Originally posted on CampusAttic.com on December 26th, 2013
Oregon
basketball is scoring points on top of points on top of points, son! Following
a cue from the Oregon football mentality, Ducks basketball has become a game of
scoring at will, for both the men’s and women’s teams.
 |
| Men's Basketball coach Dana Altman (NBC.com) |
The
men’s squad, undefeated on the year at 11-0 and ranked as high as 10th in one
poll, the women’s squad 8-2. Both are slated to next play games this Sunday,
Dec. 29th at Matthew Knight Arena in what should be an entertaining and
fast-paced doubleheader. Both are led by high-profile coaches with distinct systems.
Whatever
the means, whether it’s the “Guru of Go”’s run-and-gun system by Paul Westhead
having his women sprint and shoot within three passes, or Dana Altman’s
movement system built on out-scheming opponents; both teams have a lot in
common — flashy uniforms, the Pit Crew cheering them on, plenty of wins, and
scoring lots and lots of points in the process.
It
is unprecedented territory for Oregon, and perhaps any program, to consider the
equality in offensive production currently taking place in the cavernous and
occasionally mostly-filled Matthew Knight Arena. The Oregon Ducks men’s team
currently rank #1 in the country in points per game (90.3), and 7th in field
goal percentage (.511). The women are also #1 in scoring per game at a whopping
106.2 points per game, almost six points per game higher than the 2nd-ranked
team (Baylor).
 |
| Paul Westhead’s system is finally paying big dividends. (courtesy: GoDucks.com) |
For
comparison purposes, the women’s team would rank third overall in the NBA behind
only Portland and Oklahoma City in points per game, and 24 points per game
higher than the top-scoring WNBA team in the 2013 season (Minnesota Lynx –
82.88).
The University of Oregon athletic department is a program more than any other
today that has become a marketing giant, a brand in of itself. Predicated on
speed and flash across all of its sports, behind the glitz and glamour of Duck
lore is the reality of performance. The University of Oregon may not have the
banners that the traditional powers do, but in the 21st century nothing draws
attention like scoring and winning, two things the Ducks have done often…now if
only those things actually attracted a crowd to Matt Knight Arena.
With
both teams running and scoring at a breakneck pace, it will be interesting to
see where the Ducks end up once Pac-12 play begins. Each team has been tested,
the men surviving difficult battles in overtime vs. Ole Miss and Illinois, the
women falling to the #1 ranked Connecticut Huskies in Hartford, CT.
Coach
Westhead and Coach Altman will of course give the typical coach speak,
emphasizing fundamentals and areas to improve–defense, rebounding, passing,
ball control–but the results speak for themselves. The systems are working, oh
how they are working.
Seven
times out of ten the Oregon women have scored 100+ points in games, the men
four times out of eleven have cracked the century mark. The women in three of
those games have exceed 120 points, without going to overtime. Their opening
day tally of 131 broke the team and Pac-12 scoring record for a single game,
quite a feat considering the top-level play and dynasty long established on the
west coast by the Stanford women’s basketball team.
 |
| Joseph
Young has led the scoring (courtesy: BleacherReport.com) |
Both
teams have have gone into overdrive through new additions to the roster adding
turbo to an already powerful engine. The men’s squad has survived in the Dana
Altman era through transfers, and 2013 is no exception, with Joseph Young, Mike
Moser, and Jason Calliste ranking 1-2-3 in scoring for the Ducks, Young leading
the way at a whopping 19.8 ppg clip.
For
the women, the catalyst has been freshman Chrishae Rowe and a finally healthy
roster. Westhead has brought in talent to Oregon since taking over the team
five years ago, but the program has been as snake bit by injuries as any in the
country, until now. Firing on all cylinders, Rowe and the lady Ducks are making
buckets at an unbelievable pace.
Rowe has been named the Pac-12 freshman of the week three times, impressive
considering considering the season is barely seven weeks old. Rowe set a new
team record for scoring in a single game back on December 4th, racking up 41
vs. Seattle. She is ranked 10th in the country in scoring per game (24.2),
while inside post presence Jillian Alleyne leads the nation in rebounds per
game at 13.8.
With
Oregon putting up so many points and the Pac-12 schedule looming, both teams
just got a nitrous injection with the addition of more able bodies. Handcuffed
for the first nine games due to the suspension of 2012 starting point guard
Dominic Artis and much-needed big man Ben Carter, the men’s team seamlessly
welcomed their two teammates back into the rotation, the two proving invaluable
in the Dec. 21st 100-96 overtime win over BYU. After football season ends, come
January a couple more players are likely to don Duck uniforms, last year’s
redshirt Arik Armstead and freshmen twins Tyree and Tyrell Robinson probable to
join an already very deep bench.
 |
| Chrishae
Rowe has led the way in the Ducks’ onslaught of the scoreboard, named Pac-12
Freshman of the Week three times. (courtesy: GoDucks.com) |
On
the women’s side, Oregon’s athletic equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife is back,
four-sport do-everything and volleyball All-American Liz Brenner is back on the
court following Oregon’s elimination from the volleyball NCAA Tournament.
Brenner was Oregon 2nd leading rebounder in 2012-13, a big body to help in the
paint.
While Brenner for the women and Armstead for the men are not key cogs in
the machine with Oregon’s teams already rolling, they are nice compliments to
add to let Oregon only get stronger from here. Armstead could possibly bring a
large body in the paint, the one chink in Oregon’s armor, a team that ranks a
paltry 153rd in the country in rebounding.
Whether
or not the good times can be sustained will be tested when Pac-12 play starts
in January. Always a strong basketball conference, the traditional powers in
Arizona’s men’s team and Stanford’s women’s team are huge roadblocks that must
be overcome to legitimize both Oregon teams as contenders.
What
they have proven thus far is that both are able to score, handily, on anybody.
As long as they keep scoring, they should keep winning. For 2013, if Autzen
Stadium is the House of Loud, then Matthew Knight Arena has become the House of
Points. It may not be loud, it may often be close to empty, but the on-court
performances more than justify a big audience.
The
next opportunity to showcase their point prowess should be a fun one, with the
men’s and women’s teams both playing at Matt Knight Arena this Sunday. Why not
make a day of it? See if the scoreboard can keep up…First to 100 wins.
NEXT GAMES:
Oregon
Ducks Men’s Basketball
Morgan State vs. Oregon
Sunday, December 29th, 2013 – 12pm (Pac-12 Network)
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
Morgan State vs. Oregon
Sunday, December 29th, 2013 – 12pm (Pac-12 Network)
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
Oregon
Ducks Women’s Basketball
Cal State Northridge vs. Oregon
Sunday, December 29th, 2013 – 4pm (Pac-12 Streaming online here)
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
Cal State Northridge vs. Oregon
Sunday, December 29th, 2013 – 4pm (Pac-12 Streaming online here)
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
 |
| Pit Crew has had plenty to cheer about in 2013, join in the fun this Sunday with back-to-back games. (courtesy: UOpitcrew.com) |
