On Saturday night the Oregon men’s basketball team captured its first Pac-12 regular season championship in three years. Its last three titles have come on the road, but Saturday’s came in front of Matthew Knight Arena’s crowd.
While Saturday’s win over Stanford followed by championship and senior day festivities felt like the culmination of something great, it’s just the beginning of something else. Every member of the Oregon basketball team came to Eugene in search of championships. On Saturday they got one. Now two others loom large.
Here are five thoughts as the Ducks prepare for the Pac-12 Tournament and March Madness.
Hot Shooting
The Ducks have been scorching hot from three as of late. Over their last four games, all of which have been wins, the Ducks have shot no lower than 47% from deep, shooting over 50% in three of the four.
The Ducks last loss came to ASU on Feb. 20. Their 3-point percentage? Thirty-eight.
The Ducks, like many other programs nationally, have lived and died by the three this year. There’s no question the Ducks can get hot from deep and find themselves playing deep into March. But when they’re not hitting, they struggle to create offense and in March, when defenses are locked in, finding easy buckets is crucial.
Home-Court Advantage
On Saturday the men’s program joined the women as well as the football program as the third Ducks team to complete a perfect season at home in 2019-20. They’ve had some blowout wins, some thrilling comebacks and some nail biting finishes. Through it all the fans have been there and been a positive presence with their energy and excitement.
“We want people to fear coming into Eugene,” Payton Pritchard said.
But it’s been a different story away from Eugene. They’ve stooped to far-lesser team’s levels and have dropped some inexcusable games to the Pac-12’s bottom feeders.
Winning at home is great, but now the Ducks hit the road and won’t play in the state of Oregon again until next season. They’ll find plenty of Ducks fans in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament, but how will they fare in the spotlight on a neutral floor in the NCAA Tournament?
Health
Nearly every Duck has missed time this season due to injury: CJ Walker, Shakur Juiston, Francis Okoro, N’Faly Dante, Chandler Lawson and now Chris Duarte. Duarte seemed to have found his groove in mid-January, shooting lights-out from deep and thriving in the Ducks press defense on the other end.
While the Ducks have fared well in his absence, it’s no secret that Duarte’s two-way play is crucial to Oregon’s success in March. He’s slated to miss the Pac-12 Tournament with a chance to return for the big dance. But even if he returns, will he be able to find his groove again after breaking a finger on his shooting hand?
On the more positive side, N’Faly Dante is finally healthy again. While he’s been foul-prone and inconsistent all year, Dante flashed his potential in Oregon’s win over Stanford, going a perfect 4-4 from the field and deterring multiple shots at the rim on the other end — an aspect the Ducks’ defense has sorely missed after Kenny Wooten’s departure to the NBA.
“Dante makes a big difference… him clogging up the middle, I thought he was tremendous tonight,” head coach Dana Altman said.
Ducks fans have been robbed of a fully healthy Oregon squad this year. If Dante can stay healthy and get valuable minutes under his belt, the Ducks could be a major force should Duarte return. But that’s a big if.
Defensive Consistency
Unlike last year’s Sweet 16 squad whose play style was predicated on stingy defense, the 2020 iteration of the Ducks have proved they can win with high-volume scoring.
At times they’ve looked dominant on the defensive end and Altman’s press defense has been suffocating. Far too often, though, the Ducks let teams stay in games as their lack of a true shot-blocker has stuck out like a sore thumb.
Oregon’s as hot as ever from deep, but in its last two wins, has let its opponents shoot over 50% from the field for a majority of the game. If they hope to find success down the road, they know that number needs to be lower.
“You’re just not going to shoot it good every night so you’d better be ready to guard and beat people on the boards,” Altman said. “That’s the only way you can put three games together because you can’t count on shooting every night.”
Payton Pritchard’s Dominance
It’s easy to take Pritchard for granted. After all, he does almost the same thing every night. But when that “thing” is dropping 19-plus on every Pac-12 team in a single season, it’s a sight to behold.
Last year Oregon rode Pritchard to four straight Pac-12 Tournament wins and two more in March Madness. Everyone has their scouting reports and everyone knows where the ball is going in the final minutes of a close game. This year, it simply hasn’t mattered.
In March, the Ducks will go as far as he can carry them. He’ll need help, but he’s capable of single-handedly keeping Oregon in games.
“We had some road bumps but this team learned from it and we came together,” he said of the Ducks’ recent play. “Guys are sacrificing and guys are stepping up. This team is clicking right now and this is the right time to click.”
On Friday, March 13, Oregon will face the winner of Utah-Oregon State.
“I told this team we don’t want to relax. We want to go down and swing away in the tournament,” Altman said.
