Ducks Open Big Ten Play Against No. 6 USC

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon is set for its conference opener on Saturday, its first as a member of the Big Ten Conference, as the Ducks host No. 6 USC at Matthew Knight Arena on Big Ten Network.

Oregon remained unbeaten at home after defeating former conference foe Washington State 85-70 on Wednesday. Peyton Scott dropped a season-high 23 points while Amina Muhammad set a career high with 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Phillipina Kyei carded a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench, her second of the season and 30^th of her career.

The Ducks and Trojans will meet for the 79^th time in series history, dating back to 1981. UO has won 12 of the last 15 meetings, but has lost the last three after USC swept both matchups in Pac-12 action a season ago.

Single-game tickets are now on sale and available at GoDucks.com/WBBtix.

GAME #10
Oregon (7-2, 0-0) vs. No. 6 USC (7-1, 0-0)
Saturday, Dec. 7 | 1 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: Big Ten Network
Play-by-play: Ann Schatz | Analyst: Krista Blunk
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUJZ 95.3 FM/590 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats | Tickets

AT A GLANCE
Oregon opens conference play, and its first as a member of the Big Ten Conference, on Saturday as the Ducks host No. 6 USC at Matthew Knight Arena at 1 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

The series between the Ducks and Trojans dates back to 1981, with USC holding a 48-30 edge after sweeping both matchups during Pac-12 play a season ago. UO has won 12 of the last 15 meetings, but USC has won the last three in the series.

The Trojans mark the second top-15 team to visit Matthew Knight Arena, with the Ducks taking down then-12th-ranked Baylor, 76-74, on Nov. 10.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon remained unbeaten at home while snapping a two-game losing skid on Wednesday, taking down former conference rival Washington State 85-70 at Matthew Knight Arena.

Peyton Scott and Amina Muhammad combined for 45 points in the win, with Scott scoring a season-high 23 points while Muhammad set a new career high with 22 on 11-of-15 shooting. Phillipina Kyei added a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench, going 6-for-8 from the floor.

UO remained undefeated when winning the rebounding battle, outrebounding WSU 37-26, leading to a 50-32 edge in points in the paint. The 50 paint points marked a season high.

Oregon's bench turned in 25 points and has scored at least 20 in eight of nine games this season.

SCOUTING USC
USC (7-1), ranked No. 6 in the latest Associated Press poll, opens Big Ten play on a three-game winning streak after a 94-52 win over California Baptist on Tuesday, in which JuJu Watkins dropped a season-high 40 points.

Watkins, the preseason Big Ten player of the year, has paced the Trojans in scoring in all eight games and averages a conference-best 25.5 points per game (second in the country). Kiki Iriafen is sixth in the Big Ten at 18.4 points a night, as USC is No. 8 in the nation in scoring at 88.3 points a game.

Iriafen is the team's leader at 8.8 rebounds per game with Rayah Marshall next at 7.8 boards, helping USC to a plus-11.3 rebounding margin (No. 20 nationally).

As a team, the Trojans are third nationally and tops in the Big Ten with 7.6 blocks a game, while ranking second in offensive rebounds (16.5), third in scoring margin (plus-34.3) and third in steals per game (13.5).

INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday will be the 79th all-time meeting between Oregon and USC, with the Trojans holding a 48-30 series lead. USC has won the last three matchups, including both meetings a season ago, after the Ducks had won the previous 12 meetings. UO is 19-19 at home against USC with an 8-4 mark at Matthew Knight Arena. Head coach Kelly Graves is 13-5 against the Trojans over his previous 10 seasons at Oregon.

USC swept the season series a year ago, winning 68-54 at Galen Center and 88-51 in Eugene. The Trojans were ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in those contests. Phillipina Kyei logged double-doubles in both contests, including 10 points and 18 rebounds at Matthew Knight Arena. After being limited to 17 points in the first matchup, Pac-12 freshman of the year JuJu Watkins dropped 33 points in the second meeting, the most by any Trojan in the series history.

OREGON vs. RANKED TEAMS
No. 6 USC will mark the second ranked team Oregon will face this season after defeating then-No. 12 Baylor on Nov. 10, 76-74. The win snapped a 14-game skid to top-25 teams and gave head coach Kelly Graves his 46th ranked victory of his UO tenure. Last season, Oregon went 0-13 last season against top-25 opponents and its previous ranked win over then-No. 14 Arizona on Feb. 23, 2023 (73-59).

The Ducks are 24-109 (.180) against top-10 teams all-time, with its last top-10 victory coming at home against ninth-ranked UConn on Jan. 17, 2022 (72-59). Graves has guided UO to 16 wins over top-10 opponents over his previous 10 seasons in Eugene.

RACE TO 2K
Oregon guards Deja Kelly and Peyton Scott are in a battle to see who will be the first to join the 2,000-point club. Kelly, a graduate transfer from North Carolina, amassed 1,858 career points over four seasons (121 games) as a Tar Heel while Scott tallied 1,873 points in 112 career games in four years at Miami (Ohio). Scott is now in her sixth collegiate season after receiving a medical hardship waiver due to her season-ending knee injury suffered in the 2023-24 season opener.

