By the end of the first half on Nov. 8, the University of Montana Grizzlies’ players were red in the face, breathing hard and desperately needed a break from dealing with the onslaught that Oregon was giving them. The Ducks were faster in every part of the game: transitioning to offense, getting back on defense, moving the ball in and around the key, driving into the paint when seeing the opening and Oregon immediately got on any offense that Montana tried to mount. 

The players and coaches are thrilled with the pace of play they have been exhibiting so far, blowing out the first two teams they’ve faced. Oregon has sent out 13 players each game of the season so far, providing ample rest for the starters. But that’s against weaker competition, and come time for Big Ten play and the NCAA tournament, if they make it that far, the Ducks need to have a system that they can rely on in bigger games. 

The Ducks are quick — really quick. Head coach Kelly Graves knew that this team was going to have to play fast way back in preseason, when he told media so in a Matthew Knight Arena practice gym. With a physically smaller team than the one built around 6-foot-8 center Phillipina Kyei last season, the Ducks needed to transition to sending out a three to four guard lineup, which meant the opportunity to find a quicker pace of play. 

In the two games that the Ducks have played in the regular season, their first against the University of West Georgia and their second against Montana, the Ducks have raced to blowout, 40-plus point wins.The players, too, are enjoying the upgraded pace. 

“We’re pushing pace more this year,” Fiso said at Oregon’s media day before the West Georgia game. “With less bigs we have a lot of guards…that can push the ball in transition, you know — fast-paced type of play.”

The two games that the women’s team has played has shown that the whole team is thriving in the fast paced style of play. Fiso  drives down the court and creates options for her teammates; Sofia Bell stands open in the corner and Mia Jacobs  darts into the paint quickly. This all works because the opponents transition back to defense is slow leaving the Ducks with a two-on-one or two-on-two matchup that they can easily take advantage of. 

The depth of this squad is a necessity with this style of play. Oregon played 13 total against West Georgia and Montana as well. Even better for the team, the bench in that Montana game dropped 47 points. 

The speed of the game is astonishing right now for the Ducks. The teams they are playing aren’t able to keep up with the sheer pace that the Ducks are able to uphold for the whole game, but it’s only a matter of time before the Ducks start to falter in that pace.

When the competition ramps up for the Ducks, notably once they get to conference play, they are going to need to play their playmakers a lot longer than what they have been. Fiso is going to need to be on the court for the majority of the game, so are Bell and Jacobs. 

The Ohio State Buckeyes, in their Big Ten championship winning season last year, sent out three forwards and two guards throughout the length of Big Ten play. In terms of depth, the same four to five players came off the bench all season. Their playing time greatly diminished by the end of the season, whereas the starters ramped up, playing 25-40 minutes a game. 

The use of 13 players in a game is not an area of the game that the Ducks are going to keep up, leading the speed on the court to diminish throughout the season. The Ducks can create a system once they hit Big Ten play and throughout. Oregon will find who it can turn to for longer stretches in the game.  While only two games in, it seems that Ehis Etute, Ari Long and Astera Tuhina look like they can be those players. 

The first Big Ten team that the Ducks take on will be the UCLA Bruins on Dec. 7. The Bruins will be an interesting matchup for the Ducks as UCLA has been running the same style of offense. Being a month away, a decent way into the season, the matchup is going to show whether the Ducks have the conditioning to continue to fly-by their competition, or if they are starting to tire, falter or just slow down.