MEN'S BASKETBALL DEFEATS UTAH

OREGON OFFENSE COMES ALIVE, DEFEATS UTAH 79-66

BY ERIC BERNIKER

Ducks guard De'Vion Harmon (5) goes for a layup through contact with a Utah player. The Oregon Ducks Men’s Basketball team faces the Utah Utes on Jan.1, 2022, at Matthew Knight Arena. (Serei Hendrie/Emerald)

The crowd at Matthew Knight Arena roared as Oregon point guard Will Richardson hit a step-back three pointer.

A lack of offensive production has plagued Oregon all season, but Saturday night looked promising for the Oregon squad, proving its ability to score as they beat the Utes, 79-66.

“It has been coming together slowly,” Richardson said. “It builds your confidence, I like to say it's your swagger… walking around like you belong here.”

The Preseason No. 12 team in the nation entered the first game of 2022 with a 7-6 record, going 0-2 in Pac-12 play. For the Ducks, Saturday night was a tale of two different teams on the offensive side of the ball. Sometimes they were able to score by exploiting opportunities to play inside out in transition. Other times, the Ducks looked hesitant, holding the ball for too long in the wings and looking for entry passes to the post but failing to create space to run a pick and roll.

They opened the night shooting one of 10 from the field. A slow pace and nine first half points to Utah forward Branden Carleson fronted the Utes a 35-29 lead going into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Jacob Young set the tone for the Ducks on the defensive end, using his lightning speed to cause three Utah turnovers with his suffocating on ball defense. Young finished the night with a season best 22 points and a game-high 4 assists.

“He changed the game,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “We were stuck in the mud and he got a steal and the rest of the guys followed his example.”

In the second half, the Ducks played with better energy. They continued to harass Utah ball handlers as Altman’s teams have done for years, forcing bad shots and 9 second half turnovers. The change in defensive strategy made room for the offense en route to a 50 point, 64% shooting second half in which the Ducks shot 75% from beyond the arc.

“We got some layups off of steals which really got us going,” Altman said. “We would like to get out and have a little better transition game than what we’ve had… the defense initiated most of those opportunities.”

Will Richardson had a career night, tallying 26 points on 8 for 8 from the field in the second half, helping to seal the win for the Ducks. A preseason Bob Cousy award watch list player, Richardson has struggled with consistency thus far. His offensive production was a welcome addition on Saturday.

“Will can be his own worst enemy sometimes,” Altman said. “Putting pressure on himself, the anxiety that creates… he was upbeat in practice the last couple of days, trying to lead, and it carried over to the game.”

Oregon claimed a 79-66 victory for their first win of Pac-12 play. The Ducks outscored Utah by 19 in the second half, but this Oregon team still has room for improvement, especially in the settled half-court offense.

The Ducks will look to build on their momentum when Colorado comes to Eugene on Monday, Jan. 2 at Matthew Knight Arena.

(Photo by Eric Evans/GoDucks.com)

Hoffmann: OREGON MUST

REDISCOVER WEDNESDAY'S SECOND HALF EXPLOSIVENESS IN 2022

(Photo of Dont’e Thornton by Eric Evans/GoDucks.com)

A depleted Ducks defense allowed a season-high in points in the 47-32 Alamo Bowl loss, but it’s the Ducks’ second half performance, especially offensively, that added fuel to an already salient offseason.

BY SHANE HOFFMANN • TWITTER @SHANE_HOFFMANN

Credit to Oregon. It’s not the lopsided Utah losses or the abysma first half of Wednesday’s 47-32 Alamo Bowl loss I'll remember. It’s that offensive explosion in the second. That brief salute to more potent Ducks’ offenses of years past.

For the first time this season, there was a true aura of confidence. Just get the ball back to the offense. No shred of a doubt that each offensive drive would end in seven points.

“We just needed one stop,” All-American safety Verone McKinley III, who is still undecided on whether to return for his final season, said. “We needed more time. And that’s just how football is… That feeling after the Pac-12 championship – we didn't like it,” McKinley III said. “And this one is a little different because we didn't give up in the second half.”

That’s the taste left in my mouth, the prevailing memory as Oregon enters the offseason — the first of the Dan Lanning era.

Interim head coach Bryan McClendon added: “We’ve come too far to let a bad half define us.”

Those final 30 minutes felt different. Looked different too.

It was a pleasure to watch.

I’ve found myself circling back to one answer Lanning gave in his introductory press conference some days back. He was asked about the philosophy which he hopes to use when constructing his team’s identity. Without hesitation, he detailed his No. 1 focus.

“The No. 1 indicator right now in college football in wins and losses is explosive plays,” he said. “We’re going to be a team that’s built off explosive plays on offense, defense and special teams. You have to be able to push the ball down the field; you have to be able to attack in the air and on the ground.”

After the Alamo Bowl, Oregon has a tried and true blueprint. And while you'd be hard pressed to find an explosive play from Oregon’s defense Wednesday — which allowed Oklahoma to score on eight straight possessions — many of the 30-plus Ducks absent hailed from that side of the ball. The decimated unit — starting a tight end and offensive guard along the defensive line — had glimpses early but understandably wore down.

I’m willing to bet the defensive mind of Lanning can construct a formidable unit with the resources and personnel Oregon has returning. Noah Sewell, Justin Flowe, Jeffrey Bassa, Brandon Dorlus, Popo Aumavae, Dontae Manning, Bennett Williams –– that’s a sturdy foundation.

That’s why that second half fight the Ducks lacked in both losses to Utah, but displayed in those final 30 minutes in San Antonio, is key. It was the first time all season the Ducks looked like an offensive force capable of consistently pushing the ball down field through the air.

There was an aggressiveness, both in play calling and decision making, nowhere to be found in the blowout losses to Utah. The offense played its most inspired ball all season.

“Truly you have everything right now telling these guys not to go out there during this time and give it all that they have,” McClendon said. “They were able to block out everything.”

That wide receiver group looks special. Ninety yards for true freshman Dont’e Thornton, 65 for fellow freshman Troy Franklin and 55 for sophomore Kris Hutson. A touchdown bomb to each.

It’s a young trio and, at times Wednesday, that showed. But the speed is a recipe for the explosive offense Lanning envisions. The unit offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham has the keys to, and the offseason with which to find the heir apparent to quarterback Anthony Brown.

That’s really all that matters at this point, right?

The offensive line enters 2022 virtually unchanged. The stable of running backs is deep enough and plenty talented to withstand possible departures from CJ Verdell and Travis Dye. The receiving corps, and tight end room for that matter, are built to play down the field. Rearing to open things up and assault the scoreboard with a daunting defense on the sideline.

Whoever finds themselves under center next year must reignite that brief stint of second half magic discovered in the closing moments of the 2021 season.