Ducks Take Win Streak On The Road

Following Saturday's victory over Stanford, Dana Altman wasn't in much of a mood to celebrate, despite the fact his Oregon men's basketball team had won its school-record 16^th straight game.

Altman, the Ducks' never-quite-satisfied head coach, was disappointed with his team's 19 turnovers as well as its play after halftime, when the Cardinal actually outscored the home team by a point. Also, Altman knew the coming weeks wouldn't reward living in the past.

After playing in the friendly confines of Matthew Knight Arena three of the first four weeks in Pac-12 play, the schedule is about to take a tough turn for the Oregon men. The Ducks will be on the road for seven of their last 11 conference games, beginning at Utah on Thursday (7:30 p.m. PT, FS1).

"We've been winning at home, and now we've got to figure out how to win on the road, against good teams," UO sophomore Tyler Dorsey said. "It's going to really test us, and show what kind of team we need to be going forward."

The Ducks (18-2, 7-0 Pac-12) left for the Mountain region newly rechristened a top-10 team in the country, but also not necessarily the same team they hope to be going forward. Junior Dillon Brooks, who suffered a sprained foot last week against California and didn't play against Stanford, will be a game-time decision to play against the Utes (14-5, 5-2), Altman said Tuesday.

Brooks did not practice Monday, and was only scheduled to do light shooting Tuesday, which he did during Oregon's warmup session that coincided with Tuesday's media availability. After sporting a walking boot on the bench Saturday, Brooks was back in sneakers Tuesday, and moving well as he put up shots.

Still, Altman said, that would likely be the extent of his on-court activity prior to the Utah game.

"We probably won't practice him at all here the next couple days," Altman said of Brooks, one of four Ducks averaging double-figure scoring. "And then see if he can help us in the game."

The Utes find themselves in a similar situation. Junior forward David Collette has been dealing with concussion symptoms, and didn't play in Utah's road sweep of the Washington schools this past week. He averages 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and shoots .636 from the field.

Utah was picked eighth in the Pac-12 preseason poll, as the program moved on without familiar faces Jaob Poeltl and Jordan Loveridge. But the Utes are off to an encouraging start to conference play, their only losses to Arizona and UCLA – the latter by a single point.

"They played UCLA very hard," Dorsey said. "They probably figure they could have won that game. Definitely they're going to look at us as one of those games they need to get into March Madness."

Oregon was in the preseason conversation as a team that would make an extended run in March, before starting 2-2. The 16-game win streak has the Ducks back in the top 10 as of Monday, but players are trying to avoid looking ahead past each upcoming game.

"We're staying hungry," senior guard Dylan Ennis said. "We're not getting comfortable. Coach is on us every day; he's not giving us any days off in practice. I think it's good for us to keep grinding it out."

The Ducks have done a good job of taking it one game at a time in recent weeks – primarily at home. Now they'll see how well that mindset travels.

"Where we're at now is not good enough to withstand that challenge, of those seven road games – and the four home games we have left (including Feb. 4 against Arizona)," Altman said. "So my constant message is, we've got to get better."