Red-hot Oregon hitting its stride heading into NCAAs

                    

	Bryce Taylor hit 11 of 11shots, including seven of seven three-pointers as the Ducks hit a Pac-10 tourney record 14 treys. AP
	RELATED • Oregon hammers USC for Pac-10 title
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LOS ANGELES -- Ernie Kent's eyes widened as he heard the question being asked.

"What was it like to it like to hit 100 percent?"

It was a simple query that elicited a simple response ("It was fun") from Bryce Taylor, Oregon's junior guard who scored 32 points, hitting all 11 of his attempts, including seven three-pointers. But it was news to the Oregon coach who immediately glanced down at the stat sheet in front of him.

"I'm sorry Bryce," said Kent as he looked over at Taylor. "I didn't realize you didn't miss a shot. I have to search for another word here. That's unbelievable. I didn't realize that until now. Just amazing."

There were stretches during Oregon's 81-57 win over USC in the Pac-10 tournament championship game where it appeared as if the entire Ducks team was perfect as they led by as many as 39 points in the second half and hit a tournament record 14 three-pointers.

"I didn't really notice how many threes we were hitting," said Oregon guard Aaron Brooks. "It was weird. It just seemed like everything was clicking. It wasn't until Bryce hit a fade-away three-pointer that I knew we had the game."

Taylor's pristine performance was the greatest barometer of how hot Oregon was on Saturday and since March, where it's blown out its past four opponents by an average of 21 points. "This is a tough, tough conference and for us to do what we've done in these last four games ... I just hope people don't backtrack and say that maybe the conference isn't as tough as we thought because Oregon has risen to the top like this in the tournament," said Kent. "We can be a two or three [seed], nothing lower than that."

Oregon's plea for respect from the selections committee came moments after the players and coaches returned to their locker room to find a message scribbled on the dry erase board by director of basketball operations Yasir Rosemond. "To the haters: Write about that! Pac-10 Champs."

It was a message that did not go unnoticed by the players as they returned to the locker room, wearing their championship shirts and hats and clutching onto the strand of nylon they had just cut from the net. "I don't think we're playing our best basketball because I think there's a lot more we can get done and will continue to do so," said Oregon forward Malik Hairston. "It's definitely scary. We have a lot more people that can come to the party."

The lights went out early on USC's party as Oregon put the game away by going on a 41-15 run to open the second half. "One of their players [Dwight Lewis] said, 'You guys really came to play today,' and I said, 'Yup, and we're going to keep doing it,' said Taylor. "This is the best we've played all year long and a lot of it with kids our age is confidence. How we play the game before will have an effect on how we play the next game. It has a tendency to roll over."

The Ducks are now hoping that the way they have played to begin March will roll over through the end of the month. "This is just a sign of the type of team that we can be when everyone is on and clicking," said Taylor. "It's something that coaches talked about previously but we're finally just starting to play that way and it couldn't come at a better time."