SB Nation - LeKendric Longmire

Know Your (Temporary) Rival: Oregon Ducks

Bill C. — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:30:13 -0000

Tajuan Porter leads a banged-up Ducks squad to Columbia tomorrow afternoon.

Oregon: 4-2

	UO	Opp
Points Per Minute	2.01	1.60
Points Per Possession (PPP)	1.18	0.94
Points Per Shot (PPS)	1.32	1.24
2-PT FG%	50.8%	44.4%
3-PT FG%	37.1%	37.5%
FT%	75.8%	64.1%
True Shooting %	57.1%	52.4%

	UO	Opp
Assists/Gm	14.3	11.7
Steals/Gm	8.5	5.7
Turnovers/Gm	13.0	16.7
Ball Control Index (Assists + Steals) / TO	1.76	1.04

	UO	Opp
Expected Offensive Rebounds	74	71
Offensive Rebounds	85	49
Difference	+11	-22

UO's season thus far:

@Oregon 94, Winston-Salem State 43 (W)
@Oregon 95, UC-Davis 64 (W)
@Oregon 68, Colorado State 53 (W)
@Portland 88, Oregon 81 (L)
Montana 68, @Oregon 55 (L)
@Oregon 89, Montana State 66 (W)

Where the Ducks are solid

Hard to tell. While it appears that Portland might be a rather legitimate team, the Ducks' schedule so far has been quite weak, and humongous wins over Winston-Salem State and UC-Davis have made their numbers look artificially great. This does appear to be a rock-solid rebounding team, though huge efforts against the cakiest of cupcakes sways the numbers a bit; they were significantly outplayed down low in the loss to Montana. Meanwhile, their guard play looks quite good if you take out of the equation the fact that Portland's backcourt ran circles around them. In all, if I were to rank the five major categories listed above (FG% offense, FG% defense, BCI offense, BCI defense, and rebounding), I would list their strengths like this, from best to worst:

1. Rebounding
2. BCI offense
3. FG% offense
4. BCI defense
5. FG% defense

This seems like a team with size and decent potential, but their defense has not been great so far, considering the level of competition. If you're allowing a true shooting % of 52.4% against this competition, then at home Mizzou should at least get into the 55%-60% range. Shooting has very much not been Mizzou's strong suit thus far, but this might be a nice slump buster. If the Ducks don't force a turnover (and they'll certainly force some), they're probably giving up a decent look.

Where the Ducks are less than solid

Well, for one thing, chemistry is probably going to be off a bit considering how many injuries and absences they've already had to deal with this season. Five players -- Dajuan Porter (ankle), Joevan Catron (back), Matt Humphrey (knee), Josh Crittle (ankle), and Michael Dunigan (hip) -- have already missed time, which is impressive considering Oregon's only played six games. If they are healthy, they've got a quick backcourt and a big frontcourt, but ... are they healthy? Oregon's press for the most part seems justifiably distracted by the football team and Thursday night's Civil War, but I haven't been able to find out for sure who is supposed to play and who is not. This is their first game in a week, so there's a good chance that everybody will be expected to play. At least that's what I'm going to assume until I hear otherwise.

Anyway, beyond health/chemistry, I guess I covered their main weaknesses above: defense.

