Tag: Dana Altman

Dana Altman gives injury update on N’Faly Dante after scary fall

Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman gives an injury update on N’Faly Dante after taking a hard fall in the win over Arizona.

The Oregon Ducks pulled off a historic upset on Friday night, beating the No. 6 Arizona Wildcats and advancing to the championship game in the Pac-12 Tournament. After falling down 30-11 in the first half, the Ducks put together a masterful second half that led them to the 67-59 victory.

That outcome looked very much in doubt early in the game, especially after Oregon’s star N’Faly Dante went down with what looked like a brutal injury just one minute into the game. Dante went up for a block, and got undercut, coming down directly on his hip/lower back area.

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The center had to be carried off of the floor, and he was out of the game and in the locker room for a large portion of the first half while the Ducks tried to keep the game within reach.

Dante ended up returning to the game and went on to have 14 points and 10 rebounds in a comeback effort for Oregon. After the game, head coach Dana Altman gave an update on Dante’s injury status going forward.

“Dante took a terrible fall there, and they took him back for X-rays,” Altman said after the game. “Everything was negative, but he’s got a bad bruise on his tailbone. So he’ll be a little stiff in the morning. Hopefully, by 6 o’clock he will be loose.”

Oregon will need Dante as healthy as possible in order to take down whichever opponent they face — No. 2 seed Washington State is playing No. 3 seed Colorado in the second semifinal currently on Friday night.

The Ducks are 1-1 this year against Washington State, and 0-2 against Colorado.

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Oregon’s Dana Altman shuts down retirement rumors ahead of Pac-12 tournament

Dana Altman might not be going anywhere anytime soon.

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team is the 4-seed in the Pac-12 Conference tournament. If the Ducks string together a win or two, they could get a bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Amidst all of that, there have been some puzzling rumors swirling about head coach Dana Altman potentially retiring. However, Altman discussed that chatter, per Miles Dwyer of Ducks Wire:

“I have no idea who said that. I’m not sure who said it; I know I didn’t. I have talked to nobody. Whoever is saying that is pure speculation. I’m not going anywhere — unless the school tells me I’m not here — but no, I’m not retiring that’s for sure.”

Altman has been there for 13 seasons, but the Ducks might miss out on the Big Dance once again, which isn’t what fans were hoping for. All in all, it would be a huge surprise if he retires or goes elsewhere.

Follow Ducks Wire for more coverage. 

Report: Oregon basketball in talks to participate in NIL-driven in-season tournament

The Oregon Ducks are reportedly one of several teams in talks about participating in an in-season basketball tournament in 2024.

With name, image, and likeness currently altering the landscape of college sports, it seems that each week brings a news item that we haven’t experienced before, whether it be in basketball or football.

The latest news that came out this week is that a new in-season tournament could be coming to college basketball, which will potentially offer up to $2 million in NIL deals to participating teams. The first news of this in-season tournament was reported by Front Office Sports. 

According to On3, the Oregon Ducks are one of the teams who have been in talks of participating in this tournament, along with big-name schools like Alabama, Duke, Kansas, Syracuse, and Virginia, among others.

The tournament is reportedly going to be held in Las Vegas at MGM Arena over Thanksgiving weekend, starting in 2024.

A source told On3 that every team in the tournament is guaranteed at least $1 million in NIL dollars for participating. The money will either be funneled to participating school’s NIL collective, boosters or a school’s NIL entity. Programs will distribute the cash at their own will. The only caveat is dollars must go to the current team.

There are still a lot of details to sort out over the coming months, but you have to think that it would be a nice recruiting chip for Dana Altman and his team to be able to tell prospective recruits or transfer portal players that they have a chance for a big pay-day by joining the Ducks going into the 2024 season.

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‘I’m not going anywhere;’ Dana Altman addresses retirement rumors

Dana Altman squashes rumors that he will be retiring after the 2023-24 season.

In the past few weeks, multiple national news outlets have suggested that Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman’s retirement could be looming after the 2023-24 season. After practice on Tuesday, Altman squashed those rumors.

“I have no idea who said that,” Altman said about the supposed retirement buzz. “I’m not sure who said it; I know I didn’t. I have talked to nobody. Whoever is saying that is pure speculation. I’m not going anywhere — unless the school tells me I’m not here — but no, I’m not retiring that’s for sure.”

Altman has coached at Oregon for the last 13 seasons, including this one. Before coming to Eugene he was the head coach at Creighton for 15 years, with 4 years at Kansas State before that.

