Oregon’s win over Savannah State Saturday afternoon was one for the history books.
The Ducks set school records in points (128), assists (36) and field goals (54) en route to their 30th straight win at Matthew Knight Arena, 128-59.
But the Ducks’ historic victory was overshadowed by what another Pac-12 team accomplished Saturday. A few hours before Oregon tipped off, No.11 UCLA upset No.1 Kentucky, 97-92, at Rupp Arena, handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season and snapping their 42-game home win streak.
“Our league needed a big win like that,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said of UCLA’s upset. “I’m happy for [UCLA coach] Steve [Alford] and those guys; going to Kentucky and beating the number one team, the Pac-12 needed that.”
At the start of the season, Oregon was the favorite to win the conference. Now, a little over a month into the season and just weeks away from conference play, a bit of a power shift has occurred atop the conference. UCLA is looking like the team to beat.
It’s no surprise either. UCLA’s combination of a top-5 recruiting class and weak early season schedule have allowed the Bruins to shine. They’re currently scoring the third most points per game in the country and freshmen Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf have been as good as advertised.
After their early season struggles, however, the Ducks feel like they have begun to fix a lot of their mistakes and are starting to play the kind of the basketball they know they’re capable of. With the Bruins emerging as one of the better teams in the country early on, Oregon couldn’t have picked a better time to right the ship.
“It’s still a work in progress,” freshman guard Payton Pritchard said. “But I think we’re definitely playing better together as a team.”
Oregon’s game against one of the worst defensive teams in the country on Saturday served as a great opportunity for Altman to work on areas of concern, specifically team chemistry. Over the last few weeks, he’s stressed getting some of his newer players involved in an effort to work on overall cohesiveness. The only player to log under 13 minutes on Saturday was walk-on Charlie Noebel, who entered the game when the Ducks were up 60.
“I thought we did make some progress,” Altman said. “We just gotta get everybody comfortable playing with each other. We just don’t have that flow that we’d hoped we’d have at this time.”
The Ducks are hopeful that in those coming weeks, Dillon Brooks will return to full health, too. Oregon is 5-1 since his return and have averaged eight more points per game than it did during his absence.
The preseason All-American said that he’s almost back to full health and is just waiting for Altman to “let the beast loose.”
“It’s all up to coach, I guess,” Brooks said when asked when his minutes restriction would be over.
The Ducks are in a great position right now. They have four games left, all at home, until Pac-12 play opens on December 28. The hardest portion of their non-conference schedule is over and they’ll likely use these coming weeks to work out any remaining kinks. After the game, Altman specifically talked about reducing turnovers, creating more steals and working on offensive efficiency.
“It’s a work in progress,” Altman said. “The next three, four weeks are really important for this team. We’ve got to get so much better in so many areas.”
Dillon Brooks is confident that they will.
“I think over time, this week especially, we’re going to get a lot better because we know we’ve got a tough team next in Alabama,” Brooks said. “We’re three weeks away from Pac-12, so we know we have to get ahead and we know we have to prepare.”
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris