Well we had to hold our breath through 2 periods last night and wait for Ovie and friends to get their heads out of their collective rear ends, but they remembered who they are and that Aneheim is a horrible road team in the 3rd period and it was no contest for a nice +13 unit uptick in our roll.
Tonight we travel out west for some Pac-10 hoops as the Oregon Ducks host Ben Howland's UCLA Bruins.
Now I'll be honest. I am a Ben Howland admirer. A lifelong University of Arizona fan, I knew the Cats were in big trouble when UCLA brought him in. The Pac-10 has traditionally been known as a flashy conference where you will see plently of Sportscenter Top 10 plays and very little good, gritty defense. Howland's Pitt teams traditionally always had a ton of fight and a reputation for hard nosed basketball featuring tough defense. When UCLA got him, I knew as a U of A fan it would be tough luck for us for a long time to have a legit shot at winning the Pac-10 if he could incorporate his tough D in the Pac-10 at UCLA. He had success doing that and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Pit. Deep in the heart of Oregon it is traditionally a feared place for opponents to play, as the putrid green and yellow uniforms the Ducks sport can traditionally be seen streaking up and down the court for high speed basketball that literally wears their opponents down.
Not this year though.
64-57 loss to Oregon State. 76-57 loss to Arizona State. 74-60 loss to Arizona. Those are the Ducks' three Pac-10 games thus far on their homecourt. The Pit is not a place to be feared this year apparently. Arizona has been a Jekyl and Hyde team, Arizona State hasn't done much on the road this year, and Oregon state is a repugnant 8-11 overall and 2-5 in the Pac-10, same as Oregon.
The Ducks have also dropped 5 games in a row.
UCLA, an admittedly unpredictable team, has been picking it up. They are coming fresh off of a nice home sweep of the Washington schools, no easy feat in any season. They have shown very respectable efforts some big time teams losing by only 2 at 12th ranked Butler and by 12 vs the top ranked team at the time, Kansas, whom we all know can ball with anyone in the country.
Take your pick, the 4 points or the sexy +150 money line. It's the money line for me, ten units and a pot of coffee (and a few beers).
As always best of luck tonight fellas, take it down.
Tonight we travel out west for some Pac-10 hoops as the Oregon Ducks host Ben Howland's UCLA Bruins.
Now I'll be honest. I am a Ben Howland admirer. A lifelong University of Arizona fan, I knew the Cats were in big trouble when UCLA brought him in. The Pac-10 has traditionally been known as a flashy conference where you will see plently of Sportscenter Top 10 plays and very little good, gritty defense. Howland's Pitt teams traditionally always had a ton of fight and a reputation for hard nosed basketball featuring tough defense. When UCLA got him, I knew as a U of A fan it would be tough luck for us for a long time to have a legit shot at winning the Pac-10 if he could incorporate his tough D in the Pac-10 at UCLA. He had success doing that and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Pit. Deep in the heart of Oregon it is traditionally a feared place for opponents to play, as the putrid green and yellow uniforms the Ducks sport can traditionally be seen streaking up and down the court for high speed basketball that literally wears their opponents down.
Not this year though.
64-57 loss to Oregon State. 76-57 loss to Arizona State. 74-60 loss to Arizona. Those are the Ducks' three Pac-10 games thus far on their homecourt. The Pit is not a place to be feared this year apparently. Arizona has been a Jekyl and Hyde team, Arizona State hasn't done much on the road this year, and Oregon state is a repugnant 8-11 overall and 2-5 in the Pac-10, same as Oregon.
The Ducks have also dropped 5 games in a row.
UCLA, an admittedly unpredictable team, has been picking it up. They are coming fresh off of a nice home sweep of the Washington schools, no easy feat in any season. They have shown very respectable efforts some big time teams losing by only 2 at 12th ranked Butler and by 12 vs the top ranked team at the time, Kansas, whom we all know can ball with anyone in the country.
Take your pick, the 4 points or the sexy +150 money line. It's the money line for me, ten units and a pot of coffee (and a few beers).
As always best of luck tonight fellas, take it down.