Altman has come under some fire this season since the Ducks are likely to miss the NCAA tournament in 2024 for the third consecutive year. The season began strong for Oregon, but the Ducks haven’t been able to sustain consistent enough shooting or defense to win the key games.

Despite the recent struggles though, there is no inclination that Oregon is close to moving on from Altman. When things are all said and done, Altman will be a Hall of Fame coach, and he’s made such an impact for the Ducks during his time at Oregon.

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MBB Recap: Ducks survive to beat the Beavers in Corvallis

The Oregon Ducks beat the Oregon State Beavers 60-58 on Saturday night.

The Oregon Ducks nearly fumbled a double-digit lead to Oregon State, but they survived to beat the Beavers on the road. There were a lot of problems with Saturday’s game, but a win is a win, and the Ducks can be happy they got the job done.

With 6:19 to go in the game, Oregon led 51-38, but five minutes later the Beavers had tied the game 58-58. During that stretch, Oregon’s offense went ice cold, due to the Ducks holding the ball for two-thirds of the shot clock each possession.

With just over 30 seconds to play, Jermaine Couisnard missed a floater with the shot clock winding down. Brennan Rigsby grabbed the rolling rebound and put up a shot. His shot was no good, but the Ducks grabbed another offensive rebounded and N’Faly Dante slammed home a dunk to put the Ducks up by two with one second to go.

Bracketology Update: Oregon’s hopes at March Madness are on life support

After a hot start to the Pac-12 season, the Oregon Ducks have gone ice cold, dropping them out of NCAA tournament contention.

After a loss last Saturday to Washington State, the Oregon Ducks have fallen out of ESPN’s Bracketology, and they’ve almost fallen out of NCAA Tournament contention altogether. After starting the conference season 5-0, the Ducks are now 8-5 and fourth in the Pac-12 standings.

For a while, Oregon was sitting on the bubble of March Madness. Just a few key wins away from making the tournament. But they couldn’t win the must-wins, and now they’ve fallen off the NCAA tournament bubble. With only seven games left on their schedule, Oregon’s hopes for an at-large bid are nearly gone altogether.

The Ducks’ problems began around the time N’Faly Dante was returning from injury. During his absence, Oregon employed small ball strategies which played to their strengths. But since his return, the Ducks’ offense has become one-dimensional, with players constantly throwing the ball to Dante in the post, hoping he’ll make a play. Dante is not the issue. He’s one of the best producers on the team, but the rest team him can’t seem to work out how to play with him.

On Saturday, the Ducks will head up the road to Corvallis to play the Oregon State. The Beavers sit near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings, but they were able to beat Arizona early this year. A win would help boost the Ducks’ seed in the Pac-12 tournament, which is likely the only route Oregon can still take to March Madness.

Dana Altman unsure about Nate Bittle’s avalibility for the rest of the season.

Nate Bittle may be kept of the court for the remainder of the season due to a lingering illness.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman is unsure whether Nate Bittle will return to the court for the Ducks this season, despite him being questionable to play in Oregon’s last few games.

After missing most of the first half of the season, Bittle looked primed for a healthy return to the court in late January. His injury was to his wrist, so he was able to maintain his conditioning through his absence. But after returning for limited minutes in two games last month, Bittle was forced off the court by an illness. Initially, the illness was just expected to keep him sidelined for a game or two, but now it appears he may be out for an extended period.

On Tuesday, Altman spoke on the Oregon basketball in-house radio show about Bittle and the shrinking pool of available players for Oregon.

“We kept anticipating Nate was going to be back and I’m not sure he’s going to,” Altman said. “Then with Keeshawn (Barthelemy) out we’ve got to do a better job of delegating and distributing those minutes, keeping our guys fresh so we can finish games a little stronger.”

Oregon has seven games left on its schedule, but unfortunately, an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament is likely already out of the Ducks’ reach. But if Oregon can start finishing games stronger as Altman suggested, they’ll finish the regular season with a high seed for the Pac-12 tournament, improving their chances at a conference championship and automatic bid for March Madness.

“Right now we’ve got these eight guys, and then we’ve got Gabe (Richle) and (James Cooper) I can put it, so we’ve got those 10 guys ready to go,” Altman said. “It’s kind of what we’ve got the rest of the season. We kind of know that. As a coaching staff, we got to make adjustments now.”

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Bracketology Update: Oregon handles Washington but falls off the bubble

Oregon’s win over Washington didn’t do much for their bubble watch, but a loss would have been disastrous.

After losses to Arizona and UCLA, the Oregon Ducks window to qualify for the NCAA tournament narrowed considerably. Now, every game ahead of Oregon on the schedule is a must-win game. The Ducks’ only other route to March Madness is winning the Pac-12 championship.

