Oregon Beats Portland State to Tip-Off 2018-2019 Season, 84-57

When I first heard PJ Carlesimo on the broadcast for this game on the PAC-12 Network, I thought of him getting choked by Latrell Sprewell. Started to laugh when that came to my mind as I am a Warriors fan. Sorry, a little side note. The Ducks went with Bol Bol, Kenny Wooten, Paul White, Ehab Amin, and Payton Pritchard in the starting lineup. Oregon started off slow against the Vikings but picked it up in the second half. A good first W on what should be an exciting season for the Ducks. I tweeted out earlier today that Oregon will make the Final Four along with Duke, Kentucky, and Gonzaga so I’m in it for the long haul.

Oregon Ducks:

Bol Bol - 12 Points, 12 Rebounds, 3 Blocks

Kenny Wooten - 4 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Blocks

Paul White - 15 Points, 3 Rebounds

Ehab Amin - 4 Points, 6 Rebounds

Payton Pritchard - 22 Points, 3 Rebounds, 3 Assists

Francis Okoro - 10 Points, 6 Rebounds

Victor Bailey Jr. - 7 Points

Will Richardson - 7 Points

Portland State Vikings:

Holland Woods - 13 Points, 3 Rebounds, 3 Assists

Brendan Rumel - 9 Points, 3 Rebounds

Jaime Orme - 11 Points, 5 Rebounds

Derek Brown - 6 Points, 7 Rebounds

Robert McCoy - 5 Points, 3 Rebounds

Here are my takeaways from the Duck’s first game of the season:

• I was wrong about Francis Okoro getting limited minutes. With the injury to Louis King, Okoro took advantage down low on offense and was aggressive on the boards.
• When the offense isn’t clicking, Pritchard needs to take over. Pritchard scored 18 of his 22 in the first half. Continue to attack the rim, Payton!
• Pritchard and Bol Bol can be one of the best 1-2 combos in the PAC-12. Feed off of one another. That can only happen if Bol shows more energy on both ends of the floor.
• Holland “Boo Boo” Woods for Portland State will be a walking bucket in Big Sky Conference play.
• Oregon has a good combo of freshmen and veterans to be successful this season. Upperclassmen leadership will be key down the stretch (Pritchard and White).
• Wooten continues to meet players at the rim. One of these days I need to see a Mutombo wag from him. He does need to crash the glass a bit more.

• Didn’t see anything from Miles Norris tonight (0 minutes).
• Will Richardson is back in the lineup after recovering from his foot injury. He will work his way into more and more minutes played as the season goes forward (only 8 minutes against the Vikings).
• Bol Bol got his first collegiate double-double and his first of many this season.
• 8,212 in the crowd tonight at Matthew Knight Arena.

The road to April is off to a 1-0 start. Eagles coming up.

Next Game - Eastern Washington @ Oregon (9 PM ET, PAC-12 Network) on Friday, November 9th

*Arden Cravalho is a senior at Gonzaga University... Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho