BOULDER, Colo. – It’s not the time of year to lay an egg, but that’s just what the No. 19 Oregon Ducks did at Coors Events Center in Boulder on Thursday night. In a game that would have given Oregon a share of the Pac-12 title and the number-one-seed in the upcoming conference tournament, Colorado crushed the Ducks, 76-53. In …
Altman and Larranaga: Restoring Hope to College Basketball
For college basketball purists; those who care about balance and building programs, the end of the 2011-12 college basketball season was the sport’s absolute nadir. The Kentucky Wildcats were national champions, despite being a team assembled in the mode of all recent teams under head coach John Calipari: a collection of high school stars whose featured players first played as …
Moving Up in the World (of Men’s Basketball)
With two games left in the season, and only seven days until the start of the PAC-12 Tournament, the regular season of Oregon men’s basketball is winding to a close. The Ducks have made it this far with a record of 23-6, 12-4 in the PAC-12. They are ranked #19 in the country — up five spots from last week …
Pac-12 Tournament Champion is Up for Grabs
It all comes down to the final weekend to crown a Pac-12 basketball regular season champion. Oregon has led the way the entire year, sparked by victories over the UCLA Bruins and Arizona Wildcats. UCLA stands tied with Oregon for first place in the conference with a 12-4 record, but losses by both teams during the final week of play …
Mental lift from Artis return is the key
The stats were not overwhelming, and they may not be for the rest of the year. Six points in 12 minutes won’t blow your hair back . However, the return of freshman point guard Dominic Artis did do one thing for the Oregon Duck basketball team Thursday night, and that one thing may be the key to post-season success: He …
Seniors Rally Ducks Past Beavers, Reclaim Pac-12 Lead
After freshman Dominic Artis bounced in a three-pointer to break a 52-52 tie with 11:31 left in Thursday’s Civil War at Matthew Knight Arena, Oregon’s four seniors scored 29 of the final 30 points of the game as the Ducks roared past Oregon State, 85-75, and reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 race with two games remaining. …
Oregon Basketball Analysis: Down-and-Dirty Defense Allows Ducks to Run Free
Until Oregon’s recent payback win over Stanford, when the Ducks shot 48% from the field, its outside shooting woes and stagnant offensive production have been well-chronicled, especially in the nine-game absence of point guard Dominic Artis. The offensive scouting report on Oregon? “Pay close attention to Singler, Dotson, and Emory on the perimeter, but dare Loyd and everybody else to …
Leading the Charge, Duck Style
As Charles Dickens once wrote in a Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…,” which seems to sum up the Oregon men’s basketball season to a T. Sometimes a loss can show you how much a team has improved. In …
Johnathan Loyd Stirs the Drink as Ducks Drub Stanford
Johnathan Loyd had heard it all. The whispers. The comments. The tweets. How he couldn’t shoot, how other teams don’t guard him, how the Ducks have gone straight downhill without Dominic Artis, and on and on. Going scoreless in a heartbreaking loss to California two nights earlier, didn’t help. But Saturday against Stanford, in a game the Ducks had to …
Last-Second California Dagger Stuns Ducks
After 10 consecutive losses to the Bears stretching back to 2008, it looked like No. 23 Oregon had found a way to end the streak. Despite struggling to score for nearly all 40 minutes of Thursday’s Pac-12 game at Matthew Knight Arena, the Ducks controlled the game defensively and led for nearly the entire contest. Oregon defended and rebounded with …
Streaking To the Top
Two weeks ago when the Oregon men’s basketball team had lost three games in a row after a incredible 16-2 start to the season, a palpable cloud fell over the Oregon fan base, dampening for the moment the sheer crazy-ness most have for Duck sports. People, fans along with analysts and fans of the sport everywhere, started wondering if Oregon …
Recruiting Update: Altman Going Tropical In Florida Raid?
Football Recruiting Head Coach Mark Helfrich is making short work of an Oregon stigma. His recent offers (very early in the recruiting cycle, I might add) place Lighting Yellow and Thunder Green in a favorable position. Relative unknowns, tight end/athlete Ian Bunting (NR/Hinsdale, Ill) and lineman Sam Jones (NR/Highlands Ranch, CO), both received Oregon nods and could be early pieces …