It has been quite the week in Oregon athletics. The Duck football team won the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl 35-17 over Kansas State last Thursday, then on Sunday it was announced that Head Coach Chip Kelly would be returning to coach for another season during the Duck basketball team's 79-66 win over Oregon State in Corvallis.
 |
Senior Forward Arsalan Kazemi
Source: Netscoutsbasketball.com |
The Oregon Duck basketball team will now play their biggest home game since 2007 when they hosted #8 UCLA and lost 80-75 at the old McArthur Court. This will be the biggest game at the new Matthew Night Arena since it opened in 2011. The Ducks had shown inconsistency and had not looked as smooth offensively until Sunday night. The Ducks weren't as solid against Nebraska in a 60-38 win on December 15th as they turned the ball over and struggled to put points on the scoreboard. The Duck's inconsistency then led to a 91-84 triple overtime loss on December 19th at UTEP, which hurt the Duck's chances of hitting the AP Top 25. The Ducks blew by Houston Baptist at home 91-50 on December 22nd, but again struggled offensively in a 56-43 home win against Nevada on December 31st. The Ducks looked inconsistent in the first half against Oregon State on Sunday, but turned things around in the second half.
After the Ducks trailed 34-28 after the first half, the Ducks came out in the second half and outscored the Beavers 51-32. The Ducks were led by freshman guard Damyean Dotson's 21 points. This gave the Ducks a 79-66 win in the 338th Civil War game at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. This win gives the Ducks motivation and confidence heading into their showdown with #4 Arizona tonight.
Arizona, who is led by sophomore guard Nick Johnson and senior guard Mark Lyons, are coming in after very close home wins against Colorado and Utah. Colorado, in majority of people's minds, should have actually defeated the Wildcats 83-80. Unfortunately, instant replay apparently proved that Colorado's Sabatino Chen's 3-pointer did not make it out of his hand's as the the buzzer sounded at the end of regulation. Arizona ended up winning the game in overtime 92-83. Arizona then ended up in a tussle with a Utah squad that is supposed to be one of the teams in the Pac-12 cellar this season. Arizona avoided a game tying 3-pointer as regulation expired and escaped with a 60-57 victory.
 |
| Matt Knight Arena |
This game at Matthew Knight Arena tonight could get very interesting. This may potentially be the loudest crowd the Ducks have had in years. For the Ducks to win, they are going to need a big inside game from Arsalan Kazemi and also need to rely on their 3-point game led by E.J. Singler. Arizona has shown difficulty defending against the 3-pointer this season. The free throws are going to have to fall as well. The Ducks have shot over 70 percent from the line in their past two games. Arsalan Kazemi will need to find a way to knock his free throws down though, as he as shot just 47.3 percent from the line in his past three games. Freshmen Damyean Dotson will need to get in on the action as well, as he has averaged 12.6 points in the Duck's last five games. The Ducks will need to shutdown Nick Johnson and the surging Solomon Hill. Johnson has been solid this season and has averaged 12.2 points per game. Hill, on the other hand, scored a combined 34 points and recorded 14 rebounds in Arizona's first two Pac-12 games. The other players the Ducks need to contain are Mark Lyons and Kevin Parrom. Lyons leads his team in scoring with an average of 14.4 points per game and has been clutch from the line as he has not missed a free throw in the final minute of any game this season. Parrom has also been a force inside with his rebounding game.
Tonight: #4 Arizona 14-0 (2-0) at Oregon 12-2 (1-0) Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, OR)
6:00 PM PT ESPN2
No comments:
Post a Comment