Player Stats

NCAA Basketball Stats

Player	*AdjGS/Gm**	GmSc/Min	Line
Teondre Williams (6'4, 199, So.)	13.5	0.53	25.3 MPG, 14.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.7 APG
Tajuan Porter (5'7, 155, Sr.)	12.4	0.47	26.4 MPG, 14.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 2.0 SPG, 2.0 TOPG
Malcolm Armstead (6'0, 204, So.)	10.7	0.41	25.8 MPG, 7.5 PPG, 4.5 APG, 2.7 RPG, 2.5 SPG
Michael Dunigan (6'10, 242, So.)	10.0	0.68	14.8 MPG, 8.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.3 BPG
LeKendric Longmire (6'5, 200, Jr.)	9.0	0.41	22.2 MPG, 10.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.2 SPG
Garrett Sim (6'1, 180, So.)	6.8	0.41	16.8 MPG, 7.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.5 APG
Joevan Catron (6'6, 237, Sr.)	6.4	0.30	21.3 MPG, 5.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.5 TOPG
Jamil Wilson (6'7, 209, Fr.)	6.0	0.36	16.8 MPG, 5.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.2 APG
E.J. Singler (6'6, 210, Fr.)	5.3	0.40	13.2 MPG, 3.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.5 APG
Jeremy Jacob (6'8, 225, So.)	3.4	0.23	15.2 MPG, 4.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Josh Crittle (6'8, 250, So.)	1.5	0.19	7.7 MPG, 2.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG
Drew Wiley (6'7, 215, So.)	0.8	0.10	7.6 MPG, 2.0 PPG
Nicholas Fearn (6'1, 190, So.)	0.7	0.25	6 minutes
John Elorriaga (6'2, 183, So.)	0.6	0.19	6 minutes
Matthew Humphrey (6'5, 185, So.)	0.5	0.07	7.8 MPG, 2.6 PPG

* AdjGS = a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It redistributes a team's points based not only on points scored, but also by giving credit for assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls. It is a stat intended to determine who had the biggest overall impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.

Early-season injuries do funny things to the numbers -- because of the roster shifts, Oregon currently has TEN guys averaging at least 13 minutes per game. That's really tough to do.
Honestly, from Mizzou's perspective the most dangerous player on the court for Oregon could be Michael Dunigan. Vanderbilt used size to extreme advantage against Mizzou, and Dunigan did a nice job in Oregon's last game of banging around, getting to the line and making his free throws. If Dunigan gets hot, either from the field or on the glass (or both), then this game could stay pretty close.
Tajuan Porter has a chance to set the Pac-10's career 3-pointers mark this season. He is a quick guard and good shooter, but I'm curious to see how he handles not only Missouri's bigger guards, but Missouri's much bigger guards. He's giving up eight inches to J.T. Tiller and nine to Zaire Taylor, and while I'm sure he's faced plenty of bigger guards in his day (like, every game of his career), here's where Mizzou's strong defense could take over. If Porter can't really get going, then it's up to younger guys like Teondre Williams and Garrett Sim to knock down outside shots. Both are capable of doing so, but you always want to be able to take away a team's most proven scoring threat, and that's Porter.
Oregon finished with a staggeringly bad 8-23 record last year, but taking a look at the roster, you can kind of see why athletic department may have held onto Ernie Kent for another season. Four of the top six contributors are sophomores this year, with six more at the end of the bench; throw in a couple of freshman contributors (Jamil Wilson and E.J. "Don't Call Me Kyle" Singler), and Oregon's got a ridiculously young team. Porter and Joevan Catron are the only seniors, so this team will be able to continue to grow together for a while.

Keys to the Game

Rebounds. They murdered Missouri in the last game, and if guys like Dunigan and Catron are allowed to not only prevent second chances for Mizzou, but also collect some second chances of their own, then Oregon will stay in this game a lot longer than they should.
The 3-Pointer. Oregon takes 21 3's a game, and Missouri takes 22. Oregon's perimeter defense has been far from amazing in terms of FG% and 3PT%, but you never know who may get hot from one game to another. If the Ducks make over 40% of their 3's and Missouri makes below about 35% of theirs, Oregon could have a chance.
Pace. Oregon likes to play a transition game (though they've only averaged about 68 possessions per game -- Mizzou would prefer closer to 75), with pressure defense and as many fast break opportunities as possible. If they're good at it, they might be able to handle Mizzou's pressure alright and apply some of their own. If they're only decent at it, they will play right into Mizzou's hands and get run off the court. Based on the teams they've played, I can't tell if they're good or only decent ... and I'm leaning toward the latter.

Prediction

I always like Missouri's chances when a team from two time zones away makes a long trip for a game with a weird tip-off time. That's just a really long trip to make for a single basketball game, no? While Oregon could hurt Mizzou on the boards, and while they have a couple of long-distance weapons that could get hot, I can't imagine this game ends up tremendously close. Oregon is still learning how to win again, and Mizzou's ready to take out some frustrations. Mizzou 86, Oregon 67.

MBB Exhibition Game 2 Preview: Lewis and Clark vs. Oregon

dvieira — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:00:29 -0000

A Look at the Pioneers

Lewis and Clark makes the trip down I-5 to clash with the Ducks of Oregon at Mac Court as the men's team looks to tighten up their play in their second and final exhibition game. The Pioneers were 12-6 overall with a respectable 6-3 in the Northwest Conference, a conference that includes George Fox, Linfield, and Willamette. Josh Kollasch will be back at guard who averaged abou 14 points per game last year but did not shoot a high percentage from the field. James Hollins should run the other guard spot and will contribute scoring opportunities to the team as well.

Lewis and Clark provides a different set of challenges for Oregon than their first game against Concordia. While Concordia looked to go inside, the Pioneers will look to score from their perimeter players. Garrett Sim and Tajuan Porter have to step up big time given their performances last Sunday. Oregon will have a significant advantage in the paint which should provide a number of opportunities on the boards. Offensive rebounds shouldn't be a problem but I'll be happy if we don't have very many.

Keys to the Game

1. Get TP, Garrett Sim and LeKendric Longmire involved early and in rhythm. Coming off a tough shooting night for the three of them, it would be great to see some progress shooting the ball and overall fundamental defense. TP, in particular, should look to get some confidence.

2. Continue to refine the offense and develop additional scoring threats. Jamil Wilson had a great first game. No regression. Get him some good looks and let him use his talent to get some good looks. Michael Dunigan needs to dominate down low and look to be a defensive stopper.

Final Thoughts

This game should be just as much of a blowout as Concordia but that doesn't mean we should take this game lightly. We have a lot to work on before we open the season next Friday and we need to refine our play. Having continuing shooting woes from the guard position will only hurt us more as the season drags on and we need to prove to others (and ourselves) that we have a legitimate threat from outside they key. This is the game we need to start refining our strategies with.

MBB Exhibition Game 1 Recap: Ducks 99, Cavaliers 61

dvieira — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:24:44 -0000

The men's basketball team got off to a nice start with an exhibition win on Sunday at Mac Court. 5 players scored in double figures and almost everyone got some meaningful playing time. This game went how it was supposed to. Get the guys in the gym under game-like conditions and see how they respond. How much can you learn from your first game against a vastly inferior opponent? I've got a couple things.

1. Jamil Wilson is going to have an immediate impact this season

2. Our shooting woes haven't gone away during the summer

The Ducks were very active in the hustle department. We won the rebound battle with 62 rebounds. Yes, you read that right. 62 rebounds in the game, 31 offensive and defensive rebounds respectively. Even though our shooting was off, the team was crashing the boards, getting after second chance opportunities. We also caused 22 turnovers, translating those turnovers into a respectable 34 points.

Offensively, I thought we shot ok, just not great. We averaged 43% for the game but most of that game from a bad first half. The second half had a decent field goal percentage at 46% but this is Concordia. We shouldn't be shooting under 40% at any time during the game, let alone for a half. Garrett Sim and Tajuan Porter both had tough nights in the shooting department, teaming up to decrease the overall percentage for the team. Take those two out and the team shot around 48%, even including Lekendric Longmire's 2-8 from the field. Sim and Porter won't have this type of game every night but certainly discouraging against this type of competition.

Player Notes

Jamil Wilson came to play tonight and was certainly the star of the show shooting 7-10 from the field with 17 total points and contributing 4 steals in only 18 minutes on the floor. This guy is a beast at the power forward spot and should provide a great option for the team offensively and defensively.

Malcolm Armstead also had a great night, shooting 50% from the field with 14 points. He also spread the ball around, racking up 4 assists.

Tajuan Porter had 2 points on 1-5 shooting with 3 assists and 4 turnovers in 20 minutes. I'll give him a pass for having a bad night but this is his senior season. It's time to step up.

Joevan Catron appears to have found is groove, throwing down 12 points with 0 turnovers. Remember when he would get the ball in the post last year, take a dribble and promptly travel, turning the ball over? I like this new and improved Catron. Keep it up big man.

Final Thoughts

The Ducks took control of the game early and took care of business in a game that they should have won. I especially liked the defensive intensity on Alex Thiefenthaler who only shot 3-11 from the field and had 8 points in 26 minutes. Great defense in the middle took Alex out of his game. This was the first game of a long season. Don't read too much into the statistics but there is a lot to be encouraged about in Jamil Wilson and Malcom Armstead. There's a lot of time for TP and Sim to get things together.

Quack Fix: Hoops media day; Steele still predicts Emerald Bowl for Ducks.

JConant — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:00:42 -0000

Well, ready or not, it's time to start putting some focus on the upcoming Pac-10 basketball season. Today's Quack Fix is a little soft on football coverage - no surprise halfway through a bye week.

Ernie Kent is fairly candid about the pressure he feels to right the ship following last year's 8-23 record. The Ducks start practice Friday night, and Kent had a lot to say about the growth of his team when he sat down with the R-G's Ron Bellamy.
Bellamy offers a few other notes from Oregon's media day.
Evidently Bellamy was winning the day among local beat writers. He writes that post players Nicole Canepa and Ellyce Ironmonger are learning to find a place in Paul Westhead's up-tempo system.
Bob Clark of the R-G gives us an in-depth introduction to E.J. Singler. The freshman from Medford has a lot of things going for him, including a well-established comfort zone for playing at Mac Court.
Of course, we're not completely lacking football news. Rob Moseley gives us links to the latest bowl projections. I would normally pass on this stuff, but I see Phil Steele still isn't a believer. He predicts Oregon will go 2-4 in the second half. What's odd is he has Cal running the table starting this week. Seriously, Phil? Are you even considering how these teams look on the field week to week? Cal's going to beat Oregon State, Arizona, and Stanford, but Oregon will lose to all three?
Gary Horowitz of the Stateman Journal caught up with Chip Kelly, who says the Ducks will remain focused week-to-week right through the civil war. Funny...Kelly said he congratulated the team Wednesday for being half-way-through Pac-10 champs. Evidently some of the guys clapped in celebration, until they realized Chip was being sarcastic.
In case you missed yesterday's practice notes.
Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian reports that former Duck lineman Mark Lewis has been signed to the Seattle Seahawks' practice roster.

As always, if you stumble upon some good, please share in the comments. [UPDATE -jtlight] I've added some videos after the jump, incliding a bunch of basketball team interview and Chip Kelly on PTI, so make sure to check them out.

Chip Kelly on PTI

Coach Kent Media Day Interview

Tajuan Porter Media Day Interview

Michael Dunigan Media Day Interview

Drew Wiley Media Day Interview

LeKendric Longmire Media Day Interview

Media Wednesday - A Season To Forget

dvieira — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:00:47 -0000

2008 was a hard year for a young Men's Basketball Team. Before we can go forward, we have to look back and remember the mistakes of the past. Today's Media Wednesday goes back to the end of the 2008 Hoops season as LeKendric Longmire, Tajuan Porter and Ernie Kent comment on the season finally, mercifully coming to an end during the Pac-10 Tournament.

Here's to hoping that Juju will look favorably on us in basketball this year.

