Who: Mississippi Valley State (1-8, 0-0 SWAC) vs. Oregon Ducks  (4-4, 0-0 Pac-10)
Time: 7:00pm PST
Location: Mac Court, Eugene, Oregon
Media: Live Stats

The Ducks take on the Delta Devils tonight in a must win game at Mac Court. TP and Catron are out again but this is a game that should be a win without those two guys. Oregon needs momentum going into the Oakland game on Saturday.

Who: St. Mary's Gaels (6-1, 0-0 WCC) vs. Oregon Ducks (4-3, 0-0 Pac-10)
Time: 1pm PST
Location: Mac Court, Eugene, Oregon
Media: Live Stats, Radio

Oregon looks to rebound from a devistating loss against Missouri in the Big-12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Challenge against the Gaels from St. Mary's. How the Ducks respond will be an indicator on how much of a toll the 37 point loss took.

More photos » by L.G. Patterson - AP

18 days ago: Oregon's E.J. Singler, left, LeKendric Longmire (24) and Michael Dunigan (33) battle Missouri's Zaire Taylor, right, and Keith Ramsey, center, for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

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Game Time: 1pm, Live Stats and Radio

As St. Mary's comes to Mac Court, they are recovering from the news that senior guard Wayne Hunter will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee in the last few minutes of their win over Utah State last Saturday. The Gaels will miss his 12 points per game but more importantly, they will miss his defensive intensity and energy. You don't like to take pleasure in the misfortunes of others, but having Hunter in there would have caused major problems for our guards in ball control and scoring.

A Look at the Gaels

St. Mary's has a great inside/outside game with 6-11 Omar Samhan at center and 6-0 Mickey McConnell at guard. Samhan is a beast near the basket, averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds a game on nearly 60% shooting. A crafty senior, Samhan will look to exploit Oregon underneath early and often. He will pass the ball when needed and that's where McConnell will kill you, shooting 60% from beyond the arc.

Outside of their starters, St. Mary's doesn't have a lot of experience or depth but they do have a good 6th man in Tim Williams. Who steps up for Wayne Hunter will be interesting as the most likely candidates are all freshman in Trey Anderson, Matt Dellavedova, and Jorden Page. Out of those, Anderson and Page are the most likely but have limited experience.

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More photos » by John Raoux - AP

13 days ago: Heisman Trophy finalists from left, Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, Alabama running back Mark Ingram, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh gather for a photo at the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards in Lake Buena Vista , Fla., Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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Going into the season, most pundits thought that Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford or Tim Tebow would run away with the Heisman Trophy this year. McCoy and Tebow will be making the trip to New York but they have a few unexpected names joining them. Many awards represent the "best" player in a particular category but the Heisman Trophy is different. College Football's most publicized award seeks to reward the "most outstanding player in collegiate football". It may not the be the best quarterback or the player who has the most potential at the next level. Given those conditions, we give you today's poll.

The Civil War is behind us and we are on our way to the Rose Bowl. Media Wednesday seeks to do it's best Chip Kelly impression and work through film from the Ohio State Buckeyes. In this first installment, we bring to the table a montage of clips from Terrelle Pryor. It has been easy to bag on him because he didn't choose Oregon but this is still a very talented guy in the backfield for the Buckeyes and we are going to have our hands full with him.

The Oregon Ducks took down Long Beach State 102-70 on Sunday, going 5-1 on the homestand. The Ducks only trailed once during the game earlier on when the score was 3-2 in favor of Long Beach State but Oregon turned up the heat on defense, causing turnovers and exploding the lead to 52-28 going into the half. The 49ers would never threaten as Oregon maintained control throughout the second half and breezed to the victory.

Oregon shot nearly 53% from the field, including 45% from beyond the arc. The Ducks won all the hustle plays racking up 11 steals, 6 blocks, 26 assists and causing 28 Long Beach State turnovers. The 49ers were held to 40% shooting and had 14 less shots overall even though they won the rebounding battle 38-32.

Micaela Cocks led the way for Oregon with 27 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The most impressive part of that line is shooting 8-9 from the field including 5-5 from beyond the arc. Tayor Lilley was extremely active, scoring 25 points on 8-15 from the field. She also contributed 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Jasmin Holiday also made 6-8 from the field for 13 points and had 4 steals in 22 minutes.

Next Game: Wednesday, December 16th at Georgia Tech. 3pm PST

Who: Oregon Ducks (4-2, 0-0 Pac-10) vs. Missouri Tigers (4-2, 0-0 Big-12)
Time: 2:00pm PST
Location: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Missouri
Media: ESPNU, Live Stats

Oregon travels to Missouri to take on the Tigers as part of the Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Challenge. This should be a good measure on where this team is going to go this year. If we can at least hang with them, I'll feel a lot better about where this team is going. If we get blown out, ugh...don't want to think about it. Go Ducks!

We all know what happened last year in Corvallis. We've been smiling about it for an entire year. Tomorrow, the Oregon Ducks will take the field at Autzen Stadium with not only the Rose Bowl at stake, but to make a statement about the overall direction of the program. It would be easy to look back at the amazing plays of last year, but this particular video seemed more important and relevant. If this doesn't get you pumped up for the Civil War, I don't know what will. There's only one thing left to say. Go Ducks!

Tajuan Porter and Joevan Catron were out with injuries but that didn't stop the Ducks from defeating the Bobcats 89-66. The ball movement by Oregon was top notch throughout the game and looked worlds away from last year. Ernie's gameplan was very clear. Get out in transition and crash the boards which Oregon did very well.

It took awhile for Oregon to get aggressive on defense but you could tell when the guys turned it on as MSU started having all kinds of problems finding a rhythm on offense. The reason why it was even close in the first half was because of all the wild, long distance shots the Bobcats were making.

Individual Notes

Michael Dunigan didn't start the game because of his lingering hip injury but played quality minutes and had some great post moves on the block. There were flashes of potential on the block. He still needs to be careful with dribbling but his decision making has improved.

Teondre Williams had another great night offensively with 17 points and 3-4 from beyond the arc. I think Dave said it best in the open thread when he compared him to Freddie Jones with a jump shot.

EJ Singler had a very quiet 8 points and 6 rebounds. He seemed to always be around the ball making plays.

Jeremy Jacob scored the first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Final Thoughts

This was a good, bounce back win for Oregon. We needed this win and we came through in a big way. I was a little worried that we would come out a bit flat after losing two games but Ernie had the team ready to play and they gave a strong effort for the entire game. Six Ducks were in double figures in the win.

Next Game: Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Missouri. Pac-10/Big-12 Hardwood Series. 2pm on ESPNU