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Ducks Surprising in Pac-10 Play

February 23, 2011   Michelle Smith   No comments

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Two months ago, the Oregon men’s basketball team wasn’t so concerned about standings or play-in games or how many games it would take to weave through the Pac-10 Tournament.

No, two months ago the Ducks simply were not very good, paling in comparison to the national championship-bound football team and wondering whether they might be able to live up to the shiny, new arena that was about to open.

Oregon, picked to finish last in the first season under head coach Dana Altman, lived down to that expectation with an 0-4 start in conference play and were 1-5 after the following weekend against the L.A. schools.

But since then, the Ducks have become the surprise team of the Pac-10.

Oregon is 7-7 (14-12 overall) heading into this weekend’s home games against Cal and Stanford. The Ducks, who completed a season-sweep of rival Oregon State last weekend, are fourth in the Pac-10 standings behind Arizona, UCLA and Washington and with four games to go, they are in great shape to earn a top six finish.

A top six finish in the Pac-10 is a big deal. The bottom four teams in the conference standings will participate in a play-in round at the 10-team tournament in two weeks at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Any team in the play-in round would need to win four games in four days to win the tournament title and an automatic NCAA berth.

 

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Odd Oregon Floor Gets Mixed Reviews

January 19, 2011   Michelle Smith   No comments

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Oregon new basketball court
Oregon wanted a floor that would have a distinctive place in the sports landscape.

The Ducks’ athletics department got its wish.

The men’s basketball team opened Matthew Knight Arena last week against USC and UCLA. The $200-million facility replaces the Ducks’ aged Mac Court.

Video shots of the arena floor showed a persistent glare on the floor from the midcourt video screens. And the lack of a clearly visible midcourt line was a problem for USC coach Kevin O’Neill.

 

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Kyle Singler, E.J. Singler Spark Oregon’s Newest Civil War

November 26, 2010   Michelle Smith   No comments

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E.J. Singler gave his parents his blessing to go to Portland for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with his brother Kyle and the Duke basketball team. His brother may be the All-American with all the college accolades and recognition, but E.J. has had more Thanksgiving dinners at home lately than his big brother.

Kyle and the top-ranked Blue Devils are in the Singlers’ home state today for a long-planned and highly anticipated matchup against Oregon at the Rose Garden.

On paper this is a big mismatch, Duke the No. 1 team in the country facing a rebuilding Oregon team (4-1) that needed overtime to beat North Dakota State and lost to San Jose State at home. This is a huge test for a Ducks program that is currently playing in the shadow of its top-ranked football team and transitioning under the leadership of new head coach Dana Altman.

But that’s not what this is about. The game is mostly tribute to Kyle Singler, one of the best players in the recent history of Oregon basketball, and one last chance for him to play near home before the end of his college career.

The occasion has been marked most publicly by a pair of billboards looming over downtown Portland featuring the tagline “Singler Minded” and showing the back of the brothers’ jersey melded into a 50-50 split. The brothers did the photo shoot for the billboard back in the spring. And the anticipation has been building ever since.

 

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Oregon Seeks Pac-10 Help With Player Eligibility, Possibly Michael Dunigan’s

September 14, 2010   Michelle Smith   No comments

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The University of Oregon reached out to the Pac-10 last month, seeking help regarding the eligibility of “former members” of the men’s basketball program in the past two seasons.

Oregon released a statement Tuesday night, saying that the university contacted the conference back on Aug. 2 seeking clarification related to information obtained about unnamed student-athletes. The Pac-10 forwarded the information on to the NCAA for clarification.

The Eugene Register-Guard is reporting that the Oregon statement came after a query from the newspaper regarding center Michael Dunigan (pictured right). It has been reported by the Register-Guard that Dunigan signed a contract with a professional team in Israel, ending his college career with two years of eligibility remaining because his eligibility was in question.

The Register-Guard said there is no indication there is an eligibility issue with the nine current scholarship players on the roster. Dunigan reportedly is the subject of allegations that he received extra benefits, in violation of NCAA rules. Dunigan attended classes at Oregon in the summer.

 

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Summer Session: Pac-10 Slogan, ‘It Has to Be Better’

September 09, 2010   Michelle Smith   No comments

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It Has to Be Better. That probably isn’t the slogan that Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott would want to attach to the men’s basketball season, but it’s the prevailing sentiment as the conference’s 10 teams begin organized workouts on Sept. 15.

A conference with history and pride and tradition barely got two teams in to the NCAA field last spring, and the prospects for drastic improvement just aren’t that good.

Washington, which reached the Sweet 16 last March, is the only team in the conference that has been ranked by the preseason magazines and that qualifies the Huskies as overwhelming favorites.

UCLA, which finished below .500 for the first time since 2004, and Arizona are expected to be better, expected to return to their rightful places in the field of 68 come March.

But beyond that, there’s only a lot question marks.

More Summer Sessions: ACC | Big East | Big Ten | Big 12

 

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