Matchup makes its mark for Oregon.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

Defense can win games, even when the opponent scores 85 points.

That's how Oregon coach Ernie Kent viewed the impact of the Ducks switching to a matchup zone defense in the second half against Washington.

`It turned the game around Thursday against Washington State as well,' Kent said. `It really did pay great dividends' in the weekend sweep for the 17th-ranked Ducks

In the matchup zone, a defender essentially takes on the offensive player closest to him but can pass that offensive player along to a teammate rather than follow him all over the court.

`It gave us a chance to rest a little bit because we didn't have to run around and chase them all over the place,' Kent said.

By giving both the Cougars and Huskies a different defense to go against, Kent thought the Ducks put some hesitation into the minds of teams that shoot well, and also caused turnovers.

`That's why we switch up,' Kent said. The matchup zone, he added, `is still a pressure defense. Washington State threw it away a couple times, Washington threw it away. ... As long as we follow our rules (on playing it), it's pretty effective.'

Kent said he prefers the matchup zone when the Ducks have their smaller lineup in the game.

`It doesn't fit big guys well ... to ask them to get out on the wings,' he said.

Oregon post players such as Maarty Leunen, Joevan Catron and Malik Hairston are mobile enough that they can guard perimeter players in the zone.

Kent said he used the matchup zone effectively both in his previous job at Saint Mary's and at Oregon in the years that the Lukes, Ridnour and Jackson, led the Ducks to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

In the previous two seasons, the Ducks used some matchup zone, and also more conventional zones, either the 2-3 or 3-2. What's maybe unusual about the matchup zone being effective this season is that the Ducks are often playing two freshmen, Tajuan Porter and Catron.

`It usually takes a year to put it in,' Kent said of the matchup. `T.P. and (Catron) are very bright basketball players, and they have a pretty good understanding of it."

Kent said he also likes the versatility of the matchup zone.

`You can trap out of it,' he said. `There are some gimmicks we can use when we're in it.'

Weekly award

Porter, who scored 40 points in the weekend sweep by the Ducks, is the Pac-10 player of the week.

The 5-foot-6 freshman again leads the league in free-throw percentage at .929 after making 13-of-14 attempts against the Cougars and Huskies. He also raised his total of three-point shots made to 81, one short of the league record for a freshman, set by Jason Kapono of UCLA in 2000.

Porter is the third Duck honored by the conference with a weekly award this season, following Bryce Taylor on Dec. 18 and Aaron Brooks on Jan. 8. The last time Oregon had three such weekly honors in a season was the 1985-86 season, when Jerry Adams was chosen three times himself. Oregon hasn't taken the honor four times in a season since 1984, when Blair Rasmussen won twice and Chris Harper and Greg Trapp won once each.

Moving back up

The Ducks climbed six places in The Associated Press weekly poll, to No. 17 in the voting released Monday. Oregon is ranked 18th in the USA Today/ESPN poll of coaches.

This is the 12th consecutive week Oregon has been in the AP Top 25, matching the longest streak in a season, set previously in 2001-02. The longest consecutive streak for the Ducks is 18 weeks, the final 12 of that '02 season and the first six weeks of the 2002-03 season.

UCLA is No. 2 in the AP poll with WSU 13th and USC 23rd. With Georgetown now ranked ninth, Oregon is 4-3 against current members of AP's Top 25.

The computers say ...

The Ducks are 25th in the RPI used by the NCAA, which would compute out to a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, if the seeding exactly followed that computer ranking. It never does.

It does seem to fit in with what prognosticators now see for the Ducks, with both ESPN and Sports Illustrated putting the Ducks as a No. 7 seed in their latest bracket projections. What would that mean?

ESPN would have the Ducks playing Indiana, and a win could put Oregon up against Kansas. In the SI.com projection, Oregon as a No. 7 would play Xavier, with Wisconsin looming in the second round.

More numbers

In addition to leading the Pac-10 in free-throw percentage by making 60-of-65 attempts this season, Porter also leads the league with an average of 3.0 three-pointers made.

Aaron Brooks continues to lead the league in scoring with an average of 18.0 points, with Arron Afflalo of UCLA next at 17.5. In league games, Brooks and Marcus Williams of Arizona are each averaging 18.9 points.

Leunen is third in rebounding with an average of 8.6, behind Washington's Jon Brockman (9.5) and Arizona State's Jeff Pendergraph (9.3). Leunen does average the most defensive rebounds (5.9).

OREGON MEN VS. OREGON STATE

3 p.m. Saturday at McArthur Court. TV: OSN (KEZI locally). Radio: KUGN-AM (590).