Ducks to Face Notre Dame in NIT Quarterfinals
WHAT’S ON TAP
. . . The road to New York goes through South Bend, Ind., for Oregon. The Ducks will face Notre Dame on Thursday, March 25 in an NIT quarterfinal game with the winner advancing to New York for the NIT final four. OSN will televise the game live in the State of Oregon.
OREGON IN THE NIT
POSTSEASON SIGNIFICANCE
. . . The 2004 NIT also marks Oregon’s third straight postseason appearance, following the 2002 and 2003 NCAA tournaments. It’s just the second time that UO has played in three straight postseason tournaments; the other occasion was 1975-77 when Oregon participated in three straight NITs.
LAST TIME OUT ... The Ducks used a career-high 22 from senior Andre Joseph to beat George Mason 68-54 to advance to the NIT Quarters. Joseph was 5-of-9 from the beyond the arc and snagged seven rebounds in his final game at Mac Court. Both Luke Jackson and Ian Crosswhite added 14 points.
QUICK HITS HITS...A brief look at what to watch Thursday:
--- The last nine games (with a healthy Aaron Brooks), Oregon is averaging just 13.1 turnovers per game.
--- Honor Roll. Luke Jackson has recently been named to a number of All-America teams, as well as the all-Pac-10 and Pac-10 all- ournament squads.
--- Jack of All Trades. All-America candidate Luke Jackson is one of only four players in the country leading his team in scoring (21.6), rebounding (7.2) and assists (4.6) per game. And for good measure, he also leads the Ducks in steals (37) and FT shooting (.876).---
Samurai Jack. Jackson recently joined Arizona star Sean Elliott as the only two players in Pac-10 history with 1,900 points (1,939), 700 rebounds (731) and 400 assists (418).
--- Jumping Jack. Naismith Award finalist Luke Jackson is the first player in school history with three consecutive 500-point seasons.
--- Engine No. 9. Wooden Award finalist Luke Jackson is the only player in school history ranked in nine different UO career top 10 categories: scoring, assists, steals, 3-point FGs, 3-point FG pct., free throws made, free throw pct., field goals made and rebounds. Check out page 10 for a look at the UO career lists.
--- Clipped Wings. Thursday’s game versus Notre Dame will mark just the 11th game this season that the entire Duck roster will be available.
--- Three Amigos. Oregon is eighth nationally and first in the Pac-10 in three-point shooting percentage, hitting 40.0 percent. Birmingham Southern is the current national leader at 43.0 percent.
--- Bombs away. Oregon has hit 10 or more threes in 12 games this season. The Ducks tied a Chiles Center record with 15 three-pointers Dec. 22 at Portland; that’s one shy of the UO school record.
--- Spirit of ?76. The Ducks are 16-2 this season when holding opponents to 76 points or less (both losses came against Stanford) and 1-10 when they do not.
--- Senior James Davis is the league’s active career leader in three-pointers with 239 and ranks second alltime at UO. He’s also now among the Pac-10’s alltime top 10. Check out page 10 for a look at the career lists.
--- Jackson ranks second in the Pac-10 Conference and 15th nationally in scoring at 21.6 points per game.
--- Brooks Returns. Freshman guard Aaron Brooks scored a career-high 16 points (4 3-pointers) Feb. 26 at Cal, and then did that one better with 17 points Feb. 28 at Stanford. He returned to the floor Feb. 19 against Arizona after missing 10 games (six weeks) due to a fractured bone in his right wrist, suffered Jan. 4 at UCLA.
--- Home Sweet Home. Oregon is 41-5 at Mac over the last three seasons.
OREGON’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS . . . At 17-12, the Ducks have clinched their sixth straight .500 or better season (that hasn’t happened in Eugene in 26 years). Oregon last had six straight .500 or better seasons under coach Dick Harter from 1972-73 to 1977-78. And at 9-9 in the Pac-10, Oregon finished .500 or better in the conference for the third consecutive season -- something that UO had not done in 49 years. The Ducks last posted three consecutive .500 or better league marks between 1952-53 and 1954-55, when Bill Borcher’s squads went 8-8, 9-7, and 8-8, respectively.
1,000th GAME AT MAC . . . Tuesday’s game marked the 1,000th game that Oregon has played at historic McArthur Court. The DuckS are 644-356 all-time at Mac. McArthur Court opened in 1927 and is the second-oldest Division I facility in the nation; Fordham’s Rose Hill Gym is the only one that is older.
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 Jan. 26 at California, followed by 17 Jan. 28 at Stanford. What’s more telling is that in the last eight games with a healthy Brooks, Oregon is averaging only 12.9 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).
SIR LUKEALOT OF McARTHUR’S COURT . . . Luke Jackson’s performance in last week’s NIT first round win against Colorado will go down as one of the finest ever at venerable McArthur Court. That he had 40 points was impressive. But he scored an unheard of 29 straight for Oregon in the second half and overtime, and 31 of the Ducks’ last 33 overall as he willed Oregon into the extra session and eventually to the second round of the NIT. He nailed an off-balance three with 21 seconds left that tied the game at 61 and forced overtime. And in the extra session he scored 14 of Oregon’s 16 points as the Ducks emerged 77-72. Certainly it was a performance the 7,461 in attendance at Mac and those watching at home on ESPN2 will never forget.
JACKSON MAKES WOODEN FINALIST LIST . . . Luke Jackson has been named one of 20 finalists for the Wooden Award, announced March 6. Jackson was one of only three Pac-10 players to make the cut; the other two were Ike Diogu (Arizona State) and Josh Childress (Stanford).
AND THE NAISMITH . . . Jackson was also one of 20 players who made the Naismith Award’s 20 finalists released Feb. 17. He was one of three Pac-10 players on that list, joining Arizona State’s Ike Diogu and Stanford’s Josh Childress.
JACKSON A SENIOR CLASS FINALIST . . . And the honors keep rolling in for Jackson. He was named one of 10 finalists for the 2004 Bayer Advantage Senior Class Award. He was the only Pac-10 player to make that list.
SONG FOR SUPERMAN . . . Perhaps a cape was all that was missing from Luke Jackson’s Feb. 19 performance against No. 14 Arizona. The line: 42 points, 10, reb., 4 asst., 14-21 FG, 6-9 3FG, 8-8 FT, 38 min. The 42 points represented the highest total ever by a Duck at McArthur Court and was one shy of the school record (43, Greg Ballard at Oral Roberts, 1977) and two off the Court record (44, John Block, USC, 1966). Jackson’s was the highest point total by a Pac-10 player this year and was the most since Jason Kapono of UCLA scored 44 at Washington State Jan. 4, 2003. It was just the seventh 40-point game in school history. Jackson set career highs in points, field goals and 3-point field goals.
