Montana State’s extended 1-3-1 zone defense was giving Oregon guard Keeshawn Barthelemy fits.
The redshirt junior attempted to weave through it by way of over-the-top lob passes. Many of which were deflected by Bobcats’ defenders, and others sailed away from his teammates.
That defensive set kept the Bobcats within reach of the Ducks, in the first half of Tuesday’s game. However, one of those turnovers — that Barthelemy was asking for with those lob passes — ironically, flipped the script from a potential upset loss — similar to the one Oregon just suffered at the hands of UC Irvine, on Friday — to a significant win.
After losing the ball, the Colorado transfer shuffled back and positioned himself to defend a 2-on-1 fast-break. His efforts allowed forward Quincy Guerrier to recover and guard the Bobcats’ drive, which, in turn, gave center Nate Bittle the opportunity to block the layup off the backboard. Barthelemy then took the rebound and hit an 18-foot jumper on the offensive side.
That sequence was the catalyst for an 8-1 run that gave the Oregon Ducks (2-1) an 11-point halftime lead, one that proved insurmountable in their 81-51 win. While the final 23 minutes in the blowout masked the mistakes that still plague this inexperienced, chemistry-barren, shorthanded team, many of those issues were apparent during the opening 17 minutes, prior to that run.
“We have to do better,” head coach Dana Altman said. “It doesn’t take that much to figure that out.”
Stymied by the zone, the Ducks failed to whip the ball around, or feed the big-men effectively. Barthelemy and fifth-year senior Will Richardson, who headlined the starting lineup, toiled with their roles: neither able to decide who should handle the ball, who should facilitate, or who should attack the cup.
The Ducks lead grew while one was on the bench, and then would be cut into when the two shared the court. This dichotomy finally stopped during that 8-1 run, which was administered by a lineup of Barthelemy, Guerrier, Bittle, Rivaldo Soares, and Kel’el Ware.
With Barthelemy running the offense, the Ducks got out in transition often and swung the ball around fluently.
“Keeshawn is more of a speed guard, whereas Will moves at his own pace and can find you,” Ware said. “Kee[shawn] can find you, but it’s different playing with him. You got to adapt quickly.”
At times, that blend can be effective, but in the first half, it was Oregon’s crux.
It’s not always easy for Barthelemy’s teammates to keep up with his pace, as Ware mentioned, but that’s what the Ducks needed to pull away, on Tuesday.
As the Ducks extended their lead, Barthelemy and Richardson began to play off of one another. Richardson hit Barthelemy in the corner for a three-pointer that stretched the Ducks lead to 30. They’ll have to find ways like that to coexist, as the Ducks will be without Jermaine Couisnard and Brennen Rigsby — two guards who Altman said would have started if not for injury — for the foreseeable future.
Not only did it seem like Barthelemy was in his natural role with Richardson off the court, but Ware and Bittle seemed more comfortable playing alongside one another, rather than with Dante.
“Me and Nate can both shoot the ball around the perimeter and post-up,” Ware said. “We’re not just stuck at one spot.”
This unlocked Ware’s offensive game, especially. The 5-star recruit tormented the Bobcats from the left wing, short corner and the paint. Within that 8-1 run, he smashed home back-to-back emphatic dunks, on his way to a team-high 16 points and 7 rebounds.
Last year, the combination of center Franck Kepnang and Dante proved effective on the defensive side, limiting opponents in the paint, but had its struggles offensively. Before them, it was Bol Bol and Kenny Wooten; Jordan Bell and Chris Boucher. So, this isn’t the first time coach Altman has sought out a successful twin-tower lineup, it just might not be the right one.
Altman’s seemingly trying to find that partnership, as he’s starting Bittle with Dante. However, if Ware produces at this level consistently, and if it’s with Bittle on the court simultaneously, Altman will have no choice but to pair the two regularly.
In fact, he might have to make that change soon, as Dante suffered a hip injury towards the end of the game. While Ware showed up against Montana State (1-2), No. 3 Houston is a whole nother animal. The Ducks are far from flawless, but they’re clearly a better team than what they showed against UC Irvine. Sunday’s game against the Cougars at 6:30 p.m. will test if those solutions they found on Tuesday are temporary, or not.
