Thursday, January 19
Eugene, Ore.
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
vs
California
Ducks Host Cal With Record Win Streak In Sight
01/18/17 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
No. 11 Oregon will try to match the school record of 15 straight wins when it hosts California on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2).
EUGENE, Ore. — To make history this week, the Oregon men's basketball team will have to avoid history repeating itself.
The Ducks (16-2, 5-0 Pac-12) host California on Thursday in Matthew Knight Arena (6 p.m., ESPN2). The UO men will be playing for their 15th straight victory, which would match the school record set 104 years ago, in a stretch spanning two seasons over 1912 and 1913.
Oregon enters its matchup against the Golden Bears (13-5, 4-2) ranked No. 11 nationally. That's the same ranking the Ducks brought last February to Berkeley, before losing 83-63 at Cal. If the Ducks manage to win Thursday, they would have a chance to win a school-record 16th straight game Saturday against Stanford.
"It'll be hard to get done," UO coach Dana Altman said Wednesday. "We've got two opponents here that are very capable. Cal's had a lot of success here, and so has Stanford. So we've got our work cut out for us, no doubt about it."
Oregon's current 14-game win streak, extended in last week's pummeling of Oregon State, is the longest for the Ducks since 1947. Only twice since, in 2006 and 2014, have the UO men won as many as 13 in a row.
The team has clicked since the return to health of Dillon Brooks, and the return to form of Dylan Ennis after he redshirted last season. The Ducks have gotten sublime play from freshman guard Payton Pritchard, and unselfish contributions from veterans Chris Boucher and Casey Benson off the bench.
A 46-game starter over the last season-and-a-half, Boucher has come off the bench since a December ankle injury that sidelined him for two games. He's averaging 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in the five games since, with 12 blocked shots.
"It's been like everything — you get adjusted," Boucher said. "And I'm fine with that. I still can help my team in so many ways. … We've got a good flow going on, so I just want to help us go further."
The only 15-game win streak in UO history began on Feb. 14, 1912, and continued until Jan. 31, 1913. A win Thursday would not only match that streak, it would guarantee the Ducks a winning season in seven straight seasons — something that last happened in 1934-40 — and give Altman his 20th consecutive winning season as a head coach.
Only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, Roy Williams of North Carolina, Bill Self of Kansas and Tom Izzo of Michigan State currently enjoy that distinction. But Altman says Oregon's focus isn't on milestones such as that.
"We haven't talked about it much," said Altman, whose team's 36-game home win streak is second nationally to Kansas (49). "We talk about what it takes each and every game. It's just kind of there; guys are aware of it, I'm sure. But we don't dwell on it; we don't spend a lot of time on it."
California knows what it takes to win in Eugene, having knocked off the then-No. 17 Ducks in Matthew Knight Arena in 2014. The Golden Bears are 8-2 in their last 10 games against the Ducks, and a respectable 28-41 overall in Eugene.
The Golden Bears boast the reigning national player of the week, sophomore Ivan Rabb, who stayed in school despite being viewed as a potential lottery pick after his freshman season. Rabb has raised his game in Pac-12 play, averaging 17.3 points and 14.2 rebounds in six conference game so far.
The Ducks are acutely aware of Cal's ability on the boards, where the Golden Bears lead the Pac-12 with 40.8 rebounds per game. Minimizing second-chance points will be a major focus for Oregon on Thursday, as the Ducks try to match the longest win streak in school history.
"We know we still have the winning streak, but we don't pay no mind to it," guard Tyler Dorsey said. "We want to keep winning. … You can't sleep on other teams. You've got to take one game at a time, and one step at a time. If we want to win the Pac-12, we can't let any games go. Your record can change in one week, so you can't take a week off. Every week is critical."
The Ducks (16-2, 5-0 Pac-12) host California on Thursday in Matthew Knight Arena (6 p.m., ESPN2). The UO men will be playing for their 15th straight victory, which would match the school record set 104 years ago, in a stretch spanning two seasons over 1912 and 1913.
Oregon enters its matchup against the Golden Bears (13-5, 4-2) ranked No. 11 nationally. That's the same ranking the Ducks brought last February to Berkeley, before losing 83-63 at Cal. If the Ducks manage to win Thursday, they would have a chance to win a school-record 16th straight game Saturday against Stanford.
"It'll be hard to get done," UO coach Dana Altman said Wednesday. "We've got two opponents here that are very capable. Cal's had a lot of success here, and so has Stanford. So we've got our work cut out for us, no doubt about it."
Oregon's current 14-game win streak, extended in last week's pummeling of Oregon State, is the longest for the Ducks since 1947. Only twice since, in 2006 and 2014, have the UO men won as many as 13 in a row.
The team has clicked since the return to health of Dillon Brooks, and the return to form of Dylan Ennis after he redshirted last season. The Ducks have gotten sublime play from freshman guard Payton Pritchard, and unselfish contributions from veterans Chris Boucher and Casey Benson off the bench.
A 46-game starter over the last season-and-a-half, Boucher has come off the bench since a December ankle injury that sidelined him for two games. He's averaging 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in the five games since, with 12 blocked shots.
"It's been like everything — you get adjusted," Boucher said. "And I'm fine with that. I still can help my team in so many ways. … We've got a good flow going on, so I just want to help us go further."
The only 15-game win streak in UO history began on Feb. 14, 1912, and continued until Jan. 31, 1913. A win Thursday would not only match that streak, it would guarantee the Ducks a winning season in seven straight seasons — something that last happened in 1934-40 — and give Altman his 20th consecutive winning season as a head coach.
Only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, Roy Williams of North Carolina, Bill Self of Kansas and Tom Izzo of Michigan State currently enjoy that distinction. But Altman says Oregon's focus isn't on milestones such as that.
"We haven't talked about it much," said Altman, whose team's 36-game home win streak is second nationally to Kansas (49). "We talk about what it takes each and every game. It's just kind of there; guys are aware of it, I'm sure. But we don't dwell on it; we don't spend a lot of time on it."
California knows what it takes to win in Eugene, having knocked off the then-No. 17 Ducks in Matthew Knight Arena in 2014. The Golden Bears are 8-2 in their last 10 games against the Ducks, and a respectable 28-41 overall in Eugene.
The Golden Bears boast the reigning national player of the week, sophomore Ivan Rabb, who stayed in school despite being viewed as a potential lottery pick after his freshman season. Rabb has raised his game in Pac-12 play, averaging 17.3 points and 14.2 rebounds in six conference game so far.
The Ducks are acutely aware of Cal's ability on the boards, where the Golden Bears lead the Pac-12 with 40.8 rebounds per game. Minimizing second-chance points will be a major focus for Oregon on Thursday, as the Ducks try to match the longest win streak in school history.
"We know we still have the winning streak, but we don't pay no mind to it," guard Tyler Dorsey said. "We want to keep winning. … You can't sleep on other teams. You've got to take one game at a time, and one step at a time. If we want to win the Pac-12, we can't let any games go. Your record can change in one week, so you can't take a week off. Every week is critical."
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