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[QUOTE="jonson, post: 2944304, member: 6034"]
Last year Oregon was led by two sophomores,.  It was also after (and as a result of) this game that Satou Sabally replaced Mallory McGwire in the starting lineup (a freshman for a sophomore), a change that was a key element of Oregon's success over the remainder of the season.

On the other hand, Mississippi State's core last year included three seniors, one of whom just had a stellar first year in the WNBA--and, if memory serves, it was Vivians who, along with McCowan, killed the Ducks last year, scoring about 30 points and making something like two-thirds of her shots, including 5 threes.

One core remains and is a year older and maybe even plays a bit better on defense.  The other is mostly gone, but not, of course, McCowan.  So, things, as Geno just said, change.  Will that make a difference?  We should have an answer of sorts in a couple of weeks. But, as an Oregon homer who would rank Mississippi State slightly ahead of Oregon at this point, I don't think the matchup is as problematic for the Ducks as some seem to believe.  And I also believe that Oregon is a far better[I] team[/I] than Texas, which--to my eyes--sometimes seems hardly like a team at all despite the talent and recruiting rankings.
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