Big game should get bigger with UO, UA looking inside.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

TUCSON, Ariz. - A revised Arizona lineup might actually be a welcome sight for Oregon, even if the McKale Center usually isn't for the Ducks.

But here Oregon is, trying to break its five-game losing streak tonight against the Wildcats, on a three-game skid themselves. That's the first time since 1984 Arizona has lost that many in a row, only one indicator of what an off-year this is for the Wildcats.

Imagine if that streak grew to four with a loss to Oregon? The Ducks, after all, have one victory in Tucson in the past 20 seasons.

`I'm still feeling that our team has a chance to get better,' UA coach Lute Olson said. `I'm not approaching my team any differently than I have all along. We need to get better each game.'

The Wildcats do have a different look from the team Oregon defeated 73-68 last month in Eugene. At least to start the game tonight, Arizona is expected to go with its bigger lineup, with 6-10 junior Kirk Walter inserted in place of one of the guards.

What that does is push 6-4 Hassan Adams to a perimeter position, where he'd probably prefer to play, and likely means Oregon needs to match up against that bigger Arizona front line.

`When they play bigger, it allows us to play bigger, which is good for us,' UO coach Ernie Kent said. `Our big guys are starting to play well, and it might even be better matchups for us.'

In that previous meeting, Oregon's 7-foot Ray Schafer didn't play a minute, and 6-9 Maarty Leunen was missing with an injured ankle.

That turned 6-5 Jordan Kent into a post player for virtually all of his 27 minutes, and 6-4 Brandon Lincoln also played some time in the post, as a defender when Adams was playing inside.

Those two are likely to draw the assignment of defending the Pac-10's leading scorer again tonight, but it might be farther away from the basket.

Using a taller lineup themselves, the UO coach said, `might be a good thing for us right now with the way our bigs are playing and with the way we're shooting the ball' from the outside.

Arizona has some similar issues with shooting. The Wildcats have a 31.1 three-point percentage this season, the worst in the Pac-10 for all games, though Arizona's 32.9 shooting on threes in Pac-10 games does look better from the perspective of the Ducks, at 29.1 on their threes against conference opponents.

And like Oregon, Arizona is talking about going inside more than usual tonight, a reflection of the UA post players making 13-of-14 field goals in a loss at UCLA, Olson said.

`Two things are obvious from that,' Olson said. First, his post players are `making great progress. The second thing is our perimeter people have to get the ball to those guys more.'

Arizona would seem to be primed for straightening out its season, with five of the final seven regular-season games in the McKale Center.

`We need to make hay while the sun is shining,' Olson said of that schedule.

Oregon, meanwhile, counters with one win this season in seven road games, and a schedule that is the opposite of Arizona's, with five road games in the next seven leading to the Pac-10 tournament.

`Any road trip is tough trip, regardless of what the records are,' Kent said. `You worry about just performing well on the road' no matter what the location of the game.

Here, though, Oregon has struggled often to even be competitive. Oregon defeats here the past two years have been by 25 and 24 points, respectively, and only the Pac-10 championship version of the Ducks in 2002 have managed to win at the McKale Center since the shot clock was brought to the college game.

On the other hand, when has Arizona had nine losses when Oregon played here? Been 6-5 in the Pac-10? Or been worried about even making the NCAA Tournament?

`At times they've struggled to shoot the ball, like us,' Kent said. `If they're shooting the ball well, (Arizona is) a very dangerous team and not where they are right now' in the Pac-10 standings.

OREGON MEN

AT ARIZONA

Oregon (10-13, 4-7)

Starters

Malik Hairston, 6-6 So.

(14.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg)

Maarty Leunen, 6-9 So.

(7.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg)

Ivan Johnson, 6-8 Jr.

(7.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg)

Brandon Lincoln, 6-4 Sr.

(6.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg)

Aaron Brooks, 6-0 Jr.

(10.8 ppg, 4.6 apg)

Arizona (13-9, 6-5)

Starters

Marcus Williams, 6-7 Fr.

(11.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg)

Ivan Radenovic, 6-10 Jr.

(9.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

Kirk Walters, 6-10 Jr.

(5.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg)

Hassan Adams, 6-4 Sr.

(19.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg)

Mustafa Shakur, 6-3 Jr.

(11.6 ppg, 4.2 apg)

Time: 5:30 p.m. PST 

Radio/TV: KUGN-AM (590). Televised live on OSN.

UO MEN VS. ARIZONA

5:30 p.m. today at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz. TV: KEZI. Radio: KUGN-AM (590).