Ducks Looks to Kick it into Gear for Final Weekend
WHAT’S ON TAP . . . The Ducks make a final push for the postseason when they host USC and UCLA in the last regular season home games at McArthur Court. Thursday, March 4, Oregon faces USC in a 5:30 p.m. start for the Oregon Sports Network. Then it’s Senior Day on Saturday, March 6, as Oregon meets UCLA at 1 p.m. on CBS.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN . . . The country music group Little Texas told us, try not to think about what might have been, because that was then. Cliche? You bet. But Oregon can’t help but wonder what might have been of the 2003-04 season if a couple of freshmen hadn’t been injured. Aaron Brooks -- in his first fully healthy weekend since the Pac-10 opener (Jan. 2 at USC) -- set career highs twice in the Bay Area with 16 points at California, followed by 17 at Stanford. What’s more telling is that in the last three games with a healthy Brooks, Oregon is averaging only 12.3 turnovers per game; while Brooks was out for 10 games with a broken right hamate bone, the Ducks averaged 16.7. And if starting center Mitch Platt hadn’t have missed the Dec. 20 Alabama game due to a sprained left ankle (Dec. 6 vs. Marshall), the Crimson Tide probably would not have grabbed 14 offensive rebounds -- the telling stat in the Crimson Tide’s one-point win (87-86).
QUICK HITS...A brief look at what to watch for this week:
With one more point this year, Luke Jackson will become the first player in school history with three consecutive 500-point seasons.
Little Texas also taught us, you got to kick a little and be tough; you got to let them know you’ve had enough, and that’s what Oregon will need to do Thursday night against USC to prevent its first five-game losing streak since the 1998-99 season. As it is, Oregon has lost four games in a row for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
