No. 9 Oregon, No. 5 UCLA Battle For Pac-10 Lead

Oregon is 9-1 in games decided by eight points or less this season.

Photo: goducks.com

LOS ANGELES - With the school’s best record in 80 years, Oregon (19-2, 7-2 Pac-10) faces UCLA (18-2, 7-2 Pac-10) in a battle for sole possession of first in the Pac-10 on Thursday at 7:30 PM.

ULCA is ranked No. 5 in latest AP and USA Today/ESPN polls, while the Ducks are at No. 9 in both polls.

Fox Sports Net will televise that game live nationally.

The tough L.A. trip continues on Saturday when the Ducks visit USC’s new Galen Center for the first time.

The Oregon Sports Network will televise the Ducks-Trojans game live throughout the state at 12:30 PM.

Oregon is 4-0 against top 25 teams in 2006-07, having knocked off No. 18 Georgetown (Nov. 29th), No. 1 UCLA (Jan. 6th), No. 10 Arizona (Jan. 14th) and No. 20 Washington State (Jan. 27th).

The Ducks last defeated four ranked teams in the same year during the 2001-02 season, when Oregon beat six ranked foes on the way to the Pac-10 Championship.

The Ducks last toppled two top 10 teams in 1976-77 (No. 7 UCLA, No. 3 UCLA).

Road Warriors:

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

Three of Oregon’s four wins over ranked opponents have come on the road.

It’s the first time in school history that Oregon has defeated three ranked opponents on the road in the same season.

The Ducks have played eight league games decided by eight points or less, and have a 7-1 record in those games.

Clutch Ducks:

Everyone knows about "Big Shot Brooks" by now, but five times this season, Oregon has scored the game-winning or game-tying points in the final minute of regulation.

Four different players -- including Aaron Brooks, of course -- have stepped up in the limelight.

Playing the Percentages:

In both losses this season, Oregon has allowed its opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the field. In the Ducks’ 19 wins, opponents have topped 50 percent just twice.

All five starters are scoring in double figures.

Injury Update:

SR F Adam Zahn suffered a concussion during practice on Jan. 22nd and did not play at the Washington schools.

Saturday at Washington State:

SR G Aaron Brooks scored 31 points -- his third 30-point game of the season and fourth career.

Only Stan Love (13), Terrell Brandon (9), Ron Lee (7), Greg Ballard (6), Anthony Taylor (5) and Charlie Warren (5) have more career 30-point games at Oregon.

Tickets Available:

Limited tickets remain on sale for two of Oregon’s five remaining home games.

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports