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Sunday, February 6
Quick pace has Oregon quacking up the Pac-10

By Ed Graney
Special to ESPN.com

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight ...

You just experienced how long it takes Oregon's basketball team to make its initial offensive surge, whether it be off a made shot or rebound.

And the Ducks push the ball much faster than you probably read.

Darius Wright
Point guard Darius Wright ignites the Ducks' high-octane offense.

"That first burst is awfully tough to deal with, as effective as anyone in the country,'" said UCLA coach Steve Lavin. "'They remind me of Loyola Marymount with Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble. But that team would keep shooting and shooting. Oregon is good enough to identify if it has a good shot and be deliberate in the half-court if it doesn't."

Oregon is good enough to be a lot of things, specifically in this position:

The Ducks play at Arizona on Thursday in a first-place matchup of two teams with 6-1 Pac-10 records. The Ducks, who have been to the NCAA Tournament once in the last 39 years. The Ducks, who have never enjoyed this fast a league start. The Ducks, who last shared any kind of conference lead in 1954, when they were tied with Oregon State atop the Pacific Coast Conference's North Division.

It is a team that feeds off the energy of its third-year coach, himself an Oregon alum and disciple to the McArthur Court lore. Ernie Kent doesn't stroll the sidelines dressed as a feathery fowl with a flat bill, short legs and webbed feet, but he might if it gained his team an advantage. He might even quack a few times.

"He brought excitement back to that program," said Arizona coach Lute Olson. "He brought enthusiasm back to it."

He has brought a run-first mentality that has others gasping to keep up.

It isn't close which Pac-10 team is best in transition when the stars are aligned and the creases appear. Darius Wright is Oregon's senior point guard and through him begins an offense that leads the league in shooting and averages 77.4 points.

Oregon is also proving true the notion that a season's worth of disappointing losses can strengthen one's resolve. A year ago, the Ducks lost six conference games by a combined 14 points, plus another by 10 in overtime.

Top Games

Pac-10
Stanford at USC (Saturday)
Depth would be a major concern to most teams playing six bodies each night, but USC is unique in that each player can handle the ball. Frontcourt skills like this conserve energy for the perimeter players, and USC does a great job of keeping teams from gaining rhythm. That said, deep and talented Stanford will offer the ultimate test.

The Cardinal has won two straight at USC and five of the past seven meetings. It is a contrast of styles for two teams which enter the week part of a four-way tie for first. If anyone in conference is going to wear down the Trojans, it's Mike Montgomery's team.

Mountain West
Utah at UNLV (Saturday)
It is a must-win for the Rebels if they seriously entertain thoughts of winning the conference. Bill Bayno has rested his club a bit the past few days, hoping to get its legs back after a split in the altitude of Colorado State and Wyoming, the latter being a 109-98 loss.

Utah keeps rolling along, not as dominant as past seasons but certainly the most complete team in league. Fouls and nagging injuries have slowed senior forward Hanno Mottola of late. He is averaging just 10.8 points in conference.

WAC
SMU at Tulsa (Thursday)
The Mustangs have calculated daily their chances at making the NCAA Tournament, examining different ratings systems and past brackets to perfect their system. Here's an easy part of it: SMU must beat Tulsa in one of its two conference meetings to have any chance at dancing.

It won't be easy getting this one. Tulsa is 9-0 at home and coming off its first league loss, a 75-73 decision at Fresno State. Still, SMU is blowing that bubble right now with an RPI of 51.

They finished fifth in the Pac-10 and promptly slid off the NCAA bubble.

But the Ducks are 15-3 entering the Arizona swing and have won eight of their 10 games decided by less than 10 points. It is a starting five that contributed to last year's rotation, enduring the Pac-10 heartaches. It is a bunch of underrated players who found themselves during the NIT, when they won three games and advanced to that event's Final Four.

"I think we're just a more mentally tough team," Kent said. "Winning at Texas Christian in the NIT last year and against teams like Gonzaga and Wake Forest and Minnesota on neutral courts this year showed us we can get through tough games."

Want tough? The Ducks follow their games in the desert with a trip to the Bay Area. That's right. Arizona and Arizona State are a preview to Stanford and Cal.

All on the road.

"We knew when we first saw the schedule it would be the toughest four-game swing in conference," Kent said. "We'll learn a lot about ourselves. But I also don't want my team thinking the whole year comes down to this game against Arizona or the next two weeks. We have five of our final seven at home. Nothing right now makes or breaks a season."

No, but a victory in McKale Center would certainly win the Ducks a permanent seat at this year's table of contenders. It won't be easy. It never has been. Oregon, you see, has lost 16 of the past 17 meetings with Arizona.

If the Wildcats have enjoyed anything of late, it has been a hearty serving of Duck soup.

"It's been real tough in the past, especially down there," said Oregon senior forward A.D. Smith, the team's most complete player. "But we'regoing to make the most if it. We're going to go in believing we can win. I'm not sure we've always felt that way."

Thumbs up
USC: Are you kidding us? Eleven straight 3-pointers on the road? Most players can't do that in practice when the only thing guarding them is a shadow.

Alex Jensen: Utah coach Rick Majerus says his senior forward is like a "beautiful, beautiful girl who's always reticent and shy because she doesn't know how pretty she is." We'll stick with the fact Jensen is the main reason Utah leads the Mountain West Conference by two games.

Larry Abney: Fresno State's senior forward-center is hitting the boards right now like Bill Bradley is the pavement.

Chris Davis: A Lean Mean Green fighting machine if ever there was one at North Texas.

Thumbs down
NCAA: Come on. A total suspension of 44 games for JaRon Rush? Can you guys get anything right? Have him start next season and put the Piggie scandal to rest.

BYU: Memo to the Cougars: When you're an NCAA bubble team to begin with, you don't want to do something insane like lose to a bunch of fly boys whose main goals include winning that service academy 6-foot-and-under summer league.

Tulsa: Teams destined to do special things in March close out 13-point leads in the second half. Yes, even on the road.

Charles Bradley: How did Loyola Marymount ever get this bad this fast?

Quote to note
"Oregon has more weapons right now than anybody, more firepower. That team is much better than people think."

-- USC coach Henry Bibby

Did you know?
Five players on Stanford's roster hail from the Los Angeles area as the No. 2 Cardinal makes its swing to UCLA and USC this week.

Thought for the day
Who in the world is Sean Farnham and why is he screaming in a UCLA locker room things like "I'm not going down like this!" and "I don't go to the NIT!" Isn't this guy the team manager?

Ed Graney of the San Diego Union-Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.


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