Preview: UW vs Oregon
By Mark Knight
Washington Huskies (21-10, 11-7) vs. Oregon Ducks (16-16, 7-11)
Stars: F EJ Singler and F Joevan Catron
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Staples Center)
Time: 8:30 PM (PDT)
TV: FSN
Radio: 950 AM
Matchup:
Tournaments bring out the passion and the desperation of teams. Yesterday, we saw UCLA basically not show up against Oregon and we watched UW come out at half time with a fire to win. This is what the PAC-10 tournament is all about; Oregon and UW have both showed they want to be here and want to win.
Oregon was able to beat Arizona State in the first round, a team that had beat them twice during the year. In the second round they faced UCLA another team they lost to twice during the year and was able to come out and dominate them. UCLA was a team that was already projected as a NCAA tournament team but just looked ugly against Oregon.
Washington also faced a team in WSU that had previously beaten them twice during the year. Klay Thompson did his best to help the Cougars win, with his 43 points and was seemingly able to make it from anywhere with anyone in his face. However, the Huskies were able to play together as a team, create turnovers, and their starting lineup had these individual stat lines: Isaiah Thomas (21 points, 11 assists), Justin Holiday (12 points, 10 rebounds), Matthew Bryan-Amaning (16 points, 7 rebounds), CJ Wilcox (16 points, 5-9 from 3pt, and 3 rebounds) and Terrence Ross (17 points).
Tonight, UW plays a hungry Oregon team and these teams were able to split during the season. UW winning at home but losing on the road against Oregon. The Huskies’ loss to the Ducks down in Eugene capped off a 3 game losing road trip and accentuated the problems of the Huskies.
Since then, the Huskies were able to have their ups and downs and last light seemed to show that they were ready to play together, control the ball, and create opportunities. That’s exactly what needs to happen tonight.
Keys to Success for the Huskies:
- Stay away from foul trouble, especially for Isaiah Thomas- this is still an issue as Venoy Overton is still out, and their last loss to Oregon they let the Ducks get 19 points off of fouls.
- Rebounds- Joevan Catron cannot own the paint on either side of the ball.
- Shut down EJ Singler- He is the hottest shooter left in the PAC-10 tournament, ASU- 22 points, 4 threes. UCLA- 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 threes.