Oregon Beats Oregon State 93-83 In Civil War

First Half

The game began scrappy with players on both teams diving for loose balls on the court. Oregon moved really well in transition for the first 5 minutes capped by a Moser 3-pointer that put Oregon up 16-10. The Ducks took advantage of the 2-3 zone defense run by the Beavers by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers forcing Oregon State to take a timeout. Loyd and Calliste each hit their won 3-pointer to push the Oregon lead all the way to 28-10 before the Beavers stopped the bleeding with a long two-pointer.

The Beavers didn't begin to close the 19-point gap until Collier made a lay-up with 9:18 left in the first half, which sparked a run for Oregon State. Over the next five minutes the Beavers got points from everyone on the floor. The score was 35-29 before Oregon got their bearings again and scored consistent points of their own.

Joseph Young, who we know can play better than he has the last few games, had a solid first half with 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Mike Moser also had an impressive first half with 10 points.

Young was very aggressive on offense in getting to the rim and pulling defenders out when shooting from behind the arc. Moser really stood out to me in the first half. He was active on offense and defense, really putting stress on both halves of the court.

At halftime Oregon held a 10-point lead, 45-35.

Halftime

Oregon started the game 7/7 from the 3-point arc and finished the first half shooting 69.2% from deep. The Ducks moved the ball really well to exploit gaps in the Oregon State zone and had the advantage in assists 12 to 3. Oregon forced four steals while only committing three turnovers.

According to the Fox Sports 1 commentary crew the Oregon coaches thought there was room for improvement on defense. While the defense had been inconsistent it was stifling at times, so very hot and cold.

Second Half

The Ducks kept constant pressure on offense and really pushed the ball after Beaver baskets to start the half. Young assisted Moser on a wide-open 3-pointer to get Oregon to 50 points with just over 17 minutes left in the game.

Oregon State kept within striking distance from the 17-minute mark to the 12-minute mark while Oregon did everything possible to let the Beavers tie the game. It was a rough five minutes for Oregon that featured poor rebounding, hurried possessions on offense, and allowing the Beavers plenty of open looks after defensive breakdowns. With 12 minutes left in the game the Beavers had pulled within 6 with the score 58-52.

The Beavers were only down four points when Dotson was fouled while making a lay-up and scored on the free throw. Angus Brandt of OSU hit Malcolm Duvivier after a defensive rebound for an easy dunk in transition to keep the Ducks' lead to 5.

After an Oregon timeout, Oregon State scored again to be down by only one basket. This moment had the feeling of a long time coming. Oregon jumped out to a huge lead to start but had slowly been giving chunks of it back over the course of the game. Joseph Young countered with a lay-up and free throw to give Oregon some breathing room before scoring the next 5 points himself.

With just under 4 minutes to play Oregon was clinging to a 76-70 lead. Loyd had a bad turnover before assisting Calliste on a 3-pointer on the following possession. With 2 minutes left Oregon State missed a shot from deep that gave Oregon the ball back with the score 79-73.

Oregon State began fouling with 1:23 remaining in regulation. Loyd sunk both of his free throws to finally put the game out of reach, 83-73. The "Little Brother!" chants from the student section started with a minute remaining.

Final score: Oregon wins 93-83. Ducks split the series with the Beavers.

Final Thoughts

The Ducks really seemed to let off the gas in the second half. As Jake Tabor pointed out in the open thread, after starting 7/7 from beyond the arc the Ducks were 3 of 13 at one point. Oregon got beat handily on the boards in the second half as well. The assist-heavy offense we saw in the first half was replaced by isolation after isolation with no real team concept being executed.

The first half Oregon squad I watched looked like the team from the first half of the season. The second half Oregon squad looked like the Ducks that we have come to be disinterested in because of poor execution and lack of apparent hustle and discipline.

Aside from fouling a player 60 feet from the basket when Oregon was about to get the ball back, Joseph Young played solid basketball the entire game finishing with 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

A total of five Ducks, including Young, finished with over 10 points. Dotson finished with 15 points, Loyd finished with 11 points, Moser finished with 15 points, and Calliste finished with 14 points.