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Oregon Ducks Face UCLA On The National Stage Saturday

By Justin Phillips

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It has been a tale of similar seasons for both the Oregon Ducks and UCLA Bruins. Both teams can take a step in the right direction with a win on Saturday. The Ducks found a way to win on Tbursday night against a pesky USC team after taking a big lead in the first half and allowing the Trojans to come back and tie the game at 61 before Oregon took control in the end.

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    • UCLA is coming off a loss at Oregon State on Thursday night and have been without the services of Tony Parker for a few games because of back spasms. It is not known if he will play today or not. If he does it will be a nice boost to the Bruins. On the other side of the ball, the Ducks have been working all season on team chemistry and it is starting to feel like things are coming together for Dana Altman.

    Miscommunication has plagued Oregon this season and was a key factor in a two game losing streak on the road last week against Washington and Washington State. Entering the season the team leader for Oregon was Joseph Young, but others are now picking up some of the slack. Freshman are scoring over forty percent of the points this season and Oregon has a weapon in Jordan Bell on Defense, who has become the single season leader in shot blocks at just one third of the way through the season.

    Freshman Dwayne Benjamin has shown he can take and make shots in pressure situations with the game on the line and Casey Benjamin has shown he can make the shot when it is needed.

    UCLA coming off a five game losing streak has won three of four and a win in Eugene would certainly give a confidence boost moving forward. Oregon on the other hand was 6-3 in the Pac-12 last season at home. Protecting the home court was an advantage as they made their way into the NCAA Tournament. This year they need to turn that number around. Oregon has just five home games remaining this season, including today and has seven on the road.

    Right now they are a cautious 3-1 at home in the Pac-12. A win on Saturday would begin to build the perception in the right direction and toward talk of the NCAA Tournament. The fact that the game is on National TV on CBS can further boost that perception.

    Oregon and UCLA tipoff at 1pm Pacific Time on CBS. AutzenZoo will have Live Coverage on our Twitter Feed and a full recap following the game.

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