Whoever said the basketball season was a marathon and not a sprint obviously never watched Oregon play.
The Ducks came out with all pistons firing against Fresno State on Friday in the season-opener for both teams. Those pistons cooled down at times, but the Ducks pulled out an 80-67 win over the Bulldogs to start the season on the right foot.
“That was a very good game for an opener,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said.
The Ducks said that after the game they would go to the tapes and look for things to “clean up.” They would find the mistakes, work on them and get ready for a Dec. 2 game against Portland State at McArthur Court.
They won’t have much to work on if the statistics have anything to say. Try 20 assists in 26 Oregon baskets. How about 14 of 27 three-pointers, marked by Luke Jackson’s five?
Try out-rebounding Fresno State, a team built on banging hard at the boards.
The Ducks did, taking 31 to the Bulldogs’ 29.
“Every win is a good win,” Oregon forward Ian Crosswhite said. “It was a good win against a tall, athletic team like Fresno State.”
The win was Oregon’s 12th season-opening victory and sixth in a row for a home opener. It came in front of a sellout crowd of 9,087, the 10th in a row at McArthur Court and first in a season-opener since 1978.
Of course, there were the obligatory warnings toward the fans from the referees. One for throwing things on the court, another for stomping so hard before a Renaldo Major free throw attempt that the vibrations shook the rim.
“It really feels good to play in that kind of atmosphere,” Jackson said, comparing it to a Pacific-10 Conference game.
Fresno State, the 2003 Western Athletic Conference Champions, played well at times but couldn’t sustain against an Oregon team that Kent said has “great chemistry.”
The statistics don’t lie. The Bulldogs shot 44 percent from the field, committed 15 turnovers and of the team’s 26 baskets, assisted on just four.
“That tells us we did a good job of locking up their system,” Kent said. “We took the options away from their sets.”
Shantay Legans led Fresno State with 20 points in his return to McArthur, his first game there since transferring from California two seasons ago. The crowd let him hear it, but he kept steady, shooting 8 of 19 in 39 minutes of play.
“I knew Shantay was going to play well,” Fresno State head coach Ray Lopes said. “They made it hard for him, like everybody else will. He’s one of those guys that’s very dependable.”
Jackson led the Ducks with 20 points, while guard Andre Joseph scored 15. Jackson played a key role on the boards, grabbing eight, and he also dished out a team-high six assists.

The Ducks shot well early on, hitting 10 three-pointers in the first half against a primarily zone defense. Oregon shot 58 percent from beyond the arc and 50 percent overall in the first half.
Oregon received open looks time after time. They were moving the ball well, and at the same time popping shots off because the Bulldogs were slow to the ball. The Ducks had clear looks at the basket.
“Zone’s going to be a big defense for us all year long,” Lopes said. “You’ve got to win with what’s going to be successful for your team.”
The Ducks won well with their traditional run-and-gun offense. Aaron Brooks and whole host of Oregon players ran the offense with minimal problems, turning the ball over 15 times.
The Ducks transitioned well, got open looks early on and let the ball fly.
That’s a win.
Oregon is 1-0.
“It was a great start to what is hopefully a great year,” Jackson said.