Seniors Frantz Dorsainvil and Churchill Odia got starting assignments on senior night, but neither scored.
PLAYER ROTATION
Usual starters -- F Joevan Catron, C Michael Dunigan, G LeKendric Longmire, G Garrett Sim, G TaJuan Porter. Key subs -- F Josh Crittle, G Drew Wiley, G Kamyron Brown, G Matthew Humphrey.
GAME REVIEW
Cal 78, Oregon 60
Oregon 68, Stanford 60
Oregon 79, Oregon State 69
USC 80, Oregon 66
GAME PREVIEW
at UCLA, Saturday, March 7
at Pac-10 tournament, Los Angeles, Wednesday, March 11
IN FOCUS
The Ducks were competitive with the Bruins in a Jan. 4 meeting in Eugene, falling 83-74. Tajuan Porter scored a game-high 24 points, helping Oregon stay close most of the way.
ROSTER REPORT
--G Tajuan Porter continues to show his maturity down the stretch. Despite missing the previous two practices after he suffered an eye injury, and up against a USC defense concentrating on limiting his open looks at 3-point attempts, the 5-6 junior led the Ducks with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, including 4 of 10 3's. He's been picking his spots much better, and Oregon's improved play is a direct result of him not forcing shots. He keeps his game under control, and the younger Ducks follow the lead.
--F Josh Crittle seems to thrive when fellow UO post player Michael Dunigan struggles. Up against a USC veteran Taj Gipson, who had 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, Dunigan struggled. Enter Crittle, who doesn't mind a physical game and showed it with 10 points and eight rebounds. He even hit 6 of 9 free throws as that part of his game continued to improve. He's a more physical player than Dunigan, and it shows against an opponent who plays that way.
--G Matt Humphrey, after two big games against Stanford and Oregon State, thudded back to reality against USC, hitting only 1-of-5 shots from the field and missing his three 3-point attempts. USC saw that Humphrey had made a difference in Oregon winning two games and put more defensive emphasis on the UO freshman. When that happens, Humphrey needs to learn to find other ways to help offensively, whether it's driving to the basket or setting up other teammates.
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