RTC Live: Arizona State @ Oregon
Posted by rtmsf on January 1st, 2011
Game #87. It’s the end of an era in Eugene as Oregon closes down venerable old McArthur Court with visiting Arizona State.
Arizona State comes into Eugene trying to drown its sorrows by feasting upon the Ducks, and Oregon looks to close McArthur Court with a victory against the Sun Devils. Both teams started out their Pac-10 seasons with blowout losses and are looking to rebound from them Saturday; Oregon lost by 19 at home to Arizona, while Arizona State lost by 22 at moribund Oregon State, although the Sun Devils were missing leading scorer Trent Lockett, who will likely miss this contest as well. The Ducks’ lack of depth and inability to stop teams from shooting well was exposed by Arizona, which limited Oregon big man Joevan Catron to nine points in 11 minutes before he fouled out. The Ducks missed their last 16 three-point attempts after making their first of the game against the Wildcats, and shot 36 percent from the field. Arizona State has a perimeter-oriented offense, but it struggled to convert shots inside and out and could not contain Oregon State center Joe Burton, who had 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting. The lack of effective size and depth for both teams makes this an intriguing matchup, and the backdrop of the final game at The Pit will make for an interesting game.
