It might be safe to assume that tonight's game between the Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks will depend heavily on UW's focus.
When keyed in - particularly on the defensive end - UW can be difficult to stop and they should be able to establish a rebounding advantage against the UO with said focus.
But possibly the bigger story than UW's confidence-building win against WSU is UO's improved play over the last three games, including an eight point loss to Arizona: the Ducks have been shooting the ball much better than average.
Over the past three games, the Ducks have shot 49.6 percent from the field, which is 7.5 percent better than they've been shooting for the season overall. Even more interesting than the outcome is how they're doing it. Over the past three games, they've found their touch from the 3-point line, connecting on 44.6 percent primarily on the strength of an 11-for-19 (a season-high 57.9 percent) outburst against Arizona State in the first round of the 2011 Pac-10 Tournament. However, when they're not hitting more than half of their 3-pointers, they've been more efficient from inside the arc with a 61.7 percent 2-point percentage against Arizona, which is about 15 percent above average.
The improved 3-point shooting can most readily be traced to Malcolm Armstead and E.J. Singler who have combined to shoot 9-for-10 from downtown in the Pac-10 Tournament. Neither of those two hit a three against Arizona, but then Joevan Catron - who only hit four threes all of last season - went 4-for-7 while Teondre Williams chipped in going 2-for-2.
In other words, they've suddenly gotten three point contributions from all multiple sources, they're finding multiple ways to score, and their offense is becoming a bit more fluid as a result.