Perhaps Dana Altman gave Baylor too much credit going into Monday’s game.
The Oregon men’s basketball coach held nothing back about his team as it prepared for No. 20 Baylor.
“We’re not ready for that, I’ll just be real honest,” Altman said on Friday after Oregon comfortably defeated Jackson State.
Those words, as it turned out, more accurately described Baylor. Though the Ducks earned a 74-67 win with a balanced offensive attack and consistent defense, the no. 20 Bears put up little fight for long stretches of the game.
“We weren’t sure what we were ready for,” Altman said. “I tried to be honest with the guys. We haven’t played this kind of competition, we’re gonna have to play a different way. I’m not sure we’re ready for that but let’s go swing away and see.”
But in spite of Baylor’s underwhelming play, the Ducks had plenty of positive takeaways. Chris Boucher and Dwayne Benjamin led the Ducks with 15 apiece, and Dillon Brooks, Elgin Cook and Tyler Dorsey all reached double figures. The Ducks matched the Bears’ rebounding with 35 of their own. In addition, the Ducks played consistent defense for most of the game, something they often struggled to do last season.
“Last year was a completely different team,” Cook said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys that we’re trying to work in.”
Oregon held Baylor to just 39 percent shooting for the game and Taurean Prince, the Bears’ biggest offensive threat, scored just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Most telling, the Ducks converted 18 Baylor turnovers into 28 points.
Baylor’s zone defense did slow the Ducks early, though. Oregon managed only nine points in the first seven minutes, and players looked timid on offense.
“Those wings are so big, you just can’t simulate their size in practice,” Altman said. “It’s just a big zone, and you got to attack it from the baseline and get it in the paint.”
Altman and his coaching staff called a timeout around the 10 minute mark of the first half and Oregon’s offense reentered the game as a different team. Dorsey found Cook for a layup and a mid range jumper on back to back possessions. The Ducks began to look comfortable against Baylor’s zone.
“We have a great coaching staff,” Cook said. “They just read the zone, did a good job of getting us in our sets and we started making plays for each other.”
The Ducks led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but Baylor fought its way back into the game in the final few minutes. Al Freeman’s three-pointer and a Jake Lindsey layup narrowed the Ducks’ lead 64-61 with three minutes left.
“We ran out of gas,” Altman said. “I’ve gotta get the freshman ready to go – Trevor (Manuel), Roman (Sorkin) and Kendall (Small).”
The five double digit scorers, plus Casey Benson, played all but three of Oregon’s minutes. When Dillon Brooks fouled out with seven minutes remaining, Altman kept the lineup of Benson, Benjamin, Boucher, Cook and Dorsey in for the stretch run. They wouldn’t allow Baylor to get any closer than three, and iced the game in the closing seconds with free throws.
“We rode those six guys pretty hard and they were able to finish it,” Altman said.
Only two games into the season, the Ducks already have a win against a ranked opponent. A “statement win” is a relative phrase in November, but a confidence booster nonetheless. The Ducks know a game like this is something to build on, regardless of how early it is.
“It was a big game,” Benjamin said. “They were a highly ranked team, we knew they were a good team and we just wanted to see where we were compared to them.”
Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner