington-UCLA game.
The Wildcats are led by sopho
more Andre Iguodala, who is on
pace to become the first Wildcat to
ever lead the team in rebounding
(8.8 rpg), assists (5.15 apg) and
steals (1.63 spg). Junior guard Salim
Stoudamire is averaging 25 points
per game over the last five games.
4. California (13-14,9-9)
Cal enters the tournament on a
two-game losing streak. But with
freshman star Leon Powe, who was
named Freshman of the Year, averag
ing 9.5 rebounds and 15 points per
game, the Bears have a chance.
Cal faces Oregon in the first round.
The two teams split the series in the
regular season.
5. Oregon (14-11,9-9)
Oregon enters the tournament
with some momentum after winning
its final two games at home. Senior
Luke Jackson will lead the way as one
of six players in the nation this sea
son to carry his team in points, re
bounds and assists.
6. Southern California
(13-14,8-10)
USC is going to need a huge game
from senior guard Desmon Farmer,
who ranks fourth on USC's career
scoring list, to get over Arizona. In
USC's win over the Wildcats, Farmer
scored a career-high 40 points.
7. UCLA (11-16,7-11)
The Bruins will have their work
cut out for them in the first round
when they face a hot Washington
team. UCLA has lost its last five
games.
8. Washington State
(13-15,7-11)
The Cougars have tallied seven
Pac-10 wins this season after win
ning just six of its last 44 conference
games entering the season. It is a
tough matchup for Washington
State to open up against Stanford,
but the Cougars nearly upset the
Cardinal a week ago.
Contact the sports reporter
at jessethomas@dailyemerald.com.
CAL
continued from page 13
an interesting game, especially on a
neutral site."
If there was ever any two teams that
resembled one another, and converse
ly knew more about one another, it
would be the Ducks and Bears.
Oregon (14-11,9-9) took advantage
of McArthur Court in the first meeting
between the teams. The Ducks won,
68-56, keeping Pac-10 Freshman of
the Year Leon Powe to 12 points and
Amit Tamir to two on 0 of 8 shooting.
Nearly a month later, the Bears
turned the table on the Ducks, winning
in Berkeley, 85-81, in overtime. Powe
learned some things from his first game,
posting 20 points and 11 rebounds.
But the Ducks limited Tamir to five
points in the second game of the sea
son. A key for Oregon will be doing
the same today.
"The key is to not let him touch the
ball," Oregon forward Jay Anderson
said. "In the past, we've tried to do
that and he's been able to get open
shots, get on a roll and start hitting
shots with guys in his face.
"This year, they have another op
tion in the post, which kind of takes
away from him a little. I think the
biggest key for us is to not let him hit
that trailing three-point shot and get
on a roll. Once he starts going, he's
pretty tough to stop."
As well as the Ducks have played
defensively in their games against Cal
ifornia, the team's offense also has
stepped up. In Oregon's win, the
Ducks shot 60.9 percent from the
field in the first half, allowing them to
jump up by 17 heading into halftime.
In the second game, Oregon started
slow but caught California in the sec
ond half behind the play of freshman
Aaron Brooks. The point guard scored
all of his 16 points in the second half.
Oregon knows it needs to mesh its of
fense and defense to take advantage of
California. That's especially the case be
cause each knows the other pretty well.
"Any time you play someone a third
time, things will be a lot more bogged
down, in terms of them understanding
what we're trying to do and us under
standing what they're trying to do," Ore
gon head coach Ernie Kent said. "They
really come down to energy, making
free throws, making layups and those
types of easy buckets that present them
selves over the course of a ball game"
The Ducks know the Golden
Bears are just the first step of the
tournament, despite the focus on
California. Unlike the past two sea
sons, when Oregon knew it proba
bly had secured a bid into the NCAA
Tournament prior to the Pac-10
Tournament, this season is different.
The Ducks are guaranteed of being
eligible for the NIT. But they don't
want to be relegated to the lesser of
the two tournaments.
Therefore, they need to win three
games in three days. California is just
the start.
"Nothing would make this season
more complete than winning the Pac
10 Tournament for me," Jackson said.
"Each game from now on, you have to
go on and look at it like it's the last
game. So you don't really want to think
about the NIT and give into that.
"You just want to say, 'this is our
last shot,' and that's how we're going
to go down and feel like that; pretty
much with our backs against the wall
and nothing to lose. *
Contact the sports editor
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
SOFTBALL
continued from page 13
minus pitcher Ani Nyhus, who was
suited up for Team Canada —
played in the game. Pitcher Anissa
Meashintubby, who has a shoulder
injury and is questionable for this
weekend, pinch ran in the bottom
of the seventh after Heather Mun
son pinch hit for Kristi Leiter. Mun
son drew a walk on seven pitches.
Meashintubby stole a base during
the next at-bat.
Oregon's Amy Harris started the
game, giving up six hits and five runs
in two-plus innings. After she gave up
two hits to start the third, Lindsey
Kontra came into the game in relief.
Kontra allowed four hits and two runs
in five innings.
"It was good to get some work in
against a really good competitive
team," Kontra said. "It was nice to
have the home crowd out, supporting
you no matter what."
The Ducks now head to Las Vegas
for the UNLV Tournament. They will
play four games, two Friday and two
Saturday. After a break for finals week,
the squad will spend its spring break
in Eugene, playing seven games in
seven days. They open that week
March 21 with a doubleheader against
Missouri.
Contact the senior sports reporter
at mindirice@dailyemerald.com.
Adam Amato Senior Photographer
Second baseman Erin Goodell and the Ducks lost their first home opener in three years
with a 7-2 defeat by Team Canada on Wednesday at Howe Field.
TENNIS
continued from page 13
2-4 Pacific-10 Conference) hope
to get back to their winning ways
when they return for their last
home games of the year.
"We just got to keep playing,"
Oregon head coach Nils Schyllan
der said. "We're not playing that
bad, but we're through our toughest
part of the schedule."
The women, though, have only
won one dual match point in their
last four matches. Junior Daria
Panova won that point when she
defeated UCLA's Jackie Carleton, 6
2 and 7-6 (7-4) in a 6-1 loss to the
Bruins on Sunday.
The Ducks host eighth-ranked
Washington Friday at 1:30 p.m.
and No. 59 Washington State on
"We just got to keep
playing. We're not play
ing that bad, but we're
through our toughest
part of the schedule."
Nils Schyllander
Oregon tennis head coach
Saturday at the Student Tennis
Center.
Alex Tam is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
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