The Oregon men’s basketball team may have edged USC at home 75-67 to snap its two-game losing streak, but it wasn’t in good fashion. Sure, the bottom line was to win this game and get back on track after starting Pac-12 play with a 2-3 record, but there were a lot of apparent issues on both ends of the floor.
This forced the Ducks to once again, find a way to win.
“We definitely got room for improvement, a lot of room for improvement,” Jalil Abdul-Bassit said. “I feel like we could have beat this team by a lot more.”
Beginning the game with a 16-2 advantage, the Ducks looked like they were ready to keep the Trojans winless in the conference play. Shots were going in and they were playing good team defense through the first five minutes. But as the game dragged on, the Trojans quickly got back on track and got themselves back into the game.
Said Abdul-Bassit: “I think we got a little ‘lax coming out because we were up by so much.”
They even tied the game at 61-61 with 5:40 to go. The Trojans, who are the youngest team in the conference, boasted four players in double-figures.
While big leads like the one the Ducks had to start the game don’t often last, there were offensive and defensive breakdowns that allowed the Trojans to keep things interesting. Most of the damage dealt had to do with a lack of urgency.
As the game slowed down, so did the Ducks offense. Their defense also started to deteriorate. In many of their games so far this season, this has been their biggest issue: valuing every possession.
Dana Altman used a number of different lineups throughout this game. And while it comes with good reason, it still appears that he hasn’t found a reliable rotation. The Ducks have 12 conference games remaining.
“I feel that we are,” Abdul-Bassit said in reference to the Ducks still figuring out their rotation. “(But) Coach goes off of who’s playing well at the time, who’s giving him defense.”
Another recurring issue for the Ducks has been the peaks and valleys of Joseph Young. Young, who went 6 of 20 from the floor tonight, did lead the team with 19 points, but he also missed his fair share of open looks.
Starting guard Ahmaad Rorie also struggled to get it going. Rorie, who has been sharing the point guard role with Casey Benson, has been starting as of late, but tonight, he finished with just four points and three assists in 22 minutes. With the level of uncertainty at other positions, the Ducks are still looking for better play from their two guards.
“We’re trying to split them up a bit,” Altman said. “They both were solid, but I need improvement.”
Simply put, the Ducks, who are set to face a 3-3 UCLA team this Saturday, still have a long way to go and much room to grow.
“It’s not all going to come in one night, but it’s going to work over time,” Dillon Brooks said about the Ducks’ progression. “We just got to keep going, step on their throat and beat them by 20 (next time).”
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim