What: Virginia Cavaliers (6-3, 1-0 ACC) vs. Oregon Ducks (7-3, 0-0 PAC-10)
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Date: Friday, December 17, 2010
Place: John Paul Jones Arena
TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
Radio: Virginia Sports Radio Network
Spread: Virginia -8.5
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Last Time Out: Oregon 74, Jacksonville State 56
Series: First Meeting
After a 10-day hiatus from basketball for exams, the Cavaliers host the Oregon Ducks in Game II of an eight-game homestand. It's the first-ever meeting between the schools, though Virginia head coach Tony Bennett had a 6-2 record against the Ducks while at Washington State.
Virginia has played two other PAC 10 teams this season so far, with both resulting in big losses -- 81-60 at Stanford and 106-63 against Washington in Maui. Both teams head into this game riding three-game win streaks, with Virginia's coming against No. 15 Minnesota, ACC Rival Virginia Tech and Radford. Oregon's last three wins come against Portland State, Willamette and Jacksonville State.
Washington HuskiesOregon's Probable Starters | |||||
| G | Garrett Sim | Sr. | 7.8 ppg | 3.0 rpg | 1.7 apg |
| F | E.J. Singler | So. | 13.1 ppg | 6.7 rpg | 1.4 apg |
| F | Joevan Catron | Sr. | 17.6 ppg | 6.6 rpg | 1.8 apg |
| G | Malcolm Armstead | Jr. | 7.3 ppg | 2.6 rpg | 4.2 apg |
| G | Jay-R Strowbridge | Sr. | 8.9 ppg | 3.1 rpg | 1.2 apg |
Oregon's lineup is a small one, with no one in their regular rotation over 6-6. Senior starting guard Strowbridge comes in at 5-10 -- on paper, so you can only guess how short he is without the help of their media relations department.Still Strowbridge has scored in double figures in three of the past four games for the Ducks. In the past four games, Strowbridge shot 42.1% from behind the arc, though he shot just 16.7% (3-of-18) when coming off the bench in the six previous games.
The small lineup is just fine for the Ducks, given that, as coach Bennett said earlier this week, "They're fast. After a make or a miss, they’re down the floor."
The Oregon bench is fairly thin, given that over this summer, first-year head coach Dana Altman had to cancel a summer exhibition tour in Italy on account of not having enough players.
Also keep an eye out for sophomore forward E.J. Singler, who leads the team in rebounding (6.7), blocks (1.1) and field goal percentage (57.9%). In the losing effort against No. 8 Missouri, Singler put up a career high 19 points, along with 9 rebounds.
The pressure will be on Mike Scott to keep the Cavaliers' momentum going. Scott is the first player since Ralph Sampson in 1983 to put up five consecutive double-doubles.
I'll of course be available online here and on the Twitter.
The Enemy: Addicted To Quack