After a surprising sweep of the Washington schools this weekend, Oregon men’s basketball coach Dana Altman compared his team’s performance to a given day in the classroom.
His team dominated Washington State Thursday night, and came back focused in the upset over No. 20 Washington Saturday afternoon, proving the Ducks have turned the corner from bottom-dweller to possible contender in the Pacific-10 Conference.
“In any situation, a little success goes a long way,” Altman said. “You’ve got a student, you study really hard for a test and you pass the test. You do really well on it; you get all fired up. You know the next test you’ve got a little more confidence.”
Oregon will certainly face a tough test in traveling to Southern California to take on USC and UCLA this week, but building off a tremendous home stand will help the Ducks as they move forward.
To senior Joevan Catron, who led the Ducks with 20 points and nine rebounds against Washington and 17 points and nine rebounds against the Cougars, the turnaround these past few weeks has been more than just X’s and O’s.
“Personally, I think it’s chemistry and playing with each other,” Catron said, “and now we’re starting to buy into the system. Defense, being a pressure team, we know that we’re small, but we have to rebound as a team and it’s starting to pay off.”
Though Oregon lost the rebound battle to Washington, 35-31, the Ducks were able to maintain a presence in the paint despite the Huskies’ size advantage.
Washington senior Matthew Bryan-Amaning, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward from London, played 34 minutes while leading all scorers with 21 points and five rebounds. Not since Jan. 6 had anybody eclipsed the 20-point mark against the Ducks, as Terrence Ross and Isaiah Thomas both accomplished the feat in Seattle that night.
“He was definitely in the scouting report,” Catron said. “He’s a load on the block. He has size, he’s quick, but we just tried to keep him out of his sweet spots.”
Altman said he was pleased with the way his team handled the Huskies’ deep and physical roster, especially in forcing 15 turnovers while only giving up eight. He also pointed out Oregon’s 21 assists on 28 buckets in the game.
“That just tells me they’re trusting each other,” Altman said. “They’re trying to make plays for each other. Those are two really good stats, I think.”
It did take Oregon some time to get back into its rhythm early on. The team opened the game with four straight misses from behind the three-point line, spurring Altman into a quick timeout. Urging his Ducks to crash the boards and make better decisions offensively, Oregon came out with a 10-2 run to get things in motion.
Sophomore E.J. Singler, who finished with 16 points, including four late free throws to put the game away, nailed a three to spark the initial run, and seemed to make the right plays when Oregon needed them most.
Junior college transfer Tyrone Nared can attest to the Ducks’ recent success.
“It’s getting contagious,” Nared said. “One person gets confident, then another person, then the whole team just gets together. Play together and we win.”
Nared added 14 points and six rebounds for the game, while Jay-R Strowbridge continued to impress with 12 points off the bench.
Oregon has established a scoring nucleus with Catron, Singler and Strowbridge, while Nared, Garrett Sim and Malcolm Armstead have been key contributors along the way. Armstead was held to just eight points in his 32 minutes of action, but his five steals and five assists helped to stanch several Washington runs throughout the game.
“We getting a little bit of momentum right now, so we just going to try to keep rolling,” Catron said. “And it’s just another win, but it’s good to get a sweep on the weekend.”
Altman agreed, and he hopes his team will continue to build off the wins.
“The guys should feel good, and they should have a little more confidence,” Altman said. “They passed a big test today, and I hope they come to practice Monday ready to go.”
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Oregon’s confidence on the rise after sweep of Washington schools
Daily Emerald
February 5, 2011
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