Ducks' zone defenses give Cougars more reasons to worry.

Byline: ROB MOSELEY The Register-Guard

It played its typical fastball pace on offense, but Oregon threw a changeup at Washington State defensively on Thursday.

On a night the No. 15 Ducks scored their most points ever in a conference game, Oregon employed a zone defense extensively in hopes of slowing down the Cougars, and more specifically leading scorer Marcus Moore. The WSU sophomore still managed 34 points, but the Cougars were hounded into 18 turnovers and saw their shooting percentage drop 15 points in the second half, when the UO zone was at its best.

"It was just another look we could give a team," said Oregon's Luke Jackson, who had three of the Ducks' 11 steals. "We kept them guessing a lot and it really worked, especially in the second half."

Oregon first went to the zone midway through the first half, and quickly turned a back-and-forth game into a budding blowout. Luke Ridnour tied the UO season high with five steals, all before halftime, as the Ducks repeatedly forced turnovers and turned them into transition baskets.

"You've got to be able to play man and zone toward the end of the season," Ridnour said. "We practiced it during the week, and it worked out well for us."

The Ducks had 10 steals in the first half Thursday, which would have tied Oregon's third-best total for a game this season. In the end Oregon finished with 11, tied for second-most this year, as the zone allowed the Ducks to clog the WSU passing lanes.

"(Playing zone) lets you read things better, because you can kind of slow down and not follow your man around," Ridnour said.

Though it has been part of Oregon's scheme all year, Thursday's use of the zone was the most extensive by the Ducks so far. In all, UO coach Ernie Kent said, the Ducks employed three different zones, as well as their usual man-to-man defense.

At least one impetus for using the zone was Moore, the type of penetrating scorer who gives opposing defenses fits.

"It's tough going against guys like that," Ridnour said. "They've got a lot of freedom out there. We've got to try and shut (their teammates) down, and just slow them down."

Though Moore did manage those 34 points, no other Cougars scored more than 12, with just three in double figures. It could be more of the same for the Ducks on Saturday when they face Washington and leading scorer Doug Wrenn, who scored 30 points when UW beat Oregon earlier this year.

"The last time (against Washington), we gave up a lot of transition baskets," Oregon's Frederick Jones said. "They got out and ran on us. We've got to try and slow Doug down."

If Thursday was any indication, the best way for Oregon to do that could be by throwing lots of different zone defenses at Wrenn and the Huskies.