Ducks Meet Cougs in Pac-10 Opener; Leunen, Hairston Earn League Honors
WHAT’S ON TAP . . . Defending champion Oregon looks for its third Pac-10 tournament title this decade when the Ducks open tourney play with a quarterfinal game against Washington State on Thursday, March 13 at 6 p.m. at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. FSN will televise the game live nationally.
OREGON & ERNIE KENT IN THE PAC-10 TOURNAMENT . . . Oregon is 12-7 all-time in Pac-10 tournament games and has won it twice -- 2003 and 2007. Head coach Ernie Kent has the best winning percentage in Pac-10 tournament history at .769, as he has led the Ducks to a 10-3 record and two titles in five appearances. Bryce Taylor’s perfect game -- 11-of-11 from the field in the title game versus USC -- and Tajuan Porter’s Most Outstanding Player performance highlighted the Ducks’ 2007 championship. Oregon and Washington State have met twice previously in the Pac-10 tournament. The Ducks defeated the Cougars 66-55 in a 2006 opening round game. The other tournament meeting resulted in a 78-56 WSU win in a 1989 opening round game.
STAYING POWER . . . Oregon owns the distinction of being the only school to have advanced to the semifinals in every tournament its played in -- five -- since the event resumed in 2002. The caveat to that is that the Ducks did not qualify for the 2005 tournament when only eight teams advanced.
OREGON-WSU THIS SEASON . . . The Cougars swept the Ducks in 2007-08 to end Oregon’s record 13-game winning streak in the series. WSU won 69-60 in Pullman and 62-53 in Eugene. SR G Derrick Low was on a Duck hunt this season, averaging 21.5 points per game against Oregon. The Ducks countered with Maarty Leunen, who averaged 20.0 points and 9.5 rebounds against the Cougars in 2007-08.
