RTC Live: Washington State @ Oregon
Posted by rtmsf on February 3rd, 2011
Game #128. RTC Live makes its first trip to the new Matthew Knight Arena on the campus of Oregon to see the Ducks take on Wazzu.
Washington State heads to Eugene for Thursday’s matchup on a completely different track than Oregon. The Cougars, led by Pac-10 scoring leader Klay Thompson, knocked off the Washington Huskies in Pullman on Sunday night, and sit fourth in the conference at 5-4. The Ducks are coming off of a split at the Bay Area schools, having won at Stanford for the first time in 25 years, but falling to reigning Pac-10 regular-season champs California. Washington State won the first game in Pullman, but this week is the start of the second half of the Pac-10 season, the last year in which the conference will play a double-round-robin schedule. Junior college transfer Faisal Aden, a native of Somalia, has made a huge impact on the Cougars this season, helping guide them from the conference cellar to NCAA Tournament bid contention. Washington State’s starting backcourt, featuring the 6’4′ Aden and 6’6 Thompson, will likely give fits to Oregon’s diminutive guard rotation, the tallest of whom are 6’1. The Ducks will have to attack the Cougars inside, with the now-healthy Joevan Catron and Jeremy Jacob teaming up with the hot Tyrone Nared to give Oregon quality interior play it has been lacking for most of the season. Join RTC Live Thursday night for its first game at Oregon’s new $200 million-plus Matthew Knight Arena, the most expensive on-campus arena in America.
