Same kind of matchup like v. UCLA, or more like $C (I hope)?

Who knows. They have great shooters we dont.

Starters:
PG - Pritchard
G - Ennis
G - Dorsey
F - Brooks
C- Bell

Bench:
PG - Benson
PF/C - Boucher
PF - Bigby-Williams
SF - Smith

The Ducks pretty much play 7 guys with Bigby and Smith getting spot minutes. They start Brooks at the 4, but could slide him up to the 3 and go with Boucher to matchup with Rabb. Boucher is 2nd in the conference in Win Shares per 40 minutes, so he's basically a 6th starter for the Ducks. Benson started last season, so he's got a lot of big game experience.

The Ducks lead the nation blocked shots % with Bell and Boucher combining for over 5 per game. Bell and Boucher are 1 and 2 in the PAC-12 in Defensive Rating, just ahead of Okoroh and Rabb. On the season, the Ducks hold opponents to under 30% from 3.

Offensively, the Ducks have 3 or 4 guys that can play the point and have been improving as of late with their shooting, especially as Dillon Brooks has rounded into form.

For Cal to compete and have a chance to win, I believe the 3 main scorers need to be on their game. Then, we've got to get contributions from the supporting cast. Unless we get a good offensive performance team-wise, it will be difficult to win.

Oregon has won 14 games in a row, by an average of 20.7 points (5 conference wins by an average of 21.6).

In other Quackin news: http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18491292/three-oregon-ducks-football-players-hospitalized-strength-conditioning-workouts

"The Oregonian reported that Poutasi's mother said her son had been diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which skeletal muscle tissue is rapidly broken down and products of that process are released into the bloodstream."

"A school official told the paper that the training staff did not witness any players fainting, disputing a claim that some had "passed out."

The report went on to say that some players complained about discolored urine, and others were found to have "highly elevated levels of creatine kinase," an indicator of rhabdomyolysis."

oskidunker;842795067 said:

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Who knows. They have great shooters we dont.

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If Cal offense can play effectively, s/b a good game. You almost always in the game at home when your a good defensive team. Oregon does look like a top 3 team in the Pac.

House money. If we win, fantastic but I am not expecting to do so at McGill. Hopefully get some tape which helps us prepare for their visit to Cal. The good news is that they don't have the kind of front line size which has bothered us most.

Mcgill? Gill coliseum is
In corvallis

socaltownie;842795743 said:

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House money. If we win, fantastic but I am not expecting to do so at McGill. Hopefully get some tape which helps us prepare for their visit to Cal. The good news is that they don't have the kind of front line size which has bothered us most.

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I agree somewhat, in that we will clearly be underdogs, and there would be no shame in losing to a very good Oregon squad at their place. It is not "must win", but I also think of it as more than just "house money" because we just don't have that many opportunities for resume wins left. I hope our guys come out with a big sense of urgency for this game, because that is what it will take to come away with a "W".

I also think that front line guys that can shoot the three, or at least long twos, are a vulnerability for us, as King and Kam can be reluctant to come away from the basket to guard a shooter. Boucher could be a tough matchup for us (similar to what Metu of USC did to us), and we may see Domingo get some time defending him on Thursday.

LOUMFSG2;842795763 said:

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I agree somewhat, in that we will clearly be underdogs, and there would be no shame in losing to a very good Oregon squad at their place. It is not "must win", but I also think of it as more than just "house money" because we just don't have that many opportunities for resume wins left. I hope our guys come out with a big sense of urgency for this game, because that is what it will take to come away with a "W".

I also think that front line guys that can shoot the three, or at least long twos, are a vulnerability for us, as King and Kam can be reluctant to come away from the basket to guard a shooter. Boucher could be a tough matchup for us (similar to what Metu of USC did to us), and we may see Domingo get some time defending him on Thursday.

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I don't think frontline size bothers us much. We have a big frontline (one of the biggest in the country--Rabb would be playing C on a lot of teams) and are one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country. It's teams that can out-athlete us at most positions (SDSU comes to mind) and teams that can bring our bigs away from the basket that give us fits.

socaltownie;842795743 said:

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House money. If we win, fantastic but I am not expecting to do so at McGill. Hopefully get some tape which helps us prepare for their visit to Cal. The good news is that they don't have the kind of front line size which has bothered us most.

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Oh man MoragaBear has gotten into your head.

LOUMFSG2;842795763 said:

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I agree somewhat, in that we will clearly be underdogs, and there would be no shame in losing to a very good Oregon squad at their place. It is not "must win", but I also think of it as more than just "house money" because we just don't have that many opportunities for resume wins left. I hope our guys come out with a big sense of urgency for this game, because that is what it will take to come away with a "W".

I also think that front line guys that can shoot the three, or at least long twos, are a vulnerability for us, as King and Kam can be reluctant to come away from the basket to guard a shooter. Boucher could be a tough matchup for us (similar to what Metu of USC did to us), and we may see Domingo get some time defending him on Thursday.

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FWIW: I'm inclined to believe that coming out with confidence (real, not pretend) is perhaps even more (or at least as much) key than coming out with urgency. My impression of the only really bad half we've had this season was that they were intimidated the first half of the UCLA game, which is one of the reasons that I see Coleman's emergence in the second half (refusing to be intimidated by any one or any thing) as being so important.

mikecohen;842795824 said:

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FWIW: I'm inclined to believe that coming out with confidence (real, not pretend) is perhaps even more (or at least as much) key than coming out with urgency. My impression of the only really bad half we've had this season was that they were intimidated the first half of the UCLA game, which is one of the reasons that I see Coleman's emergence in the second half (refusing to be intimidated by any one or any thing) as being so important.

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MC, you may be over-thinking this. Perhaps our boys were simply stunned by how well UCLA can play, by many weapons they have. Coleman's so called "emergence" in the second half was accomplished by a UCLA that was by then disinterested and convinced that the game was over.

I don't mean entirely to disregard Coleman's performance against the Bruins, but I was more impressed by his effort against USC, when it mattered competitively.

Still, as other posters have pointed out, just how effective Coleman will be in the games ahead of us is hard to know.

I think he means when we go to Montreal...

I think our bigs matchup well with their bigs. I think they will have more problems than we will
However it's going to depend on Rabb staying out of foul trouble, and they aggressively drive to the basket. therefore our perimeter defenders can't put our bigs at risk.

however it's going to be tough for Coleman and Charlie to drive on Boucher. Long, bouncy and a great shot blocker

for us to win, we need to shoot well

HoopDreams;842796064 said:

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I think our bigs matchup well with their bigs. I think they will have more problems than we will
However it's going to depend on Rabb staying out of foul trouble, and they aggressively drive to the basket. therefore our perimeter defenders can't put our bigs at risk.

however it's going to be tough for Coleman and Charlie to drive on Boucher. Long, bouncy and a great shot blocker

for us to win, we need to shoot well

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Dump the ball to Rabb and let him go to work. When they double, our guys better get ready to shoot the open shot.