Oregon Men’s Basketball – Syndication Server

Oregon vs. Stanford Instant Reactions: Ducks crush former Pac-12 foe

Oregon goes down to San Jose and gives Stanford a double-digit loss 76-61 Saturday night.

This game was scheduled because Wisconsin didn’t want to make one more West Coast trip this season.

Oregon was happy to fill in for the Badgers as the Ducks went down to San Jose, Calif. and handed a former Pac-12 foe, Stanford, a 15-point defeat to the tune of a 76-61 final.

The Ducks move to 11-1 on the season and will have one more non-conference game to play before the Big Ten schedule really ramps up.

This is also Oregon’s fourth win on a neutral court which bodes well for the Ducks in March and tournament time.

Oregon built up a comfortable lead in the first half and then ran away from the Cardinal in the second 20 minutes of action. The Ducks were up by 26 at one point before Stanford went on a run towards the end of the contest.

Oregon vs. Stanford Keys to the Game

It was a game billed as a battle of the bigs with Oregon’s Nate Bittle and Stanford’s Maxime Raunaud and while the Cardinal’s seven-footer got his points, the Ducks limited everyone else.
The Ducks shot the ball well for most of the night and it was a team effort as nine players scored points for Oregon.
Bittle and Keeshawn Barthelemy were able to extend the lead to double digits in the first half.
While the offense was on track, the Duck defense was making all the plays, limiting the Cardinal to just 24 percent shooting in the first half and TK for the game.
Oregon extended its lead to 26 in the second half as the Ducks ran away from the Cardinal. The score was as close as it was because Stanford went on a 13-3 run in garbage time.

Oregon vs. Stanford Players of the Game

Kwame Evans: 13 points, 10-of-12 FT
Jackson Shelstad: 10 points
Nate Bittle: 9 points, 9 rebounds
Maxime Raynaud: 20 points

Oregon vs. Stanford Notable Stats

Offensive Rebounds: Stanford 10, Oregon 9
Free Throws: Oregon 22-of-29, Stanford 7-of-13
Field Goals: Oregon 24-of-55, Stanford 23-of-62

What’s Next for Oregon Ducks?

Dec. 29 — vs. Weber State Wildcats
Jan. 2 — vs. No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini
Jan. 5 — vs. Maryland Terrapins
Jan. 9 — at Ohio State Buckeyes
Jan. 12 — at Penn State Nittany Lions

Oregon will have a break over the holidays before one more non-conference game and the Big Ten games ramp up. The Ducks host two good teams in Illinois and Maryland and then go on their first conference road trip of the season.

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Oregon basketball moves up into the Top 10 in latest coaches poll

The Oregon men’s basketball team is now a Top 10 team in the USA TODAY coaches poll.

We’re all used to seeing Dana Altman’s teams get off to a slow start, steadily improve over the course of the season and then be a dangerous team when February and March rolls around.

There hasn’t been a slow start this time.

Oregon is off to a 10-1 start with wins over ranked teams such as Texas A&M and Alabama. The Ducks have been rewarded with a Top 10 ranking in the latest coaches poll. Oregon is No. 10 in the nation as they moved up two spots from last week’s poll.

The Ducks had just one game last week, a 79-61 win over Stephen F. Austin at Matthew Knight Arena. It was a good bounce-back game after Oregon suffered its first loss of the year to UCLA.

Alabama is No. 7 in the poll while Texas A&M is right behind the Ducks at No. 11. Tennessee is the top-ranked team in the country with its 10-0 record.

Oregon is the top-ranked team in the Big Ten with Purdue coming in at No. 17 and the Bruins at No. 18. Michigan State is No. 19 and Michigan is No. 21.

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Ducks vs Lumberjacks Instant Reactions: Oregon runs away from SFA

In a choppy game full of turnovers, Oregon’s talent and depth wins out with an 18-point win over Stephen F. Austin.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Ducks will certainly take it.

In a somewhat choppy game that saw a combined 41 turnovers, Oregon was able to defeat Stephen F. Austin 79-61 inside Matthew Knight Arena.

For the first time this season, the Ducks were coming off of a loss and Oregon didn’t play up to its standards, but its depth and talent won over what was an inferior Lumberjack team that fell to 5-6 on the season. SFA shot just 15 percent from the three-point line, going 3-of-20 from long range.

The No. 12-ranked Ducks moved to 10-1 overall on the season and won’t see action for another six days as they are scheduled to go to San Jose, Calif. next Saturday to face former Pac-12 foe Stanford.

Beyond the win, Oregon’s focus is going to be on the health of forward Kwame Evans, Jr., who went down with an apparent knee injury in the second half.

Ducks vs. Lumberjacks Keys to the Game

Oregon got off to a hot start, or, more accurately, Stephen F. Austin got off to an extremely slow start. The Ducks were up 18-4 in the game’s first eight minutes.
SFA wasn’t exactly on target with most of their shots. The Lumberjacks were just 10-of-39 shooting in the first half and just 3-of-16 from long range. Oregon was a little better as the Ducks 11-of-23 from the field and 4-of-10 from three-point range.
Oregon had trouble rebounding the ball in the first half against the more physical Lumberjack team. The two teams were equal on the boards in the first 20 minutes, but SFA had a 14-6 advantage in the offensive rebound category.
It was a little better in the second half offensively for the Ducks as they scored 42 points after halftime, but Dana Altman won’t be happy giving up 38 second-half points.
Oregon shot the ball well for the night, at a 51 percent clip, but the 19 turnovers will keep the coaching staff up at night.
Towards the end of the game with about five minutes remaining, Oregon forward Kwame Evans, Jr. went down with a knee injury, but it didn’t look good. The sophomore couldn’t put any pressure on his left knee. It’s not known yet how serious the injury was.

Ducks vs. Lumberjacks Players of the Game

Brandon Angel: 15 points, 6 rebounds
Supreme Cook: 14 points
Jadrian Tracey: 14 points, 7 rebounds
Nate Bittle: 13 points
Matt Hayman (SFA): 17 points

Ducks vs. Lumberjacks Notable Stats

Offensive Rebounds: SFA 19, Oregon 13
Turnovers: SFA 22, Oregon 19
Points Off Turnovers: Oregon 26, SFA 11

What’s Next for Oregon Ducks?

Dec. 21 — at Stanford Cardinal (San Jose, Calif.)
Dec. 29 — vs. Weber State Wildcats
Jan. 2 — vs. No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini
Jan. 5 — vs. Maryland Terrapins
Jan. 9 — at Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ducks will now go into familiar territory as they go down to San Jose, Calif. to face an 8-2 Stanford team next weekend. After that, just one more non-conference game left with Weber State before the Big Ten season gets into full swing.

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Oregon Ducks named 3 seed in latest ESPN bracketology

In the latest ESPN bracketology outlook, the Oregon Ducks would receive an outstanding draw and play close to home out west.

If this is where the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team ends up in March, the Ducks wouldn’t complain in the slightest.

In the latest ESPN bracketology outlook by Joe Lunardi, the Ducks would be the No. 3 seed in the West Regional and play 13-seed Princeton in Seattle. The two western sites in the first two rounds are Seattle and Denver with the West Regional being playing in San Francisco. That scenario would be ideal for the Ducks and their fans should it come to fruition.

Oregon has plenty of chances to even improve on that 4-seed as they are 9-1 on the season with Big Ten play just around the corner. The Ducks got an early taste of conference action last week as they split their first two games with a win at USC, but then a heartbreaking loss to UCLA at home.

But the non-conference action isn’t over yet as the Ducks still have Stephen F. Austin, Stanford and Weber State still on the docket before Oregon welcomes Illinois to Matthew Knight Arena on Jan. 2.

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Oregon vs UCLA Instant Reactions: Bruins give Ducks first loss

Dylan Andrews’ three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left gave UCLA a 73-71 win over Oregon, which was the Ducks’ first loss of the season.

Oregon’s second-half rally finally fell short.

The Ducks have been known for a number of rallies in the last 10 minutes of games this season, but UCLA kept making shots and Oregon couldn’t recover in a 73-71 loss at home.

It was the first defeat for the Ducks on the season as they fell to 9-1 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten action.

Oregon did rally back and take a 71-70 lead on Jackson Shelstad’s three-pointer with 10 seconds left, but Dylan Andrews’ three-pointer that went off the glass with 0.4 seconds on the clock was the game-winner.

Winning with a three-pointer was fitting for the Bruins as they were hot all night long from the outside. They came into the game averaging 6.4 made threes, but tonight at MKA, UCLA knocked down 12 treys and they needed every single one.

Oregon vs. UCLA Keys to the Game

UCLA started out hot from the floor and per usual, the Ducks did not. The Bruins made five three-pointers early and held a 21-12 lead.
The referees were really looking at players taunting the opposing bench and each team had a player get a technical foul. UCLA’s Eric Dailey and Oregon’s Keeshawn Barthelemy were teed up.
After the Ducks found themselves down by nine, they increased the defensive pressure that got them back into the game.
Nate Bittle, who is has been off with his three-point, hit a couple of deep ones to give the Ducks their first lead at 27-26.
Oregon took a one-point lead at halftime at 33-32, but UCLA came out shooting well in the second half and eventually had a 53-47 lead.
But a Barthelemy three and a Jadrian Tracey three-point play and the game was tied once again at 53-53 with 10:27 left.
Before the furious last seconds, Oregon looked as if it tied the game on a goaltend, but after further review, they determined Shelstad’s shot was not coming down before Tyler Bilodeau blocked it. The video looked to show otherwise, but the three officials saw it differently.
UCLA held a lead for most of the latter half of the second half, but the Ducks hit a three-pointer, Shelstad’s only points in that half to give them a 71-70 lead with 10.6 seconds left.
After Oregon fouled with 6.4 seconds left for its sixth team foul, the Bruins found Andrews on the left wing and his three was just over Bittle’s fingers and went off the glass and in the hoop to win what was a crazy game inside Matthew Knight Arena.

Oregon vs. UCLA Players of the Game

Nate Bittle: 22 points, 10 rebounds
Keeshawn Barthelemy: 13 points
Jackson Shelstad: 11 points
Jadrian Tracey: 10 points
Eric Dailey, Jr. (UCLA): 19 points

Oregon vs. UCLA Notable Stats

Bench Points: Oregon 29, UCLA 22
Rebounds: Oregon 33, UCLA 23
3-pointers: Oregon 9-of-21, UCLA 12-of-23

What’s Next for Oregon Ducks?

Dec. 15 — vs. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
Dec. 21 — at Stanford Cardinal (San Jose, Calif.)
Dec. 29 — vs. Weber State Wildcats
Jan. 2 — vs. No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini
Jan. 5 — vs. Maryland Terrapins

Oregon will go back to non-conference play in a week with Stephen F. Austin and Weber State, but the Ducks travel down to San Jose to play a familiar team in the Stanford Cardinal. After the New Year will be two more conference games before they venture out on the road.

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Eric Musselman offers blunt assessment of USC’s season outlook

Eric Musselman knows he does not have a full plate of options at USC in his first season. The Trojans are fighting an uphill battle all the way.

It has not been the best start to the season for Eric Musselman and the USC men’s basketball team.

On Wednesday night, the Trojans fell 68-60 at home to Oregon in the first Big Ten game for both programs. With the loss, USC fell to 5-4 on the season. With only three more nonconference buy games left before conference play gets into full swing, things are not looking great for the Trojans in Year 1 under Musselman.

Following the loss, Musselman was asked by Luca Evans of the Orange County Register about his outlook for this year’s team, and he gave an extremely honest assessment.

“I don’t know how many Big Ten games we’re gonna win,” Musselman said. “What I do know is, if you put forth that effort—from a culture standpoint, you know—I don’t think any, you walk out of the building, you think the team played hard, you think the team played hard, you think the team gave great effort, and you think the team didn’t close the game. Which we didn’t.

“We were right there. And like I said, if you lead for 30 minutes, it’s the last 10 minutes of play that we’re not used to winning as a unit.

“There’s probably going to be other nights that we play really well, and whether we can walk away with the win or not, I don’t know in year one. But the effort was there, other than defensively, down the stretch.”

Given Musselman’s prior success at Arkansas and Nevada, the Trojans’ program should be in good hands long term. But if early results are any indication, USC fans might need to wait a year or two before the victories start to come in.

Perfect 8-0 record leads to Oregon Ducks landing in AP Top 25

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team cracked the AP Top 25 at No. 12 after three big wins in Las Vegas.

December just started and the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team is already making some waves.

The Ducks ended their Vegas trip with three straight wins to take the Players Era Festival championship with victories over Texas A&M, San Diego State State, and finally No. 9 Alabama.

Oregon is 8-0 as it heads to Big Ten play this week. That record, with the wins already on its tournament resume, led the AP Top 25 to include the Ducks in its rankings as they come in at No. 12.

Las Vegas has been kind to the Ducks, as they have won multiple Pac-12 tournaments in Sin City. This year has proven to be no different. Oregon had to rally from a double-digit deficit in both the Texas A&M and San Diego State games, but against Alabama, the higher-ranked team at the time of the game, it was a back-and-forth game. Nate Bittle’s putback dunk with 4.4 seconds left gave the Ducks their biggest win of the season.

Oregon won’t have much time to celebrate their recent exploits as the Ducks go to Los Angeles to open Big Ten competition at USC.

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Oregon vs Alabama Instant Reactions: Ducks win Players’ Era Festival

Nate Bittle’s rebound dunk with 4.4 seconds left secured Oregon’s 83-81 win over Alabama to take the Players Era Festival Championship.

Football is eating up all the headlines and for good reasons, but the Oregon Ducks basketball team is making some noise of its own.

Dana Altman’s team is 8-0 and will be highly ranked after the Ducks defeated No. 9 Alabama 83-81 to win the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Oregon also beat Texas A&M and San Diego State in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

This one against the Crimson Tide was a close one throughout. It was a one or two-possession game for most of the second half as the two teams traded baskets. But in the end, it was Nate Bittle’s rebound dunk with 4.4 seconds remaining that proved to be the difference.

Ducks vs. Crimson Tide Keys to the Game

Alabama came into the game as one of the better-scoring teams in the country and since the Ducks don’t mind an up-and-down game, one knew this was going to be a high-scoring affair.
The Crimson Tide was threatening to pull away early in the second half, but guard Latrell Wrightsell went down with a severe ankle injury, which hampered Alabama and allowed the Ducks to shoot their way back into the game quickly.
Despite the pace, in some ways, it was a battle of the bigs with Nate Bittle and Alabama’s own 7-footer Clifford Omoruyi Fortunately for the Ducks, Bittle was on his game and outplayed Omoruyi. Bittle wound up with 16 points to Omoruyi’s seven.
Oregon was up six with less than a minute left, but thanks to a three-pointer, free throws, a turnover and an offensive rebound, the Crimson Tide tied the game at 81-81 with 19.6 left.
On the Ducks final offensive possession, Keeshawn Barthelemy held the ball before driving the lane. His shot was off the mark, but Bittle was able to come in behind the Alabama’s defense for the put-back dunk with 4.4 seconds remaining.
Those four seconds are an eternity, but it was just enough time for Oregon. But the Crimson Tide’s attempt at a tie was just after the buzzer and ruled no good for the Duck victory.

Ducks vs. Crimson Tide Players of the Game

Keeshawn Barthelemy: 22 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds
Nate Bittle: 19 points, 9 rebounds
TJ Bamba: 12 points
Supreme Cook: 11 points

Ducks vs. Aztecs Notable Stats

Oregon: 29-of-66 FG (44 percent), Alabama: 27-of-64 FG (42 percent)
3-point FG: Oregon 5-of-17 (29 percent), Alabama 12-of-38 (32 percent)
Bench Points: Oregon 38, Alabama 31

What’s Next for Oregon Ducks

Dec. 4 — at USC
Dec. 8 — UCLA
Dec. 15 — Stephen F. Austin
Dec. 21 — Stanford (San Jose, Calif.)
Dec. 29 — Weber State

The Ducks will enter Big Ten play undefeated and highly ranked. Oregon will get a little taste of Big Ten action with some familiar faces in USC and UCLA. Non-conference action rules the rest of December before the Big Ten really ramps up after the New Year.

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Oregon vs San Diego State Instant Reactions: Ducks win again in Vegas

Oregon wouldn’t need a second half rally this time as the Ducks played wire-to-wire and defeated San Diego State 78-68 in Las Vegas.

This is only November, but the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team is playing like they’re ready for March.

After handing a 10-point loss to Texas A&M, the Ducks came out a day later and defeated San Diego State 78-68 in the second game of the Player’s Era Festival.

Oregon will play for the championship on Saturday against a team to be determined.

There would be no need for a rally on this day with the Ducks grabbing a lead late in the first half and played San Diego State even for the last 20 minutes of the game. The Aztecs pulled to within four midway through the second half, but never got any closer.

Ducks vs. Aztecs Keys to the Game

Oregon had a much better first half than it did against Texas A&M as the Ducks took a 41-31 halftime lead.
It was 29-29, but Oregon ended the half on a 12-2 run, thanks to Jackson Shelstad’s quick five points during that stretch.
Oregon dominated on the boards, again quite the difference from the first game. The Ducks doubled the Aztecs in the rebound column of the stat sheet, outrebounding San Diego State 24-12. Many of those were of the offensive variety. Oregon had 18 second-chance points to the Aztecs’ zero.
San Diego State made some adjustments and didn’t allow any more second-chance points, but every time the Aztecs made a run and threatened, TJ Bamba would hit a big shot.
Oregon constantly changed defenses on the Aztecs to keep them on their toes and for the most part, it worked. The Ducks changed zones and while SDSU hit a few outside shots, they weren’t nearly enough to bring the Aztecs all the way back.
Bamba played his best game as a Duck as he stayed out of foul trouble and made himself an offensive threat on the inside and outside.

Ducks vs. Aztecs Players of the Game

TJ Bamba: 22 points, 4-6 from the three-point line, 5 assists
Jackson Shelstad: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Keeshawn Barthelemy: 16 points, 3-4 from three
Brandon Angel: 12 points, 6 rebounds
Nate Bittle: 11 points, 9 rebounds
BJ Davis (SDSU): 18 points

Ducks vs. Aztecs Notable Stats

Oregon: 25-of-56 FG (45 percent), SDSU: 29-of-57 FG (51 percent)
Oregon: 10-of-22 (46 percent) 3-pt FG, SDSU: 6-of-19 32 (percent)
Rebounds: Oregon 41, SDSU 24

What’s Next for Oregon Ducks

Nov. 30 — TBD (Las Vegas, Player’s Era Festival)
Dec. 4 — at USC
Dec. 8 — UCLA
Dec. 15 — Stephen F. Austin
Dec. 21 — Stanford (San Jose, Calif.)

Should Oregon lose on Saturday, the Ducks have done enough to prove themselves as a Top 25 team with these two wins. Oregon is ready for conference action, which starts next week at USC.

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Oregon vs Texas A&M Instant Reactions: Ducks rally again for a big win

Oregon rallies from 10 points down in the second half to stun No. 20 Texas A&M 80-70 in the Player’s Era Festival.

The Oregon Ducks are quickly gaining the reputation of being a second-half team. The Ducks were down 13 against Portland and won and down 12 against the Beavers and won. But this was against No. 20 Texas A&M and Oregon was down 10 with 10 minutes to go.

Next came a 16-0 run to regain the lead and the Ducks held on in the end to defeat the Aggies 80-70 in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Oregon outscored Texas A&M 40-20 down the stretch to improve to 6-0 on the season.

Oregon vs. Texas A&M Keys to the Game

The first half wasn’t the prettiest half in Oregon history. The Ducks shot just 31 percent (9-of-29) from the field in the first half and just 4-of-18 from long distance.
Not only were the Ducks not shooting the ball well, the Aggies pounded them on the board to the tune of a 22-19 advantage, but at one point, it was a 21-12 lead for Texas A&M where rebounding was concerned.
Texas A&M got out to an early 8-2 lead and threatened to run away from the Ducks early. But Oregon was able to lock it down on defense and eventually be down one possession at the break at 32-29.
Supreme Cook was hit with a technical with 12 minutes to go and the Aggies had their biggest lead of the game.
After the technical foul, Oregon woke up on both ends of the floor and went on a huge 16-0 run to take a 64-58 lead with 6:29 remaining.

Oregon vs. Texas A&M Players of the Game

TJ Bamba: 18 points, 10-of-12 free throws
Jackson Shelstad: 16 points, 4 assists
Brandon Angel: 16 points
Jadrian Tracey: 11 points, 6 rebounds
Zhuric Phelps (TAMU) 20 points

Oregon vs. Texas A&M Notable Stats

Oregon: 25-of-55 FG (46 percent), TAMU: 22-of-68 FG (32 percent)
Offensive rebounds: TAMU 21, Oregon 11
Points in the paint: Oregon 34, TAMU 22

What’s Next for Oregon Ducks

Nov. 27 — vs. San Diego State (Las Vegas, Player’s Era Festival)
Nov. 30 — TBD (Las Vegas, Player’s Era Festival)
Dec. 4 — at USC
Dec. 8 — UCLA
Dec. 15 — Stephen F. Austin

The schedule doesn’t really let up in the next two weeks as the Ducks play NCAA tournament caliber teams such as San Diego State before Big Ten play begins next week with a quick road trip to Los Angeles and the USC Trojans.

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