The next home game for undefeated No. 15 Oregon men’s basketball (6-0) won’t be until Tuesday, December 15.
This Friday, the Ducks will face a 6-1 UNLV team that Dana Altman describes as another “very athletic team,” in what expects to be a packed arena.
“It’s a good venue,” Altman said of the MGM Grand, where UNLV plays its home games. “It will be good for the guys to get there and get a little preview of what’s to come later in the year. It will be tough for us.”
The Pac-12 tournament will take place again at the MGM Grand in mid-March.
That following Monday, Altman and his team will take in Pearl Harbor’s historic grounds before tipping off against 7-2 Navy in front of a sea of passionate, uniformed fans.
Elgin Cook said the team has already met with a University of Oregon professor to go over the basic history of the area.
“It’s obviously a huge part of history,” Casey Benson said. “To have that opportunity to go to Hawaii and experience Pearl Harbor is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s going to be something special.”
“It will be a hostile environment,” Altman said. “For what was supposed to be a neutral game, probably not going to be very neutral. It’s a long trip, but one we need to make. Pearl Harbor day is still a very important day for a lot of people.”
Oregon’s first road trip of the year will tell a lot about the limits of this confident nine-man roster.
It will answer key questions…
Can this team learn to not blow leads?
Does this team deserve a top 15 ranking?
“I have no idea how we stack up,” Altman said. “All I know is that our team has a lot more. We should be playing better than we are.”
Can Dillon Brooks anchor this offense while it patiently waits for Villanova graduate transfer Dylan Ennis and Jordan Bell to get back up to speed from lengthy foot injuries?
According to Altman, Ennis’ timetable for return is roughly set to around Christmas, while Bell, who was seen shuffling threw cone drills before Wednesday’s practice, still has an undetermined target date. The team is being as cautious as possible considering both have the potential to play at the next level.
“Those things are slow and we’ve got to be real cautious,” Altman said. “Those guys have futures in basketball. It’s not just about this year, it’s about their future. We will not play them before they’re ready.”
Last season, Oregon waited until Pac-12 play to hit the road for the first time. They ended up dropping two straight at the Palouse (108-99 OT) and in Seattle (85-77).
You could argue these losses gave the team a wake up call.
Behind Joe Young’s Pac-12 Player of the Year campaign, the Ducks finished on a 16-3 hot streak that winded down to a closely contested 72-65 ending against the runner up Wisconsin Badgers in the Sweet Sixteen.
So far, Altman’s limited rotation has found ways to overcome ranked Baylor and tournament hopeful Valparaiso on national television, giving them a level of legitimacy. It hasn’t been pretty at all times, but they’ve gladly taken the W’s, completing an early season home stand.
Since Altman arrived in 2010, his teams have consistently had an important stretch of road games that led to better long term results, especially in the conference tournament. In those last five seasons, the Ducks have managed two finals appearances, winning one against UCLA in 2013 by a 78-69 final.
This upcoming stretch will provide rare windows of opportunities for freshman start to take on sophomore level responsibility and veterans become leaders under the big lights.
Expectations are high and pressure is starting to boil. It’s time to see what this team is truly made of.
“It’s always a little tougher on the road,” Altman said. “Guys got to make extra plays and their focus has to be sharper. Definitely, the margin of error is smaller on the road and that’s been proven over the years for our team, any team. December, we’re on the road quite a bit, so it will be good for our team to see where we’re at and to play in front of fans that aren’t cheering for us.”
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim