Feb, 9, 2013; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Johnathan Loyd (10) dribbles the ball against the Utah Utes at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

This Week will be special for the Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena. Someone said to me not too long ago that Dana Altman is building something special in Eugene and I totally agree with him. This season for Oregon has been special. 12-1 at Home. If you have the opportunity to see this team up close take it! – Your running out of chances.

The team coming in to face the Ducks on Thursday night warrants some attention, so much so that ESPN moved the game from ESPNU to ESPN2. The Cal Bears(16-9, 8-5 Pac 12) are winners of 5 of their last 6 games. Led by Junior Point Guard Allen Crabbe, who is averaging 20 points per game, Cal averages 69 points per contest.

This past weekend Oregon gained some momentum by sweeping the Washington Schools on the road. E.J. Singler made it count when he needed to as the Ducks beat Washington State in Overtime, 79-77 last Saturday. The Ducks have been without Freshman Dominic Artis, out with a foot injury. Before he went down, he started all 19 games for the Ducks this season at the point. In his press conference at Matthew Knight Arena on Tuesday fellow Freshman Damyean Dotson said Artis is still bothered by his foot, it causes him pain and he wants to play.

From the sound of it, Oregon will be without the services of Artis for probably another week. Filling in for Artis, Junior Johnathan Loyd has been impressive of late. Last weekend against Washington he scored 11 points, had a rebound, an assist, and a steal. Playing Washington State he had a rebound and 7 assists and kept his turnovers to 2.

It looks like Loyd will be filling the role for a while longer.

Oregon and Cal First Tip set for 6pm at Matthew Knight Arena. The game is also on ESPN2.

Oregon Ducks This Week:

Feb. 16, 2013; Pullman, WA, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Johnathan Loyd (10) drives the lane against Washington State Cougars guard Royce Woolridge (22) during overtime at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. The Duck beat the Cougars in overtime by a final score of 79-77. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon held steady this week in the Associated Press Top 25 poll at Nmber 23. The Coaches poll also has the Ducks at #23 this week. The road this month has been a mixed bag for Oregon, after losing three straight, two away from Matthew Knight Arena to both Stanford and Cal and one at home by a point to Colorado. The Ducks rebounded with it’s trip up I-5 to Washington this past week in beating Washington 65-52 and Washington State 79-77,  the latter in overtime. In the game with the Cougars Senior E.J. Singler made the difference with seconds left on Overtime to secure the victory.  

“We all just got together and the chemistry started flowing,” Carlos Emory on 2nd Half Start vs Washington  State

Senior Center Tony Woods was ejected in the game against the Cougars in the first half for an elbow to the head on Washington State’s Broc Matum. It is unclear if the NCAA will suspend Woods for any additional time.

It is also unknown if Freshman Dominic Artis is any closer to returning from a foot injury he suffered earlier this month.

Only one other  Pac 12 team is in the AP Top 25 this week,  Arizona, who lost to Colorado at #12(dropped from 9). Indiana remains at #1 with Miami sliding up to #2, Gonzaga is #3.

This week  the Ducks look to continue a new winning streak at Matthew Knight Arena as they return home to avenge two road losses from earlier this month. The Ducks are now 21-5(10-3 Pac 12) and hold a one game lead over UCLA and Arizona for the Pac 12 lead. Matthew Knight Arena should be sold out this week. Oregon welcomes to town the two teams that started the three game losing streak from a few weeks back. Cal comes to town Thursday(6pm ESPNU), and Stanford on Saturday(5pm, Pac 12 Network).

Oregon Ducks This Week:

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Justin Phillips is Sports Reporter for Newsradio 1120 KPNW in Eugene, Oregon

Jan, 26, 2013; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks forward E.J. Singler (25) shoots the ball against the Washington Huskies at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

The Oregon Basketball team has had a rough week and a half. The Ducks dropped in the polls from the Top 10, to 19th after a road trip that included two losses, to Stanford and Cal. They would also like to put out of their minds that they have two injured players in Johnathan Lloyd(thumb) and Dominic Artis(foot). They would probably prefer the season ended before last week and we were onto March Madness early. However, Dana Altman and the Ducks are just past the halfway point of the Pac 12 season and find themselves tied with Arizona for the top spot in the Pac 12 headed into the game at Matthew Knight Arena vs the Colorado Buffs(14-7, 4-5 Pac-12)

“Every season, there’s a series of ups and downs. You’re judged by how you bounce back from the downs”

Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman

Oregon will have to find someone to step up to replace Artis, it is likely that Lloyd will be a go for tonight since he has been practicing with the team. The Ducks without Artis in the lineup are averaging over 21 turnovers per game. (It was unclear at the time of this report if Artis would play vs Colorado.)

Adam Jude from the Oregonian shared some fascinating stats via his Twitter account:

Oregon’s 16.1 turnovers per game is by far the worst in the Pac-12 … and ranks 321st out of 345 D-I teams. No Pac-10/Pac-12 team has won the conference title in at least the past 12 seasons while leading the league in turnovers. In their past three games, the Ducks have more turnovers (65) than field goals made (64) and more than twice as many assists (30).

The current 20 game winning streak at Matthew Knight arena is good for third best in school history. With the injuries, Colorado has some other thoughts in mind for the game. Oregon needs to cut down on the turnovers and Senior EJ Singler needs to get back on track after last weeks performance as he was held scoreless in the first half against Stanford.

Oregon goes for 21 on Thursday Night(5pm on ESPNU), but they will need to be more disciplined around the basket to get it.

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Justin Phillips is Sports Reporter for Newsradio 1120 KPNW in Eugene, Oregon