Forty-five years ago, almost to the day, the UCLA Bruins came into Oregon and were beaten twice. It was such a shocking result that Sports Illustrated put it on their cover under that exact title: UCLA’s Lost Weekend. The Oregon men had one this weekend, and the women almost — almost — had one of their own. The men fell …
Oregon’s women’s team continued its great season on Friday against Oregon State in front of a sold-out crowd. (The men? Not so much.) Sabrina Ionescu is playing like the National Player of the Year. The pick and roll with Ruthy Hebard has become devastating. Teams have to pick their poison with those two and a waiting Satou Sabally and Erin Boley …
First the Oregon women. Wow, I didn’t see that coming! Oregon just destroyed Stanford, busting the three-decade losing streak at Maples Pavilion to pieces. Let’s talk about why they’re so dangerous right now. It’s not just Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard; Satou Sabally and Erin Boley are starting to play like All-Americans. Does Boley ever miss when she gets her feet …
The Oregon women’s team is playing more and more like they’re ready for a title run. They were a number-one seed as of the January 28th Bracketology. Now at 21-1, they did nothing to change that last weekend. Along with their great talent, the Ducks play team defense, share the ball, everyone rebounds, and they do all the little things. …
The good news about the crippling loss the Ducks suffered on Thursday is that it didn’t hurt them on Sunday. “They didn’t let the Huskies beat them twice,” as coaches say. The bad news? Twelve wins at this point in the season means they probably have to win the conference tourney to make the Big Dance. Or, win nine of …
Both Oregon men’s basketball teams played this weekend. On Thursday against Arizona, you saw the one with heart that ran down every missed shot and made the extra passes to create easy shots. That team won. On Saturday, the team full of “athletes” couldn’t shoot the ball into a swimming pool. Horrific shooting — again — 26% in the second …
The Oregon women’s basketball team is marching toward a Pac-12 title and a high NCAA tournament seed. Meanwhile, we’ll call what the men’s team is grinding through the learning year. As if being riddled with injuries and lacking a number one scorer isn’t enough, Oregon’s lack of experience is now showing up as they fail to to close out late leads …
Oregon is a bad shooting basketball team for a reason: they’re young. Troy Brown was a good college basketball player, but he isn’t a very good shooter. When Dillon Brooks, Malik Hairston, VJ Bailey and virtually every other highly touted recruit arrived in Eugene, they weren’t very good shooters. Here’s why. Simply put, most of them have never had to shoot …
A broken-down Oregon team left Boise last week, with its NCAA hopes improved after a 62-50 win over the Broncos. With Bol Bol, Kenny Wooten, and Abu Kigab out, and Louis King just getting back into shape, the Ducks gave themselves a shot of optimism as conference play begins. Then everything changed. Kigab stated he’s transferring this week, and now …
First Louis King was out, then Bol Bol, then Abu Kigab. Now, word comes that Kenny Wooten broke his jaw in the Baylor disaster. Oregon may have only three substitutes when they face Boise State, and there’s still a minute limit for King. Yikes. Word is Wooten may be out a month. A week after deciding not to redshirt, Miles …
Oregon’s offense never felt more vulnerable than the moment we learned Bol Bol hurt his foot against San Diego. And it never looked more vulnerable than in the first half against Boise State. Bol’s foot is in a walking boot and will be evaluated later this week. Say a prayer. Cross your fingers. Burn some incense. Do whatever you need …
Louis King’s game is unique. His physical presence changes the opponent’s offense, and his ability to score in multiple ways creates big match-up problems for coaches. The more you watch him play, the more you see his game has an abstract feeling to it. It’s more Jackson Pollack than Renoir, more Mondrian than Georgia O’Keeffe. That’s the best way I …