Jordan Farmar remembers what it was like to win at Oregon last
season.
But he doesn’t think that matters much to this
year’s team.
When the No. 17 Bruins (15-4, 5-2 Pac-10) take on the Ducks
(10-8, 4-2) tonight in Eugene, some of their thoughts may be back
in Tucson or even Ann Arbor. And for a team that has won its only
three road games of the season, including impressive victories over
Arizona and Michigan, it’s hard to blame them.
“Winning at Arizona and Arizona State was big,”
Farmar said. “That’s the only real road trip
we’ve been on. That really gives us more confidence than last
year’s victory because all the guys from the team are here
now and actually get to experience it.”
The Bruin freshmen, however, haven’t experienced McArthur
Court. They’ve only experienced that one Pac-10 road trip,
and while they successfully navigated through the desert, winning
at Oregon is something of a tall order. The Ducks are 9-2 at home
this season.
“We all know that it’s a difficult place to play and
has a great history and tradition of being a home court
advantage,” coach Ben Howland said. “It’s going
to be a big challenge for us.”
And while a number of the Bruins will know what to expect as
they take the floor tonight, some won’t.
“Mac court? I don’t even know what that is,”
freshman forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute said. “I
don’t know much about it. I’m going to have to find
out, I guess.”
That’s exactly why much of the focus will be on the
special things the Bruins have already done away from home this
season.
In its first road game, UCLA handed Michigan its first loss of
the season in a well-played 68-61 victory. Two victories in Arizona
gave the Bruins their first road sweep of the Arizona schools since
1997.
“That was a big one for this team, especially going over
there,” Mbah a Moute said. “Arizona was a tough place
to play. That’s something we have to do if we want to be a
good team. We have to go on the road and win.”
For Farmar, he fashions a road game as just another form of
adversity. And as the Bruin point guard pointed out, the
injury-plagued Bruins have handled challenges well all season.
“We’ve overcome a lot of adversity as a collective
unit, and I think that’s very positive for us,” Farmar
said. “Injuries, people redshirting, fluctuations from one
practice to the next, we don’t know who’s going to be
there. With all the stuff that we’ve been going through, for
us to still maintain focus and get it done, we’re in first
place in the Pac-10.
“It was our goal, and it still is our goal, to win the
Pac-10.”
Fortunately, the setbacks presented by injuries seem to be
improving. Senior guard Cedric Bozeman, who has missed three weeks
with torn cartilage in his left shoulder, has been cleared to play
eight to 10 minutes during each half tonight. Darren Collison and
Michael Fey, both struggling with ankle injuries, are also expected
to play.
Oregon is coming off a 19-point loss to No. 10 Washington, but
the Ducks won three in a row prior to that. They swept Arizona and
Arizona State at home and also beat Washington State on the road,
their first road victory of the season.
Sophomore forward Malik Hairston, who had strongly considered
coming to UCLA, leads Oregon in scoring at 15.2 points per game.
Junior point guard Aaron Brooks, who comes in averaging 11.7 points
and 4.5 assists per game, will undoubtedly challenge Farmar on both
ends of the floor.
And the Bruins can be sure that Duck fans’ taunts will be
in their ears all night.
“I don’t think it’s going to bother us at
all,” Farmar said. “We’ve been dealing with
different forms of adversity, and that’s just another
one.”