I am looking forward to another fantastic weekend of tournament basketball, particularly after the thrilling Xavier - Kansas State game last night. Let's get straight to the fix so I can get some work done and be able to watch basketball all weekend guilt-free.
- The women's basketball team lost last night to Cal 71-57 in the third round of the WNIT. It was the third time the Ducks have fallen to Cal this season. The game was close throughout, with the Lady Ducks holding a five point lead at the half and were actually up 53-52 late. But, Cal soon went on an 11-point run to close the game. Regardless, it was the end of a pretty successful first season under new head coach Paul Westhead who doubled their win total from a year ago and brought some much needed excitement back to the program.
- Bob Clark takes us through the latest in the coaching search for the men's basketball team. Clark focuses primarily on presumed candidates Mark Turgeon and Tubby Smith, the latter of whom is dubbed as a favorite of Phil Knight. Tom Izzo is also listed as a potential candidate, but that seems more farfetched than Billy Donovan.
- George Schroeder has a column up in which he notes the salary target for the new basketball coach is in approximately $2 million a year. Though Schroeder also suggests that Pat Kilkenny has experience with unorthodox deals (i.e., Westhead for the women's team and annual contributions to supplement Mark Few's salary at Gonzaga).
- Nick Daschel takes a look at how the Oregon coaching hire might affect other conference schools and coaches. He considers it a foregone conclusion that whoever Oregon ultimately hires will become the highest paid coach in the conference (Sean Miller currently holds that title at an even $2 million).
- Oregon opens up the Pac-10 baseball season tonight in Arizona. The Ducks are on a 13-game winning streak and appear to be much improved on offense. It will be interesting to see if they can keep up the production against conference foes.
- In football news, Jason Vondersmith takes a look at how the Ducks will retool their defense for 2010. John Hunt previews the offensive line, which returns all five starters from last season. And, Nick Daschel continues his conference position previews with defensive tackles. He lists Oregon in "the questionable" group and describes their performance in 2009 as inconsistent.
Did I miss anything? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments.