EUGENE – After the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team went to the elite eight last year in the NCAA tournament, the team hasn’t quite lived up to level of play everyone expected coming into this season. The Ducks came into this year ranked 5th (all-time high) in the nation according to the AP Top 25 poll. The hype was expected after Oregon returned many of the core players that carried them deep into the NCAA tournament.
Oregon has started the season 9-2. They lost a lopsided game to a Baylor team that is ranked 4th in the latest AP poll but that was only the second game of the year. Also, on the early season resume is an upset loss to Georgetown who has already lost four games this season. Other than a couple decent opponents in the Maui Invitational, the Ducks haven’t played top level teams in non-conference play. Oregon currently ranks 22nd in the AP poll.
After winning the Pac-12 tournament last season, Oregon was picked to win it again this year in preseason media polls. The Ducks have two more non-conference games before Pac-12 play begins December 28th against UCLA who are ranked 2nd nationally. USC is ranked 24th and Arizona 19th respectively so the Pac-12 is going to be no pushover for the Ducks this season.
Dillon Brooks, a preseason All-American and the star of this team is still working his way back, coming off the bench after having foot surgery in the offseason. Brooks made a lot of big plays for this team last season and his playmaking ability and leadership are going to be needed. Getting Brooks back into his regular minutes is an ongoing process as he is playing about 13 less minutes a game so far this season, compared to last year.
Senior, Chris Boucher has stepped up so far for his team averaging 14.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks a game. Jordan Bell, a junior power forward is averaging 8.6 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks a game. Tyler Dorsey is averaging 13.5 points a game so far this season. Freshman, Payton Pritchard from West Linn HS is contributing 7.8 points and 3.7 assists per game.
Dana Altman said last Sunday after a 65-56 win over Alabama, according to the Associated Press “We’re stuck in the mud a little bit and there are a lot of things we have to work on, We found a way to win. I don’t sense that urgency that the coaching staff has amongst the team, so we’ve got to do a better job.”
Oregon has struggled with turnovers, defensive consistency and offensive flow. This program has the talent and the depth to be a really good team this season but continues to work on some apparent issues that Altman alluded to. Pac-12 play will be interesting to watch as Oregon has some tough opponents early in conference play. Expect the Ducks to play better as the season moves forward as they continue to incorporate Dillon Brooks and this team reaches to find the urgency that carried them an elite eight appearance last year.
Oregon plays the UNLV Rebels this Saturday, December 17th in Portland at the Moda Center at 8pm.
