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PACIFIC 10 ROUNDUP : Oregon Surprises No. 2-Ranked Arizona, 68-63

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From Associated Press

Believe it or not, Lute Olson says the Oregon Ducks are a better basketball team than Michigan.

At least on the night Olson’s Wildcats played them.

“In my opinion, they played better than Michigan,” Olson said after Oregon stunned the No. 2-ranked Wildcats, 68-63, in the Pacific 10 Conference opener for both teams Thursday night at Eugene, Ore.

“They took it to us from beginning to end,” Olson said. “This was not a fluke. They deserved to win the ballgame.”

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The Wildcats, who opened the season last Saturday with an 82-75 victory over defending national champion Michigan, were in trouble from the start against the Ducks.

“It was just a great, great win,” Oregon Coach Don Monson said. “It puts a little life back into the old program.”

The Ducks have struggled in Monson’s seven years as head coach and were picked to finish last this season.

“It has to be the best win I’ve had at Oregon,” Monson said. “This is the second-best team in the nation and we were very unknown.”

Terrell Brandon scored 27 points, including four free throws in the final 46 seconds, to lead the Ducks, who had lost 10 consecutive games.

The 5-foot-11 sophomore point guard, who didn’t play last season after failing to meet the academic minimums of Proposition 48, made four three-pointers in the first half as the Ducks opened a 10-point lead, then withstood a rally from the two-time defending conference champions.

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He also had seven rebounds and seven assists.

It was an impressive home-court debut for Brandon, who scored just two points after getting into early foul trouble in the Ducks’ 102-75 season-opening loss at Arkansas.

Oregon State 87, Arizona State 64--Guard Gary Payton scored 21 points and had a school-record 15 assists as the Beavers won at Corvallis, Ore.

Will Brantley scored 15 points and Earl Martin had 12 for the Beavers, 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Pac-10. Arizona State is 0-1.

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