Much better basketball for the most part over what they showed vs Portland. Don't know how good Troy is but they have 12 players returning from a decent team last year. Oregon was faster, quicker and bigger so I am not ready to put a lot of weight on the win without seeing Troy having success as their season moves on. The spread was about 16 1/2.
Nevertheless Oregon started out building an early lead and improved on it steadily except for a little scoring by the Trojans during garbage time to bring the game closer than it was. Still plenty of room for improvement. Biddle had a slow night with his outside shooting, which we know he has. At somewhere near the 30 minute mark Oregon was shooting 50% for the game. Bartholomew was the only reliable three point shooter for the second time in a row. Shooting percentage still way bad complicated by a willingness to miss open shots from beyond the arc but they looked like a team that can consistently score deep in the paint for the first time this season. From the free throw line they are decent so far. A real hallmark is their intelligent hustle at both ends of the floor.
They are still playing solid defense. Without looking at the stats they had plenty of steals and blocked shots without fouling heavily. The big positive development is Supreme Cook getting onto the floor. He is not much of, if any, drop from Biddle. He is big and athletic, able to score proficiently at the rim. Haven't seen his outside shooting, if he has any. Now, when Biddle leaves the floor the Ducks do not have to alter their defensive plan and the rest of the squad did a better job of denying and defending the other team's outside game with their backs covered. Portland shot almost at will but the Trojans only had a few badly defended treys. My guess is that, as the Ducks build their chemistry, there will be even fewer of them.
From here the Ducks travel up the road to Corvallis on Thursday, then play three neutral site games vs Texas A&M and San Diego State, then a pair of games in LA before returning home at the end of the first week in December. By then we should have an understanding of what the Ducks are or can be.
Nevertheless Oregon started out building an early lead and improved on it steadily except for a little scoring by the Trojans during garbage time to bring the game closer than it was. Still plenty of room for improvement. Biddle had a slow night with his outside shooting, which we know he has. At somewhere near the 30 minute mark Oregon was shooting 50% for the game. Bartholomew was the only reliable three point shooter for the second time in a row. Shooting percentage still way bad complicated by a willingness to miss open shots from beyond the arc but they looked like a team that can consistently score deep in the paint for the first time this season. From the free throw line they are decent so far. A real hallmark is their intelligent hustle at both ends of the floor.
They are still playing solid defense. Without looking at the stats they had plenty of steals and blocked shots without fouling heavily. The big positive development is Supreme Cook getting onto the floor. He is not much of, if any, drop from Biddle. He is big and athletic, able to score proficiently at the rim. Haven't seen his outside shooting, if he has any. Now, when Biddle leaves the floor the Ducks do not have to alter their defensive plan and the rest of the squad did a better job of denying and defending the other team's outside game with their backs covered. Portland shot almost at will but the Trojans only had a few badly defended treys. My guess is that, as the Ducks build their chemistry, there will be even fewer of them.
From here the Ducks travel up the road to Corvallis on Thursday, then play three neutral site games vs Texas A&M and San Diego State, then a pair of games in LA before returning home at the end of the first week in December. By then we should have an understanding of what the Ducks are or can be.
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