Photo by: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Ducks Return Home Looking To Build On Encouraging Road Trip
01/17/18 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon hosts USC on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2) and will be looking to continue its strong play from last weekend in Arizona.
EUGENE, Ore. — As any parent knows, sometimes a lesson must be repeated a few times before it really sinks in.
Weeks and weeks of harping on ball movement, defensive communication and toughness on the boards by UO men's basketball coach Dana Altman seemed to register with the Ducks last week. Coming off a loss at Oregon State that dropped Oregon to 1-2 in the Pac-12, the Ducks remained on the road and upset No. 11 Arizona State a week ago before hanging tough with No. 17 Arizona in a narrow loss Saturday.
Altman was starting to feel like a broken record in his messaging to the Ducks, whose nonconference slate saw the program's 46-game home win streak end against Boise State, before losses to Utah and OSU in the opening two weeks of Pac-12 play. The UO men have a rebuilt roster that features several transfers and freshmen — and the new Ducklings finally played at Arizona to the standards their coach had been setting.
"I think we made some steps, just coming together," sophomore point guard Payton Pritchard said. "And we competed harder. That was the biggest thing we needed to do."
Next up, the Ducks (12-6, 2-3 Pac-12) return home to host Southern California in Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2). Can they maintain their level of play against another top-flight set of Pac-12 opponents?
"I don't know; I hope so," Altman said Wednesday, prior to Oregon's practice. "Guys played harder. Communication was better defensively. We took some steps, but whether that continues is up to them."
Altman spent last week primarily harping on ball movement, after a .362 shooting night at Oregon State. The Ducks created good shots for their teammates at Arizona State, notching 17 assists on 28 field goals, and two days later at Arizona they shot .474 (27-of-57) with another 17 assists. After tallying 29 assists in the first three games of conference plays, Oregon had 34 in the weekend at Arizona.
Pritchard was a huge key to that. He had just six assists in the first three conference games, and didn't have a basket until several minutes after halftime in the losses to Utah and OSU. In the two games in the desert, Pritchard combined for 30 points and 13 assists.
He also, Altman said, set a more tenacious tone for the Ducks defensively.
"He'd been a little up-and-down, a little inconsistent," Altman said. "But I really liked the way he led the team."
Pritchard wasn't the only UO veteran to step up in Arizona. Graduate transfers Elijah Brown and MiKyle McIntosh combined for 75 points in the two games, with McIntosh grabbing 20 rebounds. They helped offset a weekend of light production by Oregon's freshmen, notably starters Troy Brown Jr. and Kenny Wooten, who combined for 13 points and 11 rebounds in the two games.
This weekend, the Ducks will need the entire team firing on all cylinders. Like the Arizona trip, this weekend includes a pair of top-50 programs nationally in USC and UCLA, which visits Matt Arena on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. The Ducks will face the Arizona and Los Angeles schools in consecutive weekends again next month, in Los Angeles and then home against ASU and Arizona over the final two weeks of February.
"You look at those four teams, they have experience, and they all have a number of NBA prospects," Altman said. "Those are the four teams we're all trying to catch."
The Ducks would prefer to be in that pantheon as well, but the slow start to Pac-12 play spoiled that. Splitting the weekend in Arizona helped them make up some ground, however, and they can make up some more this weekend against USC and UCLA.
Weeks and weeks of harping on ball movement, defensive communication and toughness on the boards by UO men's basketball coach Dana Altman seemed to register with the Ducks last week. Coming off a loss at Oregon State that dropped Oregon to 1-2 in the Pac-12, the Ducks remained on the road and upset No. 11 Arizona State a week ago before hanging tough with No. 17 Arizona in a narrow loss Saturday.
Altman was starting to feel like a broken record in his messaging to the Ducks, whose nonconference slate saw the program's 46-game home win streak end against Boise State, before losses to Utah and OSU in the opening two weeks of Pac-12 play. The UO men have a rebuilt roster that features several transfers and freshmen — and the new Ducklings finally played at Arizona to the standards their coach had been setting.
"I think we made some steps, just coming together," sophomore point guard Payton Pritchard said. "And we competed harder. That was the biggest thing we needed to do."
Next up, the Ducks (12-6, 2-3 Pac-12) return home to host Southern California in Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2). Can they maintain their level of play against another top-flight set of Pac-12 opponents?
"I don't know; I hope so," Altman said Wednesday, prior to Oregon's practice. "Guys played harder. Communication was better defensively. We took some steps, but whether that continues is up to them."
Altman spent last week primarily harping on ball movement, after a .362 shooting night at Oregon State. The Ducks created good shots for their teammates at Arizona State, notching 17 assists on 28 field goals, and two days later at Arizona they shot .474 (27-of-57) with another 17 assists. After tallying 29 assists in the first three games of conference plays, Oregon had 34 in the weekend at Arizona.
Pritchard was a huge key to that. He had just six assists in the first three conference games, and didn't have a basket until several minutes after halftime in the losses to Utah and OSU. In the two games in the desert, Pritchard combined for 30 points and 13 assists.
He also, Altman said, set a more tenacious tone for the Ducks defensively.
"He'd been a little up-and-down, a little inconsistent," Altman said. "But I really liked the way he led the team."
Pritchard wasn't the only UO veteran to step up in Arizona. Graduate transfers Elijah Brown and MiKyle McIntosh combined for 75 points in the two games, with McIntosh grabbing 20 rebounds. They helped offset a weekend of light production by Oregon's freshmen, notably starters Troy Brown Jr. and Kenny Wooten, who combined for 13 points and 11 rebounds in the two games.
This weekend, the Ducks will need the entire team firing on all cylinders. Like the Arizona trip, this weekend includes a pair of top-50 programs nationally in USC and UCLA, which visits Matt Arena on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. The Ducks will face the Arizona and Los Angeles schools in consecutive weekends again next month, in Los Angeles and then home against ASU and Arizona over the final two weeks of February.
"You look at those four teams, they have experience, and they all have a number of NBA prospects," Altman said. "Those are the four teams we're all trying to catch."
The Ducks would prefer to be in that pantheon as well, but the slow start to Pac-12 play spoiled that. Splitting the weekend in Arizona helped them make up some ground, however, and they can make up some more this weekend against USC and UCLA.
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