Oregon Ducks
Pac-12 (22-9, 13-5)
Oregon has done better than many expected in Dana Altman’s second year. After having success at Creighton, Altman came to Oregon trying to rediscover some glory that the Oregon hoops team has had in years past. The talent on the roster does not resemble the great teams the Ducks had under the heyday of former coach Ernie Kent. There are no Fred Jones’, Luke Ridnours or Luke Jacksons. Not to mention, the Ducks lost their highly-touted recruit Jabari Brown after just two games (Brown transferred). Next year’s class is strong. Hopefully they all stay. Altman is just beginning to build something in the Pac-12. The Ducks are hoping to stay atop the conference in coming seasons.
Big Wins: 1/14 at Arizona (59-57), 2/9 Washington (82-57), 2/19 at Stanford (68-64)
Bad Losses: 12/3 BYU (65-79), 1/29 Oregon State (71-76), 2/4 at Colorado (71-72)
Coach: Dana Altman (2 seasons at Oregon)
Why They Can Surprise:
The Ducks biggest strong point is its 3-point shooting. They shoot a fairly high 37.8 percent from behind the line. The bottom half of the Pac-12 does not score at a high rate, so the long ball isn’t always the linchpin of the game plan for Oregon. Against other higher scoring teams in a tournament format, long-range shooting could be the difference between Oregon staying in the game and losing. The two-man crew of Devoe Joseph, the team’s leading scorer, and E.J. Singler, the team’s leading rebounder, must play at the top of their games. They both play nearly the whole game, and Altman relies on them heavily. If his bench steps up, that will be a plus as Altman goes nine deep.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Generally speaking, the talent on the Oregon roster just does not stack up to the other teams vying for tournament championships. Altman should be given a lot of credit for what he has done with this group. Oregon has two players over 6’8” that do not really produce for them. They can get beaten up inside against strong interior teams. They have a tough time rebounding and ranked 7th in the conference in rebounding margin. Defensively, this team struggles as well. Their opponents score on 43.6% of their shot attempts. They will have a harder time stopping people the farther they get into the tournament.
Probable Starters:
Devoe Joseph, Senior, Guard, 16.6 ppg, 2.9 apg
Garrett Sim, Senior, Guard, 12.2 ppg, 2.5 apg
Jeremy Jacob, Senior, Forward, 4.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg
E.J. Singler, Junior, Forward, 13.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Tony Woods, Junior, Center, 6.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.6 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Olu Ashaolu, Senior, Forward, 8.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Carlos Emory, Junior, Forward, 6.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg
Jonathan Loyd, Sophomore, Guard, 3.4 ppg, 3.0 apg
Tyrone Nared, Senior, Forward, 3.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 72.5 (66th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.2 (184, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.4 (51, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.6 (194, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.2 (83, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.8 (39, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.4 (118, 3)
Rebound Margin: 1.8 (120, 7)
Assists Per Game: 13.7 (99, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.4 (157, 7)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
Oregon 2011 CBI First Round win over Weber State
Oregon 2011 CBI Second Round win over Duquesne
Oregon 2011 CBI Semifinal win over Boise State
Oregon 2011 CBI Final loss to Creighton
Oregon 2008 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Mississippi State
Oregon 2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Miami-Ohio
Oregon 2007 NCAA Round of 32 win over Winthrop
Oregon 2007 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over UNLV
Oregon 2007 NCAA Regional Final loss to Florida
Oregon 2004 NIT First round win over Colorado
Oregon 2004 NIT Second round win over George Mason
Oregon 2004 NIT Quarterfinal win over Notre Dame
Oregon 2004 NIT Semifinal loss to Michigan
Oregon 2003 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Utah
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
