Tag: oregon basketball

Kel’el Ware nearly falls out of first round in The Athletic’s 2023 NBA mock draft

It’s been a rough season for Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks, and it’s impacting the draft stock of freshman center Kel’el Ware.

Things are not good for Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks basketball program right now.

A win over Utah was sandwiched by two embarrassing, blowout losses to Colorado and at home against Arizona State, effectively pushing Oregon entirely out of the NCAA Tournament picture barring a surprise victory in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Injuries and inconsistent guard play have been the primary culprit for the Ducks this season, but one could argue a lack of dominance from freshman phenom Kel’el Ware has played a role as well.

The young center is averaging a respectable 8.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, showing flashes of the dynamic versatility that has made him such a highly regarded NBA draft prospect.

However, some of that shine has begun to wear off. Ware has mostly been mocked in the late lottery or at least the middle of the first round of the 2023 NBA draft, but the latest mock from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has Ware down at No. 26 overall, where he would go to the Houston Rockets.

From the article:

I remain very intrigued by Ware largely due to the versatility of skill set. He’s a superb athlete with great balance and movement skills at 7-foot tall. On top of that, he blocks shots, shoots 3s and even shows a couple of flashes as a passer. I’m not totally sure he made the right college decision because he often doesn’t get to play his best position (center) due to Oregon already having N’Faly Dante. You’d also like to see him finish with more force around the basket. But there are worse bets to take than a 7-footer with skill-set versatility and this type of athleticism. He’s a project big worth investing in, even if the numbers are a bit pedestrian at 8.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

While many Oregon fans want to see Ware stay and join the incoming class of 2023 – highlighted by KJ Evans, Mookie Cook, and Jackson Shelstad – it seems pretty likely he will still head to the NBA as long as he is projected to go in the first round.

It just might not be as high as initially projected.

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Pac-12 basketball report: Arizona State clear No. 3 in Pac-12 after drubbing Oregon in Eugene

.@Ducks_Wire has the story of Arizona State’s lopsided win at Oregon. The Sun Devils clearly lead USC in the battle for a third NCAA bid from the Pac-12.

The Arizona State Sun Devils are a problem for USC. They clearly lead the Trojans in the battle for a possible third NCAA Tournament berth from the Pac-12.

Arizona State went into Eugene on Thursday and throttled the Oregon Ducks, 90-73. While the loss is devastating for Oregon, it vaults ASU into a much more favorable position for a possible NCAA Tournament bid.

Ducks Wire covered the game:

“The Ducks once again put forth a lackluster display of effort and basketball shooting that would more quickly draw comparisons to a YMCA pick-up run rather than a D1 basketball game,” Ducks Wire’s Zachary Neel wrote. “Oregon finished the game shooting 42% from the field while allowing the Sun Devils to make 13 three-pointers, shooting 52% from the floor in total.

“It was another brutal loss for the Ducks on a season where there have been more than a few.”

Arizona State is currently the Pac-12’s best chance for a third NCAA bid after UCLA and Arizona, the top two teams in the conference. USC and Utah are jockeying for position below the Sun Devils. Utah got crushed by UCLA on Thursday night, while USC beat Colorado. If USC beats Utah on Saturday, the Trojans would improve their position relative to the Utes and could more fully set their sights on catching Arizona State.

Colorado and Oregon both took huge backward steps on Thursday, reinforcing the reality that the Pac-12 has only three teams with any realistic shot at an at-large bid outside of UCLA and Arizona: USC, Arizona State, and Utah. USC could move closer to Utah with a win on Saturday. The Trojans have a lot of work to do in order to catch ASU.

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MBB Recap: Ducks suffer another blowout loss, fall 90-73 to ASU

Another big loss for the Ducks, this time falling to Arizona State at home, 90-73.

It appears that Oregon’s win over the Utah Utes on Saturday night did a good job of making a lot of fans forget about the abysmal display that they saw against the Colorado Buffaloes in a blowout loss the Thursday before that.

Oregon’s 90-73 loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils on Sunday night brought the same feeling to the forefront.

The Ducks once again put forth a lackluster display of effort and basketball shooting that would more quickly draw comparisons to a YMCA pick-up run rather than a D1 basketball game. Oregon finished the game shooting 42% from the field while allowing the Sun Devils to make 13 three-pointers, shooting 52% from the floor in total.

It was another brutal loss for the Ducks on a season where there have been more than a few. Here’s how it went down.

Pac-12 Power Rankings: Arizona stumbles, UCLA takes over top spot

The UCLA Bruins sit atop the Pac-12 Power Rankings with a sparkly 5-0 record in conference play.

It’s the middle of January and only one team remains undefeated in Pac-12 conference play. That would be the UCLA Bruins, who are 5-0 after edging out a victory over rival (and future Big Ten partner) USC last week.

The move comes in part because of UCLA’s impressive performance this season, and in part because Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona Wildcats now have two conference losses. They dropped the opener to Utah back over a month ago, and just lost a stunner at home to Washington State in what might have been the biggest regular season win in Cougar basketball history.

The shakeup at the top comes without a ton of other movement in the middle of the Pac, although Colorado takes a few steps forward after blowing the doors off Oregon and winning seven of their last eight games.

Here is a look at the overall Pac-12 men’s basketball power rankings, with still about two months to go until Selection Sunday:

Oregon WBB recap: Turnover plague the Ducks in loss to Arizona

Oregon committed 20 turnovers and dropped a close one to Arizona, losing 79-71.

Kelly Graves is going to look at the stat sheet and see 20 turnovers and think that’s probably what cost his team a win in the desert.

He would be right because most of those turnovers were unforced, but Arizona took full advantage to defeat the Ducks women’s basketball team 79-71 in a raucous McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. Sunday night.

With the loss, Oregon falls to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play and Arizona improves to 14-2 overall and 5-1 in Pac-12 action.

This was a back-and-forth game all night long with 21 lead changes and nine different ties. But Arizona scored the last six points of the game.

The Ducks had four players in double figures and held the Wildcats’ Cate Reese to just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Unfortunately for Oregon, Arizona’s role players stepped up enough in order to get the job done.

MBB Recap: Ducks get much-needed 70-60 win over Utah to close out road trip

The Ducks got their biggest win of the season on Saturday, beating Utah 70-60 on the road to try and turn around their season.

After the frustrating and downright embarrassing result from Thursday night’s game against the Colorado Buffaloes, the Oregon Ducks responded well on Saturday, coming out with some fire and passion in a key 70-60 road win over the Utah Utes.

With the win, the Ducks kept their NCAA tournament hopes alive for the time being.

The Ducks stormed out in the first half and used some big minutes from not only N’Faly Dante and Kel’el Ware, but also Jermaine Couisnard, who was more impactful on the game than his stat line would show.

It was a much-needed win and a solid foundation point for what can hopefully be a turnaround in the Oregon season.

A midseason transfer from Illinois could fix Oregon’s guard depth

The Oregon backcourt scored just seven points against Colorado on Thursday, should the Ducks look into adding Illinois transfer Skyy Clark?

The Oregon Ducks put up a measly 41 points in an absolutely embarrassing effort against the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday. The starting backcourt duo of Will Richardson and Rivaldo Soares combined for seven points on 2 of 14 shooting.

Dana Altman’s team is clearly feeling the absence of Colorado transfer guard Keeshawn Barthelemy, who is out with a left foot injury and watched his former team dominate the Ducks from the tip.

Richardson and Soares have been inconsistent at best this season. While Jermaine Couisnard’s return is great news for Oregon (he had nine points in 20 minutes on Thursday) this team clearly needs help if it has any hope of making a postseason run.

Enter Skyy Clark. Clark is a true freshman who announced his intention to leave the Illinois program after just 13 games.

Clark initially committed to Kentucky while at Montverde Academy. Prior to his commitment to Kentucky, he listed Oregon among his top eight schools along with Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee State, UCLA, and USC.

Of course, Clark eventually decommitted from Kentucky and joined a school in Illinois that wasn’t on his finalists list — so there’s no indication he is still interested in coming to Eugene.