» Scott entered the season No. 7 among active players in career points, while Kelly was next at eighth.
» As of Thursday, Scott sits in seventh with Kelly only 17 points behind in a tie for eighth, as each are less than 50 points from joining the 2K club.
» The duo is the only set of teammates in the top 10 in scoring among active players, and the pair sits as the top two players in the Big Ten in career points.
» Scott has five double-digit scoring efforts this season after a season-high 23 points, while Kelly has reached double figures five times, including three times surpassing 20 points to lead the team.
» Kelly led all players with 21 points against Nevada on 9-of-13 shooting and followed that up with a second 20-point effort in UO's win over Baylor.
» Both Kelly and Scott have now authored 100 career games in double figures, while Scott has 37 career 20-point games.

DUCK DEPTH
Oregon's depth, helped by seven transfers among nine newcomers, has keyed the Ducks' 7-2 start this season. Five different players have led (or tied) UO in scoring through nine games, including two off the bench in Nani Falatea and Elisa Mevius. The Oregon bench is averaging 28.6 points per game and has a plus-111 point differential in bench points on the season. Last year, UO averaged just 9.6 points a night from its bench and opponents outscored the Ducks' bench by 288 points.

» UO's bench has outscored its opponents in eight of nine games this season, and five times by double digits.
» Nine players are averaging at least 5.0 points per game, including three bench players, with Mevius leading the bench scoring at 7.8 points per game.
» The Oregon bench has scored at least 20 points eight times, and twice eclipsed the 40-point plateau. Last year, UO's single-game bench high was just 26 points while surpassing 20 points just twice.
» The Ducks have been led in rebounding by five different players, four of which are newcomers, this season. Deja Kelly, Phillipina Kyei and Amina Muhammad are the only players to lead the team in rebounding in multiple games.
» Head coach Kelly Graves has utilized five different starting lineups this season, with three Ducks making their first starts of the year against South Dakota State: Ehis Etute, Nani Falatea, Sarah Rambus.
» After missing the seasons' first six games due to international team duties and injury, Etute made her collegiate debut at the Hawai'i North Shore Showcase.
» Etute scored eight points to go with five boards in both contests, shooting a combined 50.0 percent from the floor.

MEVIUS THE MENACE
Incoming transfer Elisa Mevius was a menace in her two seasons at Siena. The 2024 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year racked up 135 steals last season to set both the Siena and MAAC single-season records, while her 4.5 steals per game ranked No. 2 in the country. She also produced Siena's first-ever triple-double last season with her 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists at Rider on March 7.

» Mevius earned her first start of the season Wednesday against Washington State after being the first player of the bench in five of the previous eight games, and leading the team in bench minutes per game (19.5).
» Over her last two games, she has dished out 11 assists while committing just three turnovers, as she tied her season high with six assists (one turnover) against WSU.
» Mevius scored the go-ahead layup with 22 seconds left in the Ducks' win over then-12th-ranked Baylor and converted an and-1 against Auburn with 27 second remaining, giving UO a 69-63 lead.
» Mevius scored 14 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 23 minutes off the bench in the season opener vs. California Baptist, playing the most minutes among reserves.
» With a team-best three steals against South Dakota State, she now has three or more steals in 40 of her 71 career games played, which is the third-most such games since the start of the 2022-23 season.

AMINA CATCHING FIRE
Junior forward Amina Muhammad, a Texas transfer, has come on over the last five games, turning in four double-digit scoring efforts in that span. She scored a career-high 22 points against Washington State on 11-of-15 shooting after dropping 14 on 7-of-8 from the floor in her previous game against South Dakota State. Muhammad is averaging 18.0 PPG while shooting 78.2 percent from the floor in that stretch. She has shot 50.0 percent or better in all nine games this season, and her 66.7 field goal percentage would rank sixth nationally if she qualified would rank sixth nationally if she qualified (NCAA requires 5.0 FGM per game and she sits at 4.7 FGM per game).

DUCK DEFENSE
Oregon has made life difficult for its opponents this season, particularly from the 3-point line. On the season, UO is allowing opponents to shoot just 28.8 percent from beyond the arc, and has allowed just three teams to shoot over 30.0 percent (Auburn, South Dakota State, Washington State). UO allowed North Texas and Grand Canyon to shoot a combined 7-of-30 over a two-game stretch (Nov. 12-18).

» Oregon is forcing teams into 17.1 turnovers per game, good for 10th in the Big Ten, while owning a plus-3.1 turnover margin, which is good for No. 7 in the league.
» The Ducks have turned in 10 steals in three of their last four games, and four times on the season. UO had just two such games last season.
» On the season, Oregon is averaging 9.1 steals a game this season (eighth in the Big Ten). It would mark the most on a per-game basis since averaging 10.2 in 2013-14.
» Oregon has finished with fewer or the same number of turnovers seven times this season.
» The Ducks have held an advantage in rebounding in seven of nine games this season (all wins) and have a plus-25 margin on the season (2.8 per game).
» UO has shot at a higher efficiency from the field eight times and five times from the 3-point line.