The Oregon Ducks got a big-time victory over the USC Trojans on the road earlier this week in a must-win game down in Los Angeles. Another must-win game now sits in front of them, though, as they prepare to take on the surging UCLA Bruins on Saturday night in Pauley Pavillion.
While Dana Altman and the Ducks continue to deal with injuries — both Keeshawn Barthelemy and Mookie Cook were ruled to likely be out for the remainder of the season this past week — they are hanging around the NCAA Tournament bubble with 10 games left in the regular season.
Altman knows that Saturday night’s test against the Bruins is going to be a physical one.
“Well, we’ve just got to get tougher,” Altman said on the postgame radio after Oregon’s win on Thursday night. “We’ve got a tough one there and we’re going to have to rebound the ball better. It’s going to be a rock fight, they’re a very physical team. We’re going to have to be a lot more physical than what we were tonight.”
Though UCLA was one of the more disappointing teams in the nation to start the year, they’ve come on strong over the last month, winning four of their last six games.
With the Washington schools coming to Eugene next weekend, this offers a great opportunity for the Ducks to pick up a Quad 2 win on the road, which would bolster their resume a ton going into March.
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