Eugene – The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball season has come out firing to start Pac-12 play, winning their first four games. Oregon is now 15-2 entering the Civil War against Oregon State this Saturday, after winning 13 games in a row. After two early season losses against a now top ranked Baylor team and Georgetown, they have bounced back in dominating fashion. However, they will be tested against the top teams in the Pac-12 conference.
To start Pac-12 play Oregon went up against a number two ranked UCLA team at the time and were able to pull out the 89-87 victory after Dillon Brooks hit a three-pointer near the end of regulation. UCLA figures to be at the top of the conference contending for a title when the season comes to a close.
According to the AP, Dana Altman talked about UCLA after the win “We won a home game by two points, and you’re supposed to win at home,” he said. “With their explosiveness, they’re still the team to beat. They’re still a level above us right now.”
The Ducks went on to demolish USC who is ranked in the top-25. It should be noted that both UCLA (17-1) and USC (15-3) came into their matchup with the Ducks undefeated.
They went on to beat both Washington schools last week by blowout and seem to be rounding in to form early in the season.
Arizona is off to a 16-2 start, 5-0 in conference and currently are ranked 16th in the nation. The Ducks will only play Arizona once in regular season play on February 4th at home.
Oregon now enters an easier stretch of the schedule as they face Oregon State (4-13), California (12-5), and Stanford (9-8) all at home.
Later in the season the Ducks will go on the road to rematch both UCLA and USC which figure to be games with a lot riding on the line in regards to the Pac-12 standings and NCAA tournament seeding.
As Altman mentioned earlier the Ducks still have to develop as a team in order to get to the level that they are shooting for. Oregon has the talent and depth to be an elite team this year. They have the ability to go deep in the NCAA tournament but it will need to grow as a team in order to repeat at Pac-12 conference champions. Oregon continues to climb in the national rankings and with mediocre talent in front of them, they should continue to rise as they continue to win. The biggest test will be in early February when they play Arizona, UCLA, and USC in consecutive games. Will see if Oregon is up for the challenge.
