Oregon Announces 2007-08 Men’s Basketball Schedule

Oregon begins the month of December with Utah in the 10th annual Pape’ Jam Dec. 8 at the Rose Garden in Portland.

Photo courtesy: goducks.com

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon men’s basketball team will face a pair of Big 12 Conference opponents, traditional western power Utah and a bevy of teams from the West Coast as revealed by today's announcement of the Ducks’ 2007-08 schedule.

“I think this schedule will challenge us with difficult road trips and with games against teams like Utah, Kansas State and Nebraska,” said Oregon coach Ernie Kent. “And we need to be tested because the Pac-10 is going to be the toughest conference in the country this year. Every game is going to be a gruelling battle.”

The Ducks, 29-8 with an NCAA Elite Eight appearance last year, open the season with a pair of Eugene exhibitions, Nov. 2 versus St. Martin’s and Nov. 6 against Concordia (Ore.).

The regular season begins with Oregon hosting the four-team World Vision Invitational Nov. 10-12 at McArthur Court. The Ducks will open the round-robin tournament with Pepperdine, followed by games against Pacific and Western Michigan.

“Our tournament should be a very good test,” said Kent. “All three teams we have coming in are well-coached and have been successful recently.”

Oregon will make the first -- and shortest -- of four non-conference road trips on Nov. 17 to play at the West Coast Conference’s Portland.

Kent’s 1997 WCC championship team will be honored before Oregon plays at Saint Mary’s on Nov. 20.

Kent led the Gaels to a 23-8 record and the NCAA Tournament before becoming Oregon’s head coach the following season. It will be the University’s first meeting with Saint Mary’s since the 1994-95 season.

The Ducks will then host San Francisco on Nov. 24 before traveling to Manhattan, Kan., on Nov. 29 to face Kansas State in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.

The Wildcats were 22-11 last season and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. Oregon and Kansas State haven’t played since the 1966-67 season.

Oregon begins the month of December with Utah in the 10th annual Pape’ Jam Dec. 8 at the Rose Garden in Portland.

The Utes, with 26 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, rank second behind only UCLA’s 41 among all western colleges.

Oregon and the Utes last met in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament, when Utah edged the Ducks, 60-58, in Nashville, Tenn. The two schools have played 13 games all-time, with the Utes holding a 7-6 series edge.

The Ducks return to Eugene for a date with Sacramento State on Dec. 11 before challenging trips to play Nebraska in Omaha on Dec. 15 and Oakland in Detroit on Dec. 22.

Oregon hosts Mount St. Mary’s of the Northeast Conference on Dec. 28 to conclude the non-conference schedule. It will be the Ducks’ first games against Oakland and Mount Saint Mary’s.

Pac-10 play begins Jan. 3 at Arizona State and Jan. 5 at Arizona. The remainder of January has Oregon hosting California (Jan. 10) and Stanford (Jan. 13), visiting Washington (Jan. 17) and Washington State (Jan. 20) and back to Eugene for UCLA (Jan. 24) and USC (Jan. 26).

In February, the Ducks host Oregon State (Feb. 2), play at Stanford (Feb. 7) and Cal (Feb. 9), host Washington (Feb. 14) and Washington State (Feb. 16) and travel to USC (Feb. 21) and UCLA (Feb. 23).

The March slate wraps up with a contest at Oregon State (March 2) and home games with Arizona State (March 6) and Arizona (March 8).

The Pac-10 tournament runs March 12-15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif.

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