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Defeating a second top-10 opponent in eight days was finally enough to earn the Oregon men’s basketball team a spot among the nation’s elite.
The Ducks, coming off Sunday’s 79-77 win at then-No. 10 Arizona, moved up to No. 9 in the weekly Associated Press poll released Monday.
It’s the highest ranking for the program since the start of the 2003 season, when the Ducks also reached No. 9. Their highest-ever ranking was fifth, during Luke Ridnour’s final season of 2002-03.
Oregon has also proven its mettle this season with wins over then-No. 1 UCLA on Jan. 6, and a tough Georgetown club on the road Nov. 29.
Unranked to start the season, the Ducks started 13-0 before suffering an 84-82 home loss to Southern California on Jan. 4. But they have rolled off three straight wins since, including two-point triumphs over the Bruins and Wildcats.
Oregon now sits at 16-1 overall and is tied with UCLA for first place in the Pac-10 at 4-1. UCLA is ranked No. 3 in this week’s AP poll, while Arizona dropped to No. 11.
Oregon also cracked the top 10 in the nation’s other major poll, the ESPN/USA Today poll, at No. 10.
The Ducks are led by senior guard Aaron Brooks, averaging 18.2 points and 4.8 assists per game. Juniors Bryce Taylor (16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Malik Hairston (14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds) have also helped bear the scoring load.
Junior post Maarty Leunen, a graduate of Redmond High School in Central Oregon, is averaging 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, and freshman guard Tajuan Porter has chipped in 12.7 points per game despite falling off a bit of late.
The Ducks have outscored their opponents by an average of 80.4 to 64.0, and have outrebounded them by a 37.9 to 32.4 count.
Another contributing factor to the Ducks’ success has been an assist-to-turnover ratio of 15.9 assists to 13.5 turnovers per game.
The Ducks will try to raise their Pac-10 mark to 5-1 Thursday at MacArthur Court when they host Stanford (11-4, 3-2 Pac-10).
The Cardinal is coming off a 71-68 overtime win over then-No. 22-ranked Washington State, which dropped out of the Top 25 with the loss on Saturday.
Oregon hosts California on Saturday before visiting Washington and Washington State next week.
The Ducks, coming off Sunday’s 79-77 win at then-No. 10 Arizona, moved up to No. 9 in the weekly Associated Press poll released Monday.
It’s the highest ranking for the program since the start of the 2003 season, when the Ducks also reached No. 9. Their highest-ever ranking was fifth, during Luke Ridnour’s final season of 2002-03.
Oregon has also proven its mettle this season with wins over then-No. 1 UCLA on Jan. 6, and a tough Georgetown club on the road Nov. 29.
Unranked to start the season, the Ducks started 13-0 before suffering an 84-82 home loss to Southern California on Jan. 4. But they have rolled off three straight wins since, including two-point triumphs over the Bruins and Wildcats.
Oregon now sits at 16-1 overall and is tied with UCLA for first place in the Pac-10 at 4-1. UCLA is ranked No. 3 in this week’s AP poll, while Arizona dropped to No. 11.
Oregon also cracked the top 10 in the nation’s other major poll, the ESPN/USA Today poll, at No. 10.
The Ducks are led by senior guard Aaron Brooks, averaging 18.2 points and 4.8 assists per game. Juniors Bryce Taylor (16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Malik Hairston (14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds) have also helped bear the scoring load.
Junior post Maarty Leunen, a graduate of Redmond High School in Central Oregon, is averaging 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, and freshman guard Tajuan Porter has chipped in 12.7 points per game despite falling off a bit of late.
The Ducks have outscored their opponents by an average of 80.4 to 64.0, and have outrebounded them by a 37.9 to 32.4 count.
Another contributing factor to the Ducks’ success has been an assist-to-turnover ratio of 15.9 assists to 13.5 turnovers per game.
The Ducks will try to raise their Pac-10 mark to 5-1 Thursday at MacArthur Court when they host Stanford (11-4, 3-2 Pac-10).
The Cardinal is coming off a 71-68 overtime win over then-No. 22-ranked Washington State, which dropped out of the Top 25 with the loss on Saturday.
Oregon hosts California on Saturday before visiting Washington and Washington State next week.
