The No. 10 Oregon Ducks (11-1, 1-1 Big Ten) bounced back from their first loss with an emphatic win over Stephen F. Austin on Sunday, and furthered that momentum into a 76-61 victory over the Stanford Cardinal (9-3, 1-0 ACC) in the San Jose Tipoff at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
The Cardinal started the season strong, but in their nine wins to open the season, they only beat one power four opponent.
Oregon’s track record of slow starts continued, but the Ducks were saved by Stanford’s own miscues, which saw it without a point until about four minutes in. During those opening four minutes, the two teams combined for just seven points on two field goals collectively.
After the two squads locked at 11 just under eight minutes into the half, Oregon went on a 25-8 run in the final 12 minutes of the opening frame.
The Ducks were fueled by some efficient three point shooting, but Oregon made only four out of its 13 attempts from deep in the first. Nate Bittle added seven of his nine total points and Keeshawn Barthelemy posted six, but only added two free throws in the second.
The Cardinal combined for 10 minutes of scoring droughts to open the contest, which further contributed to Stanford’s hefty deficit at the break. Oregon finished the first half up 36-19, and the Ducks would not slow down for the rest of the duration.
In the second half, Oregon’s defensive effort didn’t miss a beat, and the shooting improved. The Ducks finished the contest by making 6-22 from beyond the arc and 44% from the field overall.
The offense was driven by the impressive ball movement and selfless play by the entire team, which often passed up open shots for more open shots, which scrambled the Stanford defense.
The Cardinal could not figure out consistency on offense throughout Saturday night and shot 37% total for the game. Stanford had just two players score in double digits — big man Maxime Raynaud finished with 20 — and the Cardinal failed to shoot well, get to the free throw line or generate bench scoring.
In a sense, Oregon’s aggressive defense gave Stanford absolutely no way of scoring efficiently or consistently, which inevitably shut down the entire team.
Once the Ducks found the required amount of offense to take a sizable advantage, the lack of Stanford offense present in San Jose proved sufficient for Oregon to string that lead into the rest of the game.
Kwame Evans Jr., who exited last week’s matchup against SFA with a knee injury, added nine points in the second half to improve his total on the game to 13, which led the team.
Otherwise, the Ducks had nine players score over five points, which is a testament to the blowout that this contest ended up as, but the team’s lack of high-scoring performances is a testament to the team effort required by a team built in this manner.
Oregon doesn’t win games through one player, it wins them by committee, and despite rocky starts, the Ducks have found a variety of ways to win in this young season.
The final score wrapped up at 76-61, and Oregon cruised to its second straight victory.
The Ducks return home Next Sunday when they take on the Weber State University Wildcats.