Thank You Ernie! But your Pac-10 Title is in Another Arena: Wazzu 62, Oregon 40

dvieira — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:18:22 -0000

General Observations

Boxscore

As much as I love the game of basketball, and as much as I love the Oregon Ducks, I am so happy the season is over. In a lot of ways, the game against Washington State summed up all of the feelings I've had about the team this year. Inexperience, turnovers and mental mistakes plagued us through the entire game. We did some things right but we did a lot of things like we have all year. Washington State was the worst possible team for us to play in the first round matchup-wise and not only did they kill us on the court, they just happened to be ending the season playing some of their best basketball. A recipe for a first-round exit. Great. Oregon never led in the game, and even though they made some good runs, they couldn't put together a consistent effort to stay in the game. Here are some thoughts from Ernie....

Offensively we were completely out of sync. We turned the ball over way too much. We couldn't score inside. We weren't scoring outside. TP was about the only guy on the floor getting anything done. So many missed layups and scoring opportunities. More so, so many basketball plays on the floor that are there to be made that we're not making right now. With a team that plays defensive like they play, you've got to make basketball plays. We left a lot of plays out on the floor.

A lot of the "basketball plays" Ernie is referring to are hustle and muscle plays from the guys. Going for rebounds was a big factor in the game as the guys were losing battles for the loose balls. Washington State was winning almost all the battles, not just physically but understanding what to do in the exact situation and reacting. Oregon still, even at this late part of the season, isn't reacting to the ball. Too much thinking out there, not enough playing basketball. The Cougars just play solid defense and don't make too many mistakes. When they do make mistakes, you have to capitalize on them and we just didn't do that.

Ernie on the off-season

We've got a grueling, grueling, grueling Spring and off-season coming this way with this group because we got a LOT of work to do...LOT of work to do.

You get the distinct impression that the off-season road is going to be pretty long for Oregon. Not just for players, but coaches as well. Ernie didn't sugarcoat the issue at all. The team will get a week or two off for finals and rest from the long season. After that, back to work fixing the issues from this season. Ernie implied that they knew a lot of the issues coming into the season. That fact doesn't surprise me as much as why it wasn't publicized more. By whatever force, most fans were led to believe that we would be "ok" and at least be middle of the Pac-10. I'm not sure if this was a bad job of setting expectations by Ernie and crew or whether the media got out of hand in their predictions. Ernie hangs his hat on "winning in the off-season" so hopefully the summer will prove to be a winner for Oregon.

On bringing in a strength and conditioning coach

Now we have an opportunity to change Josh Crittle's body even more so. Michael Dunigan, when he takes off his shirt you probably laugh because he doesn't have any muscle there, any bulk there. We got a chance now to put some muscle, put some bulk on him. Garret needs bulk, Drew Wiley needs bulk. Major bulk on Matt Humphrey(s). Those guys have to get size now, they have to get bigger, they have to get stronger.

When I heard Ernie talking about changing Crittle's body, all I could think of was this. So many plays this year break down to not having the size and muscle to execute. Having the size to go up underneath and get a foul or a bucket without getting the ball stripped will save us 10-15 points a game if not more. I'm not sure why Ernie insists on calling Matt Humphrey, Matt Humphreys but he does it every interview. To be honest, I wouldn't mind having more than one if it meant we had his energy, defense and hot shooting ability.

This is a terrible way to end the season for those guys but as TP did a great job of in the locker room says "You know, my senior year is NOT going to be like this and it starts with the off-season" and it really does. It starts with Joevan, LeKendric and TP. They've got to do a nice job of leading this team, but at the same time we have 3 great players coming in the door that are chomping at the bit just to get in the door. Even those three guys, I told them right now. There is nobody that is protected in terms of a scholarship, in terms of "I've got my scholarship so I'm going to be a starter this year". No no no no no. You have your scholarship and you're going to have to earn your opportunity to get out there on that floor again. TP being the exception to that.

A little competition doesn't hurt. With the recruits coming in next season, it serves us well by pushing the existing guys on the team. Ernie also alluded to the new recruits being able to contribute more right away, not out of necessity, but of luxury. I'm encouraged by what Ernie is saying. He's telling us the right things and seems to understand the gravity of the situation.

Stat of the game: 20 points for Tajuan Porter, 20 points for the rest of the team

Some more interesting facts about the game, Taylor Rochestie was 1 of 5 from the field with 4 points in the game. TP did an awesome job defending him the entire game. His 6 assists was double what the entire Oregon team had for the game. The Ducks had no answer for Aron Baynes. 7 of 8 from the field, 6 for 6 from the line for 20 points. Josh Crittle did not have a good game at all. 3 points, 5 turnovers. Catron seems to have hit some sort of wall. Another tough game for him going 2 of 6 from the field with 3 turnovers.

And just to prove who won the poll from before, if Wazzu only dresses Casto, Forrest, Baynes and Rochestie in the game, the Cougars still win 48-40.

Recap: Ducks Drop 51 in the Second Half to Beat Oregon State

dvieira — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:58:33 -0000

Before I get started into the recap, I do want to mention that the production value of the radio broadcasts was not as good as it has been in the past. I'm not sure how good other feeds were but the KUGN feed had a lot of doubled commercials, breaks that were cut off and other strange things that just confuse me. I don't know much about the radio business but I don't remember a time when these mistakes were so "in your face". I'm hoping that the folks who handle the Oregon Broadcasts take a look at the game and really work through some of these errors. I hate commercials enough without having to hear 2 of them at the same time.

I learned a very valuable lesson last night as I sat listening to the Civil War men's hoops game. I should always trust Trumpetduck. I admit, I was a little nervous going into halftime with the Beavers holding such a big lead but how was I to know that Oregon would channel Chip Kelly in their offensive production? Everyone knows I'm a pro-Ernie guy and this game was an example of why I think he needs to stay. After all the adversity the team has faced this season, with the game looking like it was going to go the route we have become all too familiar with, adjustments were made and Oregon stormed back from a 14-point deficit to win the game by 10. We kept the Beavers off balance by turning on the press, switching from zones to man-to-man defenses and we started cutting off the backdoor plays that burned us for layups. Most of all, the players finally executed and executed well. It was great to see Oregon battle back and keep their heads in the game. 51 points in a half? Unbelievable. Here are some notes from Ernie.

The game ended up being a mini version of our season. We went through so much adversity in the game with LeKendric getting in foul trouble and I thought we played well at times and in stretches we weren't very good defensively in that first half. Even the crowd. They've been there the whole year and they were still there again. We made some adjustments to get some more energy into the game and then went to the press in the second half and that's something that we do and have done quite a bit and used it quite a bit. I thought they would struggle with it over there

There is a lot of truth in this. When the game started out, I couldn't help but think "Here we go again, Stanford was a fluke". At the first timeout in the second half, when Oregon State had built their biggest lead at 14, I honestly thought that there was no way we can come back. Whatever magic the team had developed the week before had flown out the window. I held out some faint hope, mainly centered around the idea that Oregon State had come back from 12 down at halftime in the previous meeting to win.

More on the Press

I thought the press was the difference in the game. We almost looked like Oregon of old where we went on one of those great runs and the crowd erupted and we continued to get stops.

Jake over at Building the Dam has a piece up about this very issue

On Oregon State

In the first half, we were shooting 50 percent from the field, 71 percent from the three, 87 percent from the free throw line and you're down ten! Shows you how good of a team they are

What a difference a year makes for our friends up in Corvallis. I don't think many people expected the Civil War games would be competitive this year but how much fun have they been? Even though both teams have gone the opposite way most people expected, the Oregon vs Oregon State matchups this year have been a lot of fun. My hat is off to Craig Robinson and what he has done to revitalize the program in Corvallis.

Running the 1-3-1 in practice

We kind of figured out some things on the 1-3-1. My hats off to my guys because we taught it to them and they played it all week long and it's kind of funny watching us play it but they ran into the same rhythm they went in I thought in practice and they pressed each other in practice and we got into a good rhythm.

Ernie gets all emo

I get a lot of questions from people on the outside asking me... "why are you still there? What is it? You take a lot of heat". I say, you know, in this game you are going to take a lot of heat. That's just the nature of our business and that's ok but I'm still here because of this community and that crowd. You just don't find this anywhere else for a team sitting there at 0-14 and your crowd is still there and your students rush the floor when you get your first victory and the come and they are so loud...THAT is what this is all about and that's Oregon basketball.

Ernie has made statements like this before but he almost seemed reflective here. Did this win mean more to him than he is letting on? In the audio from the game, he seemed genuinely touched by the crowd at Mac Court and the support he has been given. Moreso, he seems to be almost like a proud father...watching his kids graduate from high school. He also alluded to the personal stories of the players and how much would "come out" in the coming months about what they had to deal with personally.

Jerry Allen asks Matt Humphrey about the crowd noise at Mac Court

I was going to say something about that. I have never heard anything like that in my life (laughs)

Stat of the Game: After being down 14 points in the second half, Oregon went on a 19-0 run to take the lead and never gave it up.

Some other notes worth mentioning in the game.OSU went scoreless for 5:12 in the second half as the Ducks were making their run. Oregon shot 51 percent from the field, a game high this season. Tajuan Porter looks like he might be starting to find that balance he has been looking for. TP had 24 points and NO turnovers. Matt Humphrey had a career high 17 points and was 4 for 6 from beyond the arc. How good was the second half? We only gave up 1 turnover in the second half compared to 9 turnovers in the first half.

Oregon State Prepares for 331st Civil War

Jake Bertalotto — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:30:34 -0000

Just a week after completing a season sweep of both of the Bay Area teams, the Beavers will return to action on Sunday when they'll do battle with Oregon in the 331st Civil War game at MacArthur Court in Eugene.

The Beavers, who have won three straight games and seven of their last ten, beat the Ducks 57-54 earlier this season at Gill Coliseum. In that game, the Beavers overcame an early 12-point deficit and a 35-30 halftime defecit to overcome the Ducks in the second half.

Oregon point guard Tajuan Porter, who had 19 points and five three-pointers in the first half, was held to just three points in the final half. The Beavers outscored the Ducks 27-19 in the second half, holding off the Ducks down the stretch to win by three.

Oregon State's win in the first Civil War gave them their fourth Pac-10 win in the first half of the conference schedule. A win tomorrow would give the Beavers their eighth Pac-10 win, and their fourth win in the second half of the Pac-10 season. A win would also move the Beavers to 8-8 in the Pac-10, a .500 winning percentage, with two games remaining on the regular season schedule.

The Beavers, who sit at 7-8 in Pac-10 play, have already made a seven game improvement from a year ago. That margin gives Craig Robinson's team the fifth-best single-season turnaround of all time. Oregon currently sits at number one on the list for their 10-win improvement between the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons

Oregon State's 1-3-1 zone defense, which has been wreaking havoc on opponent offenses throughout the season, will need to be effective against the Ducks. Oregon plays at the fastest tempo of any team in the Pac-10 except for Washington, and they'll be looking to push the ball and take as many shots as possible. Oregon State, who plays at the fifth slowest pace in the nation, will be looking to do exactly the opposite: pass the ball, set screens, make back-cuts, and hit open shots.

The Ducks are led by Tajuan Porter, who is averaging 15 points per game and shooting 38 percent from three-point range this season. LeKendric Longmire, the sophomore from Mississippi, is scoring ten points per game. Freshman center Michael Dunnigan scores nine per game.

