Ducks Squeak Out Win Without Bol and Kigab, 71-64

A short-handed Oregon squad was still too much for the Rattlers. Plus, it didn’t help that Florida A&M had back-to-back PAC-12 road games at Utah and then at Eugene less than 24 hours later. Regardless, this game shouldn’t have been as close as it was. Altman isn’t going to be happy how Oregon closed out the 2nd half. Florida A&M put on a full court press and the Ducks turned the ball over too much because of it. The Ducks can’t beat a KenPom sub-300 team by only 7 points if they want to continue play into March Madness.

Oregon Ducks:

(Starters)

Louis King - 9 Points, 6 Rebounds

Paul White - 13 Points, 4 Assists

Will Richardson - 7 Points, 3 Assists

Victor Bailey Jr. - 16 Points, 2-9 3PT

Payton Pritchard - 10 Points, 4 Steals (season-high), 4 Assists, 3 Turnovers

(Reserves)

Ehab Amin - 1 Point, 4 Turnovers

Kenny Wooten - 4 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Blocks, 4 Turnovers

Francis Okoro - 7 Points, 6 Rebounds

Miles Norris - 4 Points, 4 Rebounds

Florida A&M Rattlers:

(Starters)

Ifeanyi Umezurike - 5 Points, 5 Rebounds

Justin Ravenel - 15 Points, 3-5 3PT

Kamron Reaves - 9 Points, 5 Assists, 3 Steals

MJ Randolph - 10 Points

DJ Jones - 2 Points

(Reserves)

Bryce Moragne - 12 Points, 5 Rebounds

Tonight’s Observations:

• Bol Bol (left foot) and Abu Kigab (left ankle) out with walking boots on the sideline; Louis King and Victor Bailey Jr. both got first career start.
• Kenny Wooten didn’t get the start (under the weather) so Paul White jumped back into the starting lineup. Wooten didn’t play like he was sick as he had two monster blocks in the 1st half. The last block he had gave the momentum right back to the Ducks.

• After a slow start on the defensive end for the Ducks, Florida A&M was without a field goal for 7 minutes and Oregon went on a 28-5 run to end the 1st half.
• 13 points off turnovers for Oregon is the underrated stat from the 1st half.
• Miles Norris made a statement on his first collegiate bucket.

• Victor Bailey Jr had his season-high of 16 points. His career-high is 24 points against Rider (March 13, 2018).
• Louis King looks a lot more comfortable on the court and continues to gain confidence. He will be the x-factor against Baylor if Bol Bol is unable to play once again.
• If you want to beat teams like Arizona State or UCLA in PAC-12 play, Oregon cannot shoot 7-25 (28.0%) from beyond the arc. Bailey Jr. and Pritchard can’t be the only players making shots from deep.
• Oregon also can’t shoot less than 75% from the charity stripe. They went 14-22 (63.6%) from the free-throw line which is very unusual for a Duck squad that came into today as a top-10 team in the nation for free-throw efficiency.
• Oregon goes 4-0 on recent four-game home stand.

Next Game - Oregon @ Baylor (7:00 PM ET, ESPN2) on Friday, December 21st

The last two preseason games will be on the road against a Baylor team that uses a zone defense and against Boise State for the second time this season. Oregon has no room for error and need those wins right before the regular season tips-off against Oregon State at Matthew Knight Arena. The question on everyone’s mind going into the Baylor game, will Bol Bol and Abu Kigab play?

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