Ducks to Face Utah, UC Santa Barbara in 2007 Pape? Jam
EUGENE, Ore. ? The Oregon basketball teams will mark the 10th anniversary of the Pape’ Jam by playing a pair of traditional western powers in Utah and UC Santa Barbara Dec. 8 at the Rose Garden.
"The Pape’ Jam is one of my favorite events of the season," said Oregon men’s coach Ernie Kent. "It’s something we always look forward to because we love playing in front of our fans in Portland at the Rose Garden and because of the tremendous job the Pape’ Group does of sponsoring this event."
"We are very excited to play in our home away from home," said Oregon women’s coach Bev Smith. "Our players love the atmosphere of a December game in the big city, and enjoy playing in front of the mix of both Portland and Eugene Duck fans. The atmosphere is great and it always feels like Mac Court North!"
Tickets for the doubleheader will go on sale in October.
The Duck men, coming off a 29-8 season and an appearance in the NCAA Elite 8, will face Utah, a team with 26 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances. That ranks second behind only UCLA’s 41 among all western colleges. Oregon and the Utes last met in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament, when Utah edged the Ducks 60-58 in Nashville, Tenn. The two schools have played 13 games all-time, with the Utes holding a 7-6 series edge.
The Utes struggled through an uncharacteristic 11-19 season in 2006-07, but return four starters for new head coach Jim Boylen. The Utes also have their three top scorers returning in 7-1 center Luke Nevill (16.8 points per game), guard Johnnie Bryant (15.1 ppg) and forward Shaun Green (11.1 ppg). The Utes had success in their non-conference schedule last season with wins over Washington State (69-55) and Virginia (94-70).
"Utah has been a very good basketball program for a long time," said Kent. "They were down a bit last year, but when you think about Utah in terms of their NCAA Tournament history, they rank right up there. I think our fans will be excited to see how we match up against a traditional power like Utah."
The Oregon women will play UC Santa Barbara in a rematch of last season’s WNIT second round game, a 70-54 Duck victory on March 17, 2007. UC Santa Barbara ended its 2006-07 campaign with a 19-14 overall record and a second place finish (10-4) in the Big West.
The Gauchos are expected to again to contend for the conference title returning their top three scorers; the senior trio of Jenna Green (16.6 ppg), Jessica Wilson (13.0 ppg) and Chisa Ononiwu (11.6 ppg). Perennial pillars of the Big West Conference for nearly two decades, the Gauchos made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances from 1992-2005 and also own 12 Big West regular season titles.
"UCSB is always a very competitive and dangerous opponent," said Smith. "Coach Mark French is one of the finest coaches in college basketball, and he will have his team ready for an exciting show down with the Ducks in the Rose Garden. It is a big event on our schedule."
The Ducks hold a 3-1 series advantage, including an 85-77 win in the 2006-07 season opener at McArthur Court, in addition to the 2007 WNIT game.
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