Middle of the Pac-10 Tight as Oregon Visits L.A.
WHAT’S ON TAP . . . Tied for seventh in the Pac-10 (still) but just a half-game out of fourth, Oregon faces another challenging weekend in a trip to Los Angeles. The Ducks and USC play Thursday at 8 p.m., while Oregon and No. 6 UCLA square off Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE . . . Oregon’s strength of schedule is one of the best in the country, ranking No. 5 by Ken Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings, No. 6 by Jeff Sagarin’s College Basketball Ratings and No. 19 according to RPIRatings.com. The Ducks’ schedule strength would figure to remain high with the upcoming road games at USC and No. 6 UCLA.
BETTER D OF LATE . . . Oregon held Washington to 58 points on Feb. 14 - the lowest point total allowed by the Ducks this season. Oregon’s defense has improved of late, as the Ducks have held opponents to less than 45 percent shooting from the field in four of the last five games.
3-POINT MARK FALLS AT CAL . . . Oregon made a school-record 18 three-pointers during the Feb. 9 92-70 win at California. The 18 threes were also a Haas Pavilion record, and two shy of the Pac-10 record of 20 (USC versus Oregon State, 2000). The 18 threes were one better than the 17 the Ducks hit last season versus Portland State (Nov. 12, 2006). Oregon netted 14 threes Feb. 14 against Washington to make it a school-record 32 threes in two games.
VERSUS THE TOP 25 . . . Oregon is 3-4 versus Associated Press Top 25 teams thus far in 2007-08 (wins against No. 25 Kansas State, No. 21 Arizona, No. 23 Stanford; losses to No. 8 Washington State, No. 8 UCLA, No. 9 Stanford, No. 21 Washington State). Over the last two seasons, the Ducks are 10-7 in games against AP-ranked opposition.
