Early in the game, Brennan Rigsby stood wide open on the left side of the three point line, waiting for Oregon point guard Will Richardson to cross the half-court line.
After Richardson dribbled slightly to the right-side to distract the defense, he threw a crossbody pass to Rigsby. He shot the ball perfectly, and the sound of the net echoed. His three-pointer was the start of a win predicated on consistent three point shooting — which is a step in the right direction for a team that strives to have that in its arsenal but had been struggling thus far.
Before this game, they had shot 29.6% behind the arc, which is No. 10 in the conference. But once the buzzer rang, Oregon had finished 12-of-22 from deep and beat the Portland Pilots 78-56 on Saturday night.
“For the most part, I thought we took some pretty good shots,” head coach Dana Altman said. “Out of the 22 [shot attempts], there were only three that I didn’t like.”
One of the reasons Oregon has a low three-point percentage is because of Rigsby’s high ankle injury that took him out of seven games. Despite only making three deep shots since his return against Nevada a week ago, he shot 67% on Saturday. Having him back on the court gives the Ducks another option offensively as they continue to add to their skillset.
Coming into this game, Portland ranked No. 23 in the nation in three point shooting. During the Phil Knight Invitational in November, the Pilots beat Villanova and had single-digit losses to North Carolina and Michigan State because of their deep shooting.
The Ducks were able to throw Portland off its rhythm with tight man defense, but it came at a cost. At halftime, four different Oregon players had at least two fouls.
The game consisted of a lot of career-highs for the Ducks. Rivaldo Soares had a career-best 16 points that included four three pointers. Richardson had set a new personal best with 12 assists that was matched with 12 points for a double-double, a week after he had his first triple-double.
Richardson didn’t score at all during the first half, but he stayed involved in other ways, which speaks to his approach heading into his fifth season. His leadership style and dedication to changing the team’s culture and himself personally shows on the court and his teammates are buying into it, which gives him more confidence in return.
“We have a lot of chemistry going, and it’s because of Will,” Altman said. “He reminds guys to focus, and they listen, and he takes ownership of his own mistakes. When you have someone like him, you’ll move in the right direction.”
Throughout multiple points in the game, Portland slowly inched its way back into the game. Before tipoff, the Pilot’s head coach Shantay Legans talked about when they’re chasing the lead, they apply full court pressure to try and force turnovers. His strategy worked and they got the score within eight with 10 minutes left to play in the second half.
But, the Ducks were able to catch a break, and it all happened within the span of five minutes.
After a technical foul was called on Portland’s guard Tyler Robertson for arguing a call, Richardson’s made free throws—his first points of the game— built the lead back to 10. Shortly after, guard Wyatt Lowell was fouled on a three-point attempt, and he missed all three free throws.
The Pilots are a strong free-throw shooting team with a 77.8 overall percentage, but they were 7-16 in the second half.
With not being able to rely on their strong suits—three pointers and free throws—and Oregon taking advantage of its mistakes, Portland wasn’t able to put up a fight.
Now that Rigsby has found his rhythm since coming back from his injury, the Ducks have a variety of tools as they finish up non-conference games and head into conference play. Between Richardson’s leadership, center N’Faly Dante’s interior play, and a bench that’s getting healthier and can provide quality minutes, Oregon will have wins where each player contributes. And it’s shown as they’ve won five out of their last six games.
