PACIFIC 10 BASKETBALL / DAN HAFNER : What’s Next for Oregon: the Final Four?

This apparently is a green year in the Pacific 10 Conference--and not because of all the rain.

With a defense known as Gang Green, Oregon won the conference football championship, and, in a bizarre opening week of the basketball race, it is Green’s Gang that has stirred up things.

Jerry Green’s Oregon Ducks scored an impressive victory over then No. 2-ranked UCLA and are tied for the top spot in the Pac-10 with a 2-0 record.

Despite a 10-1 record and the victory over the Bruins, the Ducks haven’t made much of an impression nationally. They were 25th in the Associated Press poll and unranked in the coaches’ poll.

Green is in his third season as the Ducks’ coach and, with all five starters returning from last season, he thought he would have a good team. But just as in football, the Ducks didn’t have many believers.

They finished last season by knocking UCLA out of a share of the title, and Green felt the maturing of point guard Kenya Wilkins would do wonders for his team.

“We still have a problem that plagued us last year,” Green said. “We aren’t shooting very well. So far, our emotion and hustle have enabled us to overcome the shooting deficiency. But you can’t win consistently if you shoot poorly.”

The Ducks shot only 37.1% from the field in stunning the Bruins, but, in a 95-83 victory over USC on Saturday, they made more than half their shots, including 14 of 24 from three-point range.

“All we need to do is to be a little more selective in our shots,” Green said. “The win over UCLA was a big one. The 25 offensive rebounds made up for the poor shooting. Everybody is ready for the Bruins because they are so good. But from top to bottom, this is a tough league. Winning on the road will be difficult.”

The Ducks go on the road Saturday, when they play Oregon State.

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It was pretty well established last week that winning on the road in the conference is a tough proposition.

Of the four losses suffered by the five teams that were in the top 25, all were on the road. The other ranked team, Arizona State, won its only game, which was at home.

Washington State, after beating California and Stanford, must now be considered a contender. But Coach Kevin Eastman’s Cougars visit the Southland this week and, by Saturday afternoon, should have a better idea of their chances.

The key man in the Cougars’ two victories was Donminic Ellison, a 5-foot-10 guard from Inglewood’s Morningside High, who moved into the starting lineup midway through last season, guiding the team to victories in four of its last five conference games.

He seems to be a second-half shooter. He had 25 of his career-high 26 after intermission to lead the upset over Cal. In the next game, while holding Stanford’s ailing Brevin Knight in check, he scored his 12 points in the second half.

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The really bizarre finish was at Tempe, Ariz., last Thursday. In a defensive battle, which featured some atrocious shooting, the Sun Devils led, 53-52, with 14 seconds left and the Wildcats trying to set up for a winning basket.

A fraction of a second before guard Damon Stoudamire launched a perfect three-point shot, teammate Ray Owes signaled for a timeout, which was granted.

So instead of going ahead, 55-53, the Wildcats still had a one-point deficit and five seconds left. They never got off a shot.

The Sun Devils, injury free for a change, will find out what it’s like away from home. They are at Stanford tonight and California on Saturday.

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Under the circumstances, maybe the split in Washington wasn’t bad for Stanford.

The big problem was that the Cardinal had to go there with its key player, Knight, under par. He has a leg problem that, if not treated properly, could develop into a stress fracture.

Knight played well enough in the victory over Washington but then had his poorest game when the Cardinal’s 10-game unbeaten streak ended at Washington State.

“He didn’t have an assist and had six turnovers Saturday,” Coach Mike Montgomery said. “That’s not a typical game. However, the doctors say he’s getting better.”