It's getting to the point where nearly everything I read on Tuesdays for the Quack Fix has to do with the terrible state of the men's basketball conference this season. So, if you're bored with all of that, skip the first three bullets and move directly to some recruiting tidbits.
- California coach Mike Montgomery thinks that 12 wins in conference might be enough to finish first this season. And, after the disappointing home sweep to the Arizona schools, Bob Clark has Oregon at #9 in his weekly power ranking.
- In a sign of how frustrated fans have become with the men's basketball team, KEZI has video of a fan burning his remaining tickets for this season. This sort of act has always seemed pretty foolish to me -- what's the point besides making yourself look like an ass? Besides, I think there has been more potential and competitveness shown this season compared to last season. Bob Clark also offers a reminder of how conference teams have historically fared the season after a conference season with no more than two wins. Since the 1981-2 season, only one such team out of 15 has followed up with an above .500 conference record.
- Mike Tokito notes that for the second week in a row, there are no conference teams in either of the Top 25 polls. Although, it looks like at least one conference team (ASU) earned votes in the AP poll.
- In basketball recruiting news, Lindsey Schnell has some updates on how a couple of Oregon targets have performed in their last prep games. Also included are short bios on other prep players the Ducks will hope to sign to fill their two scholarship spots for next season. DuckTerritory also has a new story up on PG Tony Wroten out of Washington (subscription-only). Wroten is a top-60 player in the 2011 class and last week listed Oregon as his favorite.
- Greg Biggins notes that football recruit Anthony Jefferson has narrowed his college choice to Oregon and UCLA after eliminating Cal. Jefferson is being recruited as a DB by both schools, and is listed as a 4-star athlete by Rivals and a 4-star CB by Scout. DuckTerritory also has an article up on the upcoming Jefferson decision (subscription-only).
- Curtis Anderson of the Register-Guard has a piece on new track coach Harry Marra, who is replacing Dan Steele as Oregon's multi-events coach this season. One of Marra's biggest challenges will be to help Ashton Eaton and Brianne Theisen repeat as NCAA champions in their respective events.
Go Ducks!