 |
| Devoe Joseph (right)/AP Images |
The Oregon Ducks have a chance to win the Pac 12.
By Kristina Callahan
A few weeks ago, Oregon looked like they could be in line to win the Pac 12 Conference Championship. After suffering losses to Oregon State and Colorado, the Ducks are sitting at 7-4 in the league behind Washington, California, and Colorado. Only two games behind leader Washington, Oregon will try and gain a game on the Huskies this Thursday. If the Ducks can pull out a win, Washington, California, Colorado, and Oregon will all be in a first place tie. After Thursday’s game Oregon will face both Colorado and Oregon State again and try to avenge the loss earlier in the season.
The Ducks have been playing without top Pac 12 freshman Jabari Brown who quit two games into the season and is now suiting up for Missouri. Although without Brown, Oregon is trying to get two key transfer big men, Tony Wood (from Wake Forest) and Olu Ashaolu (from Louisiana Tech) repetitions. Another transfer from Minnesota, Devoe Joseph, has meshed into the lineup. He is averaging 14.9 points a game.
"Devoe needed a change of scenery,'' Head coach Dana Altman said. "He's older. He's more mature. And any time a player has to sit and watch for a semester it makes a player see how important basketball is to him.''
Veterans E.J. Singler and Garrett Sim are contributing double figures this season.
With the race for first place ongoing, the conference title is still up for grabs. The combination of veterans and transfers, gives the Oregon Ducks a chance to make a run.
A few weeks ago, Oregon looked like they could be in line to win the Pac 12 Conference Championship. After suffering losses to Oregon State and Colorado, the Ducks are sitting at 7-4 in the league behind Washington, California, and Colorado. Only two games behind leader Washington, Oregon will try and gain a game on the Huskies this Thursday. If the Ducks can pull out a win, Washington, California, Colorado, and Oregon will all be in a first place tie. After Thursday’s game Oregon will face both Colorado and Oregon State again and try to avenge the loss earlier in the season.
The Ducks have been playing without top Pac 12 freshman Jabari Brown who quit two games into the season and is now suiting up for Missouri. Although without Brown, Oregon is trying to get two key transfer big men, Tony Wood (from Wake Forest) and Olu Ashaolu (from Louisiana Tech) repetitions. Another transfer from Minnesota, Devoe Joseph, has meshed into the lineup. He is averaging 14.9 points a game.
"Devoe needed a change of scenery,'' Head coach Dana Altman said. "He's older. He's more mature. And any time a player has to sit and watch for a semester it makes a player see how important basketball is to him.''
Veterans E.J. Singler and Garrett Sim are contributing double figures this season.
With the race for first place ongoing, the conference title is still up for grabs. The combination of veterans and transfers, gives the Oregon Ducks a chance to make a run.
