Oregon defeated Oregon State, 69-54, in a low-scoring Civil War game on Thursday night in Eugene. The Ducks are still in the thick of a competitive race for first place in the topsy-turvy Pac-12. Here are three takeaways from the game.
N’Faly Dante returns to action after month-long absence
Oregon’s five-star freshman has seen little action this season. After making his Oregon debut in December, Dante has mostly been relegated to a backup role behind Francis Okoro. To make matters worse, Dante has been sidelined since Jan. 18, when he twisted his knee against Washington.
However, his return was short, only playing five minutes. His statistics were nothing crazy, either, going 0-2 from the field with two rebounds, an assist and a turnover.
“I just wanted to get him started and back on the floor,” head coach Dana Altman said. “Hopefully he will have a good week and be ready to go on Thursday night.”
As the Ducks head into March, a healthy and productive Dante — and his 6-foot-11, 230-pound frame — could cause matchup nightmares for opposing teams. However, there’s still a way to go before Dante is able to make his full impact.
“That’s a lot of trouble down there,” center Francis Okoro said. “Dante’s really skilled down there [in the post].”
With Duarte out, Oregon plays small ball
Chris Duarte had surgery on his broken finger on Thursday, forcing the versatile starting wing to sit out. In his absence, Oregon decided to play a three-guard lineup with Payton Pritchard, Will Richardson and Anthony Mathis all starting. This was Mathis’s first start in many games after he has moved into the second unit early in the season. But Mathis picked up Duarte’s scoring load, scoring 13 points on 5-10 shooting. His trademark 3-point shooting returned, as he drilled three 3-point field goals.
“I felt like we were out there playing desperate, and when you play desperate, you’re a good team” Mathis said. “We’re scrambling, playing super hard.”
The entire three-guard lineup was a success for the Ducks. All three guards scored in double figures, with Pritchard leading the way with 23 points. But once Richardson got going in the second half, where he scored all of his 15 points, Oregon was able to put the game away.
As Oregon heads closer to March, this could be an interesting lineup for Oregon to deploy.
Oregon’s defense holds steady
The Ducks are by no means a poor defensive team, but the team had by far its most complete defensive game in conference play on Thursday, holding the Beavers to only 54 points — the lowest of Oregon’s conference season.
Oregon’s defense was not particularly dominant in any one defensive facet on Thursday; they didn’t force a lot of turnovers or block a lot of shots. But they were always in a good defensive position and limited wide-open looks that Oregon is at times prone to give up.
The Ducks were able to hold Oregon State star Tres Tinkle to 14 points on 5-11 shooting, and he was a non-entity on the scoring side of the game. The only exception was Ethan Thompson, who was hot in the first half, going 5-6 from the field and dropping in 13 points. However, Oregon was able to tighten up on defense in the second half, and Thompson only scored two points in the final 20 minutes.
“Ethan really put it on us in the first half,” Altman said. “We started doubling him on ball screens and it really helped us get the ball out of his hands.”
