Ducks Need to Match Huskies' Intensity

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon men's basketball team hopes to put a little pep back into its step when the Ducks host Washington on Thursday at Matthew Knight Arena (7:15 p.m., FS1).

Washington (17-6, 7-3 Pac-12) enters the matchup with the Ducks (15-8, 5-5) coming off wins over both No. 9 Arizona and No. 25 Arizona State.

The Huskies' game against the Wildcats ended in thrilling fashion, when a loose ball turned into a three-pointer at the buzzer and a 78-75 a win. This is the first time that Washington has knocked off ranked opponents in back-to-back games since 2007, and UW was recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as the Division I Team of the Week.

The Ducks understand that they need to be prepared to match the intensity of the Huskies, who will still be riding their high from last week.

"Washington is playing at a high level," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "They're coming off one of those games where they throw in a three at the buzzer, and everyone knows what that does to your confidence."

The Ducks come into Thursday's game on a slightly different note than their opponents. Oregon dropped a disappointing 96-61 decision at Stanford last Saturday. While there were glimmers of hope from some of the younger players, like Troy Brown Jr., who recorded 15 points and six rebounds, the Ducks had a hard time responding to Stanford's red-hot shooting.

"They had guys that had not been hitting threes that came in and hit threes," said Altman. "The game turns when you get a big lead because everyone frees up and you get a chance to take shots that you're not used to taking."

While losing by that margin is not familiar territory to most players on the Ducks roster, graduate transfer MiKyle McIntosh drew on his experience at Illinois State to level with his younger teammates.

"This is basketball; you're going to win some, you're going to lose some," said McIntosh. "It's always how you respond. Your character is more in your response than the actual game, so I think how we come back in our next game and how we approach practice is important."

McIntosh said one of the things that can make an immediate difference is communication.

"When we communicate as a team we're better when it comes to rebounds, defense, and offense," said McIntosh. "I think when it comes down to it, communication is one of those things that builds trust in players and makes them better."

Aspects of the game that the Ducks can control, like communication, will be important as they put Stanford in their review mirror and keep battling through the rest of Pac-12 play.

"You just have to come compete every game," said guard Payton Pritchard.

Which is exactly what the Ducks are looking to do on Thursday.