If he is, Oregon should at least put in a call, despite his up-and-down performance this season.

Clark started 12 of 13 games for the Illini, averaging seven points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.1 turnovers while shooting 33.3% from deep.

Of course, stats don’t tell the full story here, and Clark’s otherworldly athleticism and score-first mentality made him a top-40 recruit in the class of 2022. An ACL injury may have affected the start to his season, and there is reason to believe he could become a legit star in the right situation.

There is no confirmation Clark will be immediately eligible to play this season, meaning he may be transferring somewhere to start playing again in 2023-24.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Ducks, who are losing both Richardson and potentially Soares after this season. Barthelemy and Couisnard should be back next year, along with junior college transfer Brennan Rigsby and incoming freshman Jackson Shelstad.

However, adding Clark to this program is well worth exploring for Altman after another lackluster performance by the backcourt.

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MBB Recap: Oregon Ducks blown out by 27 points vs. Colorado

The Ducks got run out of the gym in Boulder, shooting 7% from 3FG and 57% from the FT line in a 27-point loss.

What started out as an awful game for the Oregon Ducks never got better.

It had to be a frustrating night for Dana Altman and the bunch. After news came out before the game that guys like Nate Bittle, Jermaine Couisnard, and Ethan Butler would finally be returning from injuries to be able to play, the Ducks were a complete no-show against the Colorado Buffaloes, getting blown out 68-41.

The Ducks scored just 19 points in the first half, going 0-for-7 from deep, and the poor effort and shooting continued throughout the second half.

On the first half of the mountain road trip, Oregon played some uninspiring basketball. They will face another tough test on Saturday night against the Utah Utes in what has now become a must-win game for the Ducks if they are going to have any hopes of making it to the NCAA Tournament.

Report: Dana Altman’s Ducks to get key pieces back healthy for road-stint vs. Colorado

The Ducks are getting some key pieces back on the floor at the right time, with Bittle, Couisnard, and Butler reportedly expected to play vs. Colorado.

One of the over-arching themes that Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks have had to deal with during the early part of this 2022-23 season has been injuries, and the fact that the team is playing down not just a man, but several key men throughout the first month-plus of the year.

That looks like it could be changing, though. According to a report from CBS Sports’ basketball insider Jon Rothstein, the Ducks are expected to get back a trio of important players on Thursday, with Nate Bittle, Jermaine Couisnard, and Ethan Butler all returning in a limited fashion. According to Rothstein, the three will still be on a minutes restriction but should see the floor against the Colorado Buffaloes.

This is major news for the Ducks, who have been without 4-5 of their top players for most of the season. Bittle came into the year with expectations of being a starter, but a foot injury that was suffered during the exhibition trip to Canada has held him out of practice. Meanwhile, Couisnard was one of the top transfer players that Oregon got this offseason, bringing him over from South Caroline.

With the Ducks starting the year at 8-6, suffering brutal home losses to both UC Irvine and Utah Valley, they are already in a situation where every game comes close to must-win territory. Getting these players back on the court as Oregon starts the tough mountain road trip to Boulder and Utah is a huge boost.

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Pac-12 Power Rankings: Conference cannibalism is already starting

Arizona and UCLA remain the teams to beat as the Pac-12 gets into the meat of conference play ahead of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

The calendar has flipped to 2023 and for college basketball that signals the official end of the nonconference season and the start of conference play.

For the Pac-12, it represents an opportunity for teams that underperformed outside the conference to right the ship and earn their way into the at-large conversation for the NCAA Tournament or do enough to win the Pac-12 Tournament and earn an automatic bid.

The Pac-12 is extremely top heavy this year. Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona Wildcats and Mick Cronin’s UCLA Bruins are two of the 10 best teams in college hoops.

Meanwhile, no one else in the league is even guaranteed a spot in the big dance. Arizona State, Utah, Oregon and USC are hanging on to aspirations of making a run and earning their way into the madness that is March.

Without further ado, here is a look at the updated Pac-12 power rankings here in the first week of 2023: