Just over 10 minutes remained in Sunday’s matchup with Portland State when a three pointer cut Oregon’s lead to three. The score was 44-41, and all of a sudden the Vikings were in range of an upset.
It was then that the Oregon defense clamped down, and held Portland State without a field goal for the final 10 minutes of play en route to a 68-49 victory.
For Portland State head coach Tyler Geving, the extended drought was perplexing.
“It was a little frustrating,” Geving said. “I thought we had numerous chances throughout the game … I just kept waiting, (thinking), ‘OK it’s going to come, it’s going to come.’ It just never came.”
Still, he made sure to mention a tenacious Oregon defense.
“Credit to them,” Geving said. “They do a good job of getting after you, and playing pretty hard on the defensive end.”
When Oregon senior forward Joevan Catron was told about the final 10 minutes of play, he laughed.
“At halftime, coach really got on us about our defensive assignments,” Catron said, “And in the second half we really had a chance to pick those things up.”
Indeed, despite what he called a “slow start” to the game, Oregon head coach Dana Altman came away pleased with the team’s effort in the second half.
“I thought we had some better moments in the second half again,” Altman said. “Defensively, we really did a good job there in the half court for about five or six possessions, taking them out of what they wanted to do.”
With the game relatively close until the end, the players knew that a win could slip away if they didn’t step up.
“I just think our guys had a little bit better sense of urgency,” Altman said. “Our guys just really made some good reads, and made some good plays.”
Matching up with a Pacific-10 Conference team for the first time this season, Geving also saw some disparities in the physical department.
“Their athleticism probably bothered us a little bit,” Geving said. “We’re not used to seeing that, we probably haven’t seen that yet this year with the teams we’ve played.”
Jacob back, Williams still out
Junior forward Jeremy Jacob returned to the rotation on Sunday after missing last Thursday’s game with an injured knee. Jacob played 14 minutes overall, totaling eight points and seven rebounds.
Still, the knee has not fully healed.
“The last time I tried to put him in there, his knee was really stiffening up,” Altman said. “He said it doesn’t hurt too bad, it was just really stiff.”
While Jacob continues to rehabilitate his knee, the status of junior forward Teondre Williams is far less certain. Altman said he is not sure when Williams, who is suffering from a concussion, will be able to return.
“I don’t know,” Altman said. “They just said he couldn’t play … I’m not exactly sure what the procedure is, or how long it will be.”
Top recruit visits
Sitting in the stands across from the student section on Sunday was standout recruit DeAndre Daniels. A 6’8″ small forward from IMG Academy in Florida, Daniels earned the coveted five-star rating from Rivals.com. Members of the Pit Crew took notice of his presence, chanting his name and urging him to attend the University of Oregon.
In response, Daniels put up the “O” sign with his hands. At halftime, he shook hands with Oregon assistant coaches before returning to his seat. Daniels was on an official visit to the University on Sunday.
Daniels is also considering attending Florida, Kansas, Texas and UCLA.
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