Only one team played 40 minutes of defense and that team wasn’t UTEP.
Oregon played a complete game on the defensive end of the floor and got hot in the second half to defeat the Miners 71-49 inside Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks are now 6-2 on the season.
UTEP was able to hold the Ducks to just 28 points in the first half as they overplayed the ball and stuck their arms in passing lanes, making it difficult for the Ducks to find open shots and UTEP was down just three at 28-25 at the halftime break.
But the Ducks made some adjustments as there was a lot more ball movement and players drove the lane for easier shots. On the defensive end, Oregon played straight up and forced UTEP, who came in as a poor shooting team, to shoot over a taller and more athletic defense and it worked for the most part. The Ducks held the Miners to just 36 percent shooting and 4-of-15 from downtown.