![Oregon Guard Wei Lin (23) fights through Utah guard Terrance Brown (2) in the paint. On Oregon 24, 2025, The Oregon Ducks defeated the University of Utah Utes [73-53] at Matthew Knight Arena at University of Oregon, based in Eugene, Ore. (Fred Hall/Emerald)](https://dailyemerald.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025.10.24.EMG_.FJH_.MBBvsUtah-11-1200x800.jpg)
Oregon men’s basketball officially returned to the court at Matthew Knight Arena with a bang.
The Ducks routed the Utah Utes in an exhibition game to open the season. Oregon led for all 40 minutes, and the defense didn’t allow a point for the first eight and a half minutes, which created an easy win.
The Ducks’ defense did its job and secured 10 steals and blocked six shots.
“It’s going to be a work in progress,” Head Coach Dana Altman said. “It’s October 24, and we played really well.”
Oregon, missing star point guard Jackson Shelstad, trotted out a starting lineup of guards Takai Simpkins and Wei Lin, forwards Kwame Evans Jr. and Devon Pryor and center Nate Bittle.
“It felt good,” Bittle said. “I think we came out strong defensively in the first half and in the second half kind of slowed down. That has a lot to do with our conditioning and getting the rust off.”
Lin got the scoring started with a creative move inside that gave him an easy floater; it was preceded by Bittle’s first block of the campaign. The Ducks’ efficient start led to a defensive effort that didn’t allow a point for the first eight and a half minutes of the contest.
Lin facilitated a smooth offense in the first half, and was able to connect well with Bittle in the low post game. Bittle finished the first half with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. He would end up closing out the game with 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Lin tallied 10 of his own points while tying for a team-high four assists.
“(Lin) has a really high IQ for driving, when to hit people. Some of the passes he made today were great, like the lob to me and the pass to (Demir) when he drew two people behind his head. He’s a really good point guard.”
The first half saw the Ducks fail to connect from three on their 10 attempts, which ended up staying lackluster at a 4/18 clip.
“Obviously we didn’t shoot the ball very well from the perimeter,” Altman said. “Had some good looks, a few of them were off balance. When we moved the ball, I thought we got some pretty good things.”
Takai Simpkins hit the first shot from beyond the arc on the team’s first attempt of the second half. Lin followed him up shortly after on the next attempt, and the introduction of the three-pointer into the Ducks’ arsenal allowed them to pull ahead substantially.
Oregon’s plethora of big, rim-protecting players made it difficult for the Utes to gain any ground in the paint. The Ducks used newcomers Ege Demir and Sean Stewart to relieve Bittle at times, and each proved effective in their own ways.
Demir ended up with 14 points and five rebounds and Stewart with six points and nine boards.
Oregon closed out a 73-53 victory behind its continued strong defense and rebounding.
The Ducks travel to Stanford this Thursday for another exhibition and officially open their season on Nov. 4 at home against the University of Hawaii at Manoa Rainbow Warriors.
