The Ducks (4-0) kick off their Florida road trip with their matchup with the Florida A&M University Rattlers (0-4).
Oregon took the victory 67-54, with Jadrian Tracey finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals with Jesse Zarzuela adding 14 of his own points, four assists and going 7-7 from the FT line. The score does not accurately reflect the fight shown by both teams in a heated battle.
The Rattlers have yet to post their first win this season, while the Ducks have been perfect, winning each of their first three games by double digits. Oregon is short-handed due to injuries across the board, especially to star frontcourt duo N’Faly Dante and Nathan Bittle.
This resulted in starting roles for the frontcourt duo of Tracey and Kwame Evans Jr. The loss of its big men was very easy to see at the start of the game, as Oregon was being dominated on the boards and losing the physical battles early.
Defensively, the Ducksseemed collected on the perimeter. But, once the Rattlers found a way to feed the ball inside, the lack of size really came back to bite Oregon.
The theme of the first half was sloppy play, with both teams putting up subpar shooting numbers and making a lot of unforced mistakes. Without its stars, Oregon’s possessions often turned into slow movement and a forced up shot towards the end of the shot clock. This sloppiness allowed FAMU to stay in the game even while being completely outmatched in almost every aspect of the game.
The Rattlers outrebounded the Ducks in the first half 20-15, and a lot of those boards came on the offensive end for FAMU, leading to second chance points.
In the first half, Florida A&M played some of its best basketball, while Oregon played easily its worst half of the season. The half was back-and-forth, with neither team stringing together enough offense to build a run and a large lead.
Jermaine Cousinard was the only one able to get in any offensive rhythm leading the game with 11 points in the first half. Facing tenacious perimeter defense, none of the guards were able to find their spots or any space in the lane to score and build confidence. The ball was often passed around the three-point line until later in the shot clock, where the Ducks then had to scramble and force a shot or pass.
At the start of the second half, it became clear that Oregon’s goal was to push the pace a lot more to get FAMU on its heels defensively. The slow pace of the first half primarily benefited the Rattlers, so the adjustment to high tempo was a smart decision by head coach Dana Altman.
FAMU continued to defend the perimeter very aggressively, which made it a lot harder for Oregon to speed up play. This also caused Oregon to slow down its possessions, something that has been a reason for the lack of offensive success.
Once the Ducks found a shooting rhythm, it was hard for the Rattlers to keep up, as they kept themselves into the game through their defense, not being able to score at a high level. The key for the Ducks was putting guys in a position to get their shots and get a lot of them. This is why much of the second half saw Oregon’s smaller lineup with five guys who can shoot threes.
The Ducks shot a lot more threes in the second half, which worked to their advantage because due to their lack of size they had a lot of difficulty maintaining an inside presence. The Rattlers were then on their heels and scrambling more on defense, which meant the game started to look more like the mismatch that was expected.
FAMU’s fight can not be understated, as they never sacrificed their aggressive and determined approach to the game, no matter how much they got down. The game was a battle until the end, but Oregon just outlasted FAMU by finding their edge in the second half and riding that to victory.
The Ducks look ahead to their Emerald Coast Classic matchup against Santa Clara University on Friday, while the Rattlers aim to post their first victory at home against Albany State University next Wednesday.