The Beavers are led by Cavin Haynes, but will need other guys to play well in order to beat the Ducks in Mac Court. Haynes averages 15.5 points per game, but Rickey Claitt's assists, Seth Tarver's steals, and Roeland Schaftenaar's leadership at the top of the offense will likely be the difference on Sunday night.

Game-time is scheduled for 7:00 PM tomorrow night on FSN HD.

--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Recap: Oregon Outgunned and Outmanned Against Cal

dvieira — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:34:56 -0000

Strangely enough, I really enjoyed this game. The score doesn't reflect how much better Oregon played as compared to last week. Although to be fair, anything would have been better than last week. With Odia, Longmire, and Wiley all out of action, Ernie proclaimed that we would see "Golden State Warriors Basketball" and for the first half, he was absolutely right. A lot of action, up and down the floor, good open looks...just have to make shots. Jtlight would have to actually admit that we had an offense if he watched the first half. There was more movement by the team that I have seen in a long time. In the end though, having a short rotation after a very long, difficult season was just too much and Oregon just got destoryed in the paint. Tough loss, but I take some comfort in the fact that U of Oregon at Berkley is still in the Pac-10 Title hunt. On to the post game talk from Ernie

On the start of the second half

We talked at halftime. I thought the first five minutes of the second half, there we were again where the game just got away from us again with bad play, bad decisions, bad turnovers, bad defense, boom boom boom boom, there they are, into their rhythm again.

another comment about the second half

The bigger thing in the game was start of the second half, giving them seven out of eight times they scored coming down the floor. That was fatigue and, at the same time, we couldn't score on the other end. That was a short bench.

Lots of talk from Ernie about fatigue in this game and you could really see it on the floor. The first half, especially the first 10-15 minutes, Oregon was flying all over the floor, moving like crazy, fast break, playing in your face defense. You could start to see it trail off at the end of the first half and then it blew up right after halftime. The team came out sluggish, all the movement stopped on offense and Cal players were starting to beat Oregon players off the dribble more. First half was all about great interior passing for Cal. Second half was just out hustling a tired team.

My favorite Ernie quote from the postgame....

Part of your defense is scoring the basketball and you've got to score. You've got to score when you get open looks, you've got to score in transition and we didn't score obviously to stay in the game with them when our defense broke down a little bit because we were a little big stagnant because of what weapons we didn't have on that bench over there.

This statement essentially sums up how this game went. In a lot of ways, that's how the whole year as gone. You just have to capitalize on your opportunities. Cal is making a push at the right time. People may get lost in the fact that they lost to Oregon State earlier and we had one of our better games down in the bay area. The Bears are hot right now, only 1 game out first place. As for us, we get a shot at 9th place Stanford on Saturday. Just remember, we still could get 9th place!

Morning Quack Fix: 2.18.09

PaulSF — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:00:12 -0000

Happy Hump Day. Let's have us some quack:

In recruiting news, the Miami Herald reports Bryce Brown will not sign with Miami, narrowing his list of suitors to Auburn, Kansas State, Tennessee, USC and Oregon.
After breaking the U.S. indoor record for the 5,000 meters, Galen Rupp has been named USA Track & Field's athlete of the week. Oregon's indoor team continues to impress, and Rupp is a big part of their success.
It sounds like the Oregon men's basketball team is pretty banged up. LeKendric Longmire, Churchill Odia and Drew Wiley all sat out Tuesday's practice due to injuries sustained last weekend in Washington. Coach Kent hopes all three will be ready to play in Thursday's game against Cal.
Meanwhile, Cal coach Mike Montgomery thinks Oregon's men's basketball team is "not bad," and that the Ducks "do lots of stuff." Thanks, Mike. Aren't Stanford and Cal types supposed to be smart or something?
And finally, ESPN.com's Pat Forde mentioned the Ducks in this week's rendition of his "Forde Yard Dash" college hoops equivalent, "Forde Minutes." Not surprisingly, the mention isn't exactly positive.

GO DUCKS!