No. 7 Oregon Faces Tough Road Test Against Washington, No. 20 WSU

The Ducks will be without the services of guard Aaron Brooks Thursday night against the Huskies'.

Adrian Stelly sparked Oregon's upset of Washington in last year's Pac-10 tournament. Photo: goducks.com

EUGENE - Matching the school’s best record ever at 18-1, as No. 7 Oregon hits the trail for four straight and six of its next eight.

First up is the annual trek across the Columbia River to play Washington on Thursday at 8:00 PM in Seattle.

Then the Ducks visit the Palouse for a 7:00 PM game against No. 20 Washington State on Saturday.

Fox Sports Net Northwest will televise both games live throughout the region.

No Brooks Against Huskies:

Senior guard Aaron Brooks, will be unable to play in Thursday night's basketball game for flagrantly elbowing the Huskies' Ryan Appleby in the face during last year's Pac-10 Tournament, won't even be permitted in Edmundson Pavilion.

Brooks, is the Pac-10's top scorer at 18.4 points per game.

Prime Numbers:

Check out this numerical series: 3-2-2-5-2-7-8.

Granted, it’s not as catchy as 8-6-7-5-3-0-9 (Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to?), but that’s the winning margin in Oregon’s first seven Pac-10 games.

Put another way, the Ducks have played seven straight league games decided by eight points or less, and have emerged with a 6-1 record in those seven games.

Oregon is 6-0 away from Eugene this year (5-0 road, 1-0 neutral).

Seattle Slew:

The last time Oregon came into Seattle with a 6-1 Pac-10 record (Jan. 24th, 2002), Washington knocked off the Ducks 97-92, one of only four conference losses Oregon sustained in winning the 2001-02 Pac-10 title.

The Ducks have dropped their last five games in Seattle.

On Saturday, after 268 previous meetings, No. 7 Oregon and No. 20 Washington State will meet as ranked opponents for the first time in the history of the series.

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