With the exhibition season now fully in its rearview mirror, the Oregon men’s basketball team heads to Nashville tonight for a matchup with No. 7 Vanderbilt.@@http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1@@
It will be a stiff test, particularly for a youthful Oregon team that was clearly still working out kinks in its two preseason games against Grand Canyon and Lewis & Clark.
“We’re behind where I thought we’d be right now,” head coach Dana Altman said. “I think that this is gonna be a really important week for us … hopefully Friday we’ll be ready to play.”
One factor playing into the Ducks’ favor tonight is that center Festus Ezeli will be forced to sit out due to suspension. The senior averaged 12.8 points per game to go along with 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks last season, and his absence will leave a noticeable void in Vanderbilt’s frontcourt.@@http://mississippistate.rivals.com/bviewplayer.asp?Player=385851@@
Still, the Commodores come into the game fresh off of an NCAA Tournament appearance last year, and Ezeli’s presence might not be missed if other scorers like John Jenkins (19.5 points per game), Jeffery Taylor (14.7) or Brad Tinsley (10.6) find a rhythm.@@http://www.vucommodores.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/jenkins_john00.html@@
“They’re a veteran ball club,” Altman said. “They’ve got almost all of their people back, I think they’re trying to break in maybe one or two new guys. The rest of them are vets that either started for them or came off the bench.”
On the flip side, tonight will mark the regular season debut of Oregon newcomers Jabari Brown, Brett Kingma, Olu Ashaolu and Tony Woods.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205185544@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205185498@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205185498@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205185549@@
Tipoff in Nashville is scheduled for 7 p.m.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=235&SPSID=4294@@