On Thursday night, the Ducks did their job and beat Washington at home. It was Oregon’s only game between the Tuesday and Friday updates of Joe Lunardi’s ESPN Bracketology, and although the Ducks won, they fell out of the “next four out” category of Lunardi’s rankings.

Washington is 4-8 in conference play this season and they sit near the bottom of the Pac-12, so it makes sense that beating them doesn’t do much for Oregon’s resume. Still, it was an important win, because a loss would’ve meant curtains for the Ducks’ hope for an at-large bid.

On Saturday afternoon, Oregon will host Washington State for the second game of their homestand, which will be a more impactful game for the Ducks resume if they can win. The Cougars are tied with Oregon for second place in the conference, and they are one of three Pac-12 teams in the 68-team field in Lunardi’s current rankings. The Cougars score at a high rate, and the Ducks defense has been struggling recently, so Saturday’s game will certainly be a challenge, but if the Ducks can win, they should be back on the bubble.

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An NCAA tournament bid hinges on a must-win game vs. Washington State for the Ducks

The Oregon Ducks are on the NCAA Tournament bubble midway through February, with a big opportunity vs. Washington State coming up.

This is unfortunately a position that fans of the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team have become familiar with over the past few years.

It’s nearing the middle of February, and Dana Altman’s squad is currently fighting hard to secure a bid into the upcoming NCAA March Madness Tournament. The Ducks are currently 16-7 on the year with an 8-4 record in the Pac-12. Despite being tied for second place in the conference, Oregon is still on the outside looking in when it comes to the tournament bubble.

However, they’ve got a great chance to pick up a massive win this coming weekend with Washington State coming to town. The Cougars are currently tied with the Ducks for 2nd in the Pac-12 with wins in seven of their last eight games. The NET rankings currently have Washington State just inside the bubble, but this game between the Cougars and Ducks on Saturday could be meaningful for whoever wins, according to ESPN.

Four losses in its previous six conference games made Oregon a tough call for inclusion when Bubble Watch made its 2024 debut. Ultimately what made the difference was that the Ducks have a feasible, if narrow, path from where they are now (outside the field) to a bid. An excellent start would be a win against Washington State in UO’s next game. Dana Altman’s group already defeated the Cougars in Pullman. Securing the season sweep over WSU would improve Oregon’s profile ahead of an upcoming three-game road swing.

The Ducks have been dealing with some injuries and absences over the last few games, losing Keeshawn Barthelemy and Mookie Cook for the season while Nate Bittle has missed three games with an illness. There’s a hope that Bittle can return for Saturday, though, which would be big for Oregon’s chances.

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Previewing the Washington men’s basketball game with UWHuskiesWire

We sat down with UWHuskiesWire.com editor Roman Tomashoff for the first time and discussed the upcoming men’s basketball game.

A sneaky big game in the Pac-12 men’s basketball schedule is set to occur at Matthew Knight Arena with Oregon hosting Washington in a Thursday night clash.

Both teams need the win in the worst way as Oregon finds itself on the bubble for the NCAA tournament and the Huskies are trying to keep their season alive and find some consistency and possibly save coach Mike Hopkins’ job.

It’s also our first chance to talk with the newest member of the CollegeWire family as UWHuskiesWire.com went live last week. Editor Roman Tomashoff was kind enough to answer some key questions leading up the the Ducks and Dawgs meeting up on the hardwood for the second time this season.

Naturally, we first talked about what needs to change in order for the Huskies to return the favor and win in Eugene. Oregon was able to defeat Washington in Seattle 76-74.

“The Huskies need to find a way to lock down on defense and come up with stops down the stretch,” Tomashoff said. “While the Huskies are second in the conference in scoring, they’re also last in the Pac-12 in scoring defense after abandoning the 2-3 zone this season. Even though that was probably the right move for Hopkins’ team, the defense has struggled without center Franck Kepnang.”

Oregon knows all too well what it’s like to play with its center as N’Faly Dante and Nate Bittle have missed a significant portion of the season. But unlike Hopkins, Duck coach Dana Altman has been able to weather the storm and find ways to win. It might cost Hopkins his job after this season says Tomashoff.

“It’s tournament or bust for Mike Hopkins,” he said. “If he can find a way to salvage the season and make the NCAA Tournament there’s a chance that he’ll be able to save his job. But after what would be a fourth straight disappointing season, there isn’t a lot to justify keeping him around if he can’t continue to perform.

The Ducks and Huskies are scheduled to tip it off at 7 pm on Fox Sports 1.

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