Oregon MBB Recap: Ducks pick up convincing win over WSU to open up Pac-12 play
After a gritty performance at the Phil Knight Invitational tournament in Portland last week, where the Oregon Ducks were undermanned and often over-matched, they got back into a semblance of a rhythm to start Pac-12 play on Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena.
It resulted in a 74-60 win over the Washington State Cougars.
What was a back-and-forth game for the first 30 minutes of game-time quickly turned into a comfortable win for the Ducks. It was N’Faly Dante who led the way for Oregon, scoring a career-high 22 points while pulling down 7rebounds. Players like Will Richardson and Quincy Guerrier were also key offensive contributors, while Rivaldo Soares dominated on the glass, and JUCO transfer Brennan Rigsby made his Oregon debut with a much-needed burst of energy that seemed to like the Ducks.
While the start of the season has been a slog for Oregon, battling numerous injuries and struggling to find any sort of consistency on the court, it feels like Thursday night was a much-needed positive start to conference play.
Here are some of the biggest things you need to know about the game:
Final Score: Oregon 74, Washington State 60
Notable Quotes from Dana Altman
On Will Richardson:
“He made plays all night, you know, but just continually keeping the guys focused. Just doing a great job. We we’ve been fortunate we’ve had some great leaders; Eugene (Omoruyi), Payton (Pritchard), Chris Duarte was a good leader, and Joe (Young). We’ve had really good leaders here. Will, like I said last three games, he’s been phenomenal. I can’t say enough about the transformation he’s made and the way he’s got guys playing.”
On Brennan Rigsby:
“I didn’t want to play him that much. I got a little carried away. But you know, he’s really playing well. I mean, defense, you know, a couple of boards. You know, for not playing for a month, you know, offensively it showed you know a couple looks that I think he’ll normally hit. But the defense you know, getting a couple of steals digging down. You know, I thought he did some really good things.”
On Importance of Strong Start in Pac-12 Play:
“It does help, yeah. We finished with a 10-0 run against Villanova. The last three and then we finished this one today. It doesn’t hurt us, you know. I always say every game is its own deal but knowing that you can finish and know that you can come back, it does help you.”
Keys to the game
It was an uphill battle in the first half with N’Faly Dante quickly getting into foul trouble, leaving the Ducks short-handed in the paint with Nate Bittle already out due to injury. Despite that, Oregon led the rebound battle 13-12 at the break and scored 20 points in the paint.
Oregon’s defense really stepped up in the second half, and their full-court press was successful in applying pressure on the Cougars and forcing turnovers. In the game, Washington State had a total of 17 turnovers, which led to 17 points.
The Ducks were able to do a great job of controlling the paint, where they won the rebounding battle (30-26) and were able to outscore the Cougars 52-42 in paint points.
Oregon’s defense ratcheted up during the closing stretch, and they were able to mount a 28-10 run that opened up a lead, stemming from the success of the full-court press. In the end, Oregon went on a 30-16 run down to the final whistle.
Players of the Game
N’Faly Dante: 22 points, 7 rebounds
Will Richardson: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
Quincy Guerrier: 12 points
Rivaldo Soares: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists
Kel’el Ware: 8 points, 4 rebounds
Brennan Rigsby: 2 points, +16 +/- in 23 minutes
What's next?
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
The Oregon Ducks will continue Pac-12 play on Sunday with a trip to Pauley Pavillion to play the No. 21 UCLA Bruins (5-2).
