MADISON, WIS. ? Two blocks from the Canadian border in the state of Washington sits the town of Blaine, population 3,000 give or take a few.

Hard to believe a burg that small could turn out a basketball player who would make Aaron Miles opt to go to Kansas University, a school halfway across the country, but it’s true.

OREGON'S Luke Ridnour (13) brings the ball down the court against Texas' Fredie Williams. The Ducks ousted UT, 72-70, on Friday in Madison, Wis.

“I think it did have a big impact on his decision,” Luke Ridnour said on Saturday, the day before he’ll go one-on-one against Miles with a berth in the NCAA Final Four at stake.

Ridnour is Oregon University’s point guard, a 6-foot-2 sophomore who was the Pac-10 Conference freshman of the year while Miles was a senior at Portland (Ore.) Jefferson High.

All Ridnour has done this year is average 15.5 points a game and lead the Ducks in assists while shooting 44.6 percent from three-point range and 86.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Few people east of the Rocky Mountains have heard of Ridnour, but they will if Oregon reaches the Final Four. If the Ducks do, Ridnour will help put Blaine on the map, too.

“I’ve always lived in a small town,” said Ridnour whose father, Rob, is the local high school basketball coach. “I don’t like big cities and all the traffic. It was great playing in high school. We’d get 3,000 people at our home games and there are only 3,000 people in town.”

Not many people Ridnour’s age have ever heard of “Pistol Pete” Maravich, but his dad told him about the late great former Louisiana State player whose uncanny variety of shots enabled him to score 40, 50 and 60 points a game routinely back in the ’70s.

One of Maravich’s habits was to carry a basketball with him at all times, even to bed. Ridnour jumped at that notion.

“I slept with it for five years,” Ridnour said.

That’s because he liked to go to the gym at 6 a.m. and practice his ball-handling and shooting skills. But Ridnour doesn’t put a basketball in the same category with his wallet anymore.

“I still carry it quite a bit,” he said. “I get in trouble a little bit for taking it to class.”

Maravich also was famous for wearing droopy socks.

“I wouldn’t do the socks,” Ridnour said, smiling.

Ridnour is half of what Oregon publicists like to dub “The Hot-Hand Lukes.” The other half is Luke Jackson, a 6-7 sophomore from Creswell, Ore., who bears a striking resemblance mainly because of his shaggy hair to former Kansas player Luke Axtell.

A left-hander, Jackson’s stats are similar to Ridnour’s 16.6 points a game, a 40.4 percent three-point shooter and an 86.5 percent free thrower.

“It’s surprised us a little bit how good he’s been,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said about Jackson. “And I even like his haircut.”

In the Oregon media guide, pictures of Jackson show him with average-length hair, begging the question: Has he had a haircut since the season started?

“I’ve trimmed it up a few times,” Jackson replied. “I don’t know what hair has to do with basketball. I know I’ll be ready to play basketball no matter what my hair looks like.”

Oregon has been ready all season. The Ducks came out of nowhere to win the Pac-10 Conference regular season title and now they don’t want their storybook season to end.

“Everyone expected Kansas to be in this spot,” Jackson said, “and no one expected Oregon to do anything, so we’ll go into this game really relaxed and take Kansas down.”

Kansas and Oregon have made the NCAA basketball committee look prescient because the two schools were the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively in the Midwest Regional.

“I know Kansas has a lot of pressure on them and rightfully so,” said Kent, the man who replaced former KU aide Jerry Green at Oregon five years ago. “This is a great opportunity to showcase our program.”

Unlike most tight-to-the-vest NCAA Tournament games, this one looms as a shootout because both teams like to run, run, run.

“I think it will be very exciting,” Kent said, “because they mirror us and we mirror them.”