A short celebration for Oregon Ducks men's basketball with No. 5 USC on Saturday schedule
Oregon’s dramatic overtime victory against No. 3 UCLA on Thursday was a game worth celebrating, if only for one night.
Life in Los Angeles doesn’t get any easier for the Ducks, who play No. 5 Southern California at 8 p.m. Saturday in Galen Center.
Oregon (10-6, 3-2 Pac-12) still has work to do to climb its way out of the hole it dug itself earlier this season when it lost six times in a span of 10 games, including a pair of one-score losses to Arizona State and Stanford in its first two conference games.
But the 84-81 win at Pauley Pavilion against the Bruins was the fourth straight for the Ducks, and their fifth win in six games, with a 78-70 loss to No. 1 Baylor their only misstep since mid-December.
“We lost the two close ones to Arizona State and Stanford, and that hurt,” coach Dana Altman said Thursday after becoming the 24th coach with 700 career Division I wins. “We didn’t finish those games. So we needed something good to happen and this really gives us a big lift no doubt. I hope it gives the guys some confidence.”
Related: Oregon Ducks women's basketball ready for games against No. 7 Arizona and No. 10 UConn
They‘ll need some against the Trojans (14-1, 4-1), who moved into the Associated Press top 5 this week for the first time since 1974. They lost for the first time Tuesday against Stanford but rebounded with an 81-71 win against Oregon State Thursday.
Oregon needs to continue to build its postseason resume and a second-straight road win against a highly ranked opponent would no doubt go a long way come March.
“It’s a great opportunity and that’s the way we’re gonna sell it,” Altman said. “… I told our guys, we can’t let any other opportunities slip. We’ve already had our mess ups. In November and December were our mess ups.”
Oregon has shown an ability this week to finish out close games.
On Monday at Oregon State, the Ducks got a 3-pointer from Eric Williams Jr. in the waning seconds in a 78-76 win.
Thursday they survived a game that featured 10 lead changes, eight ties and a couple of miscues in the final minute of regulation that allowed the Bruins to force overtime.
Senior guard Jacob Young was one of six Oregon players to score in double figures as he led with a season-high 23 points, 19 of which came after halftime.
“When he gets it rolling and gets downhill, he’s shifty,” Altman said. “And then he pulled up and hits a couple, which really puts a lot of pressure on them. He got to the basket and got to the basket and then they try and take away the basket and now he hits a couple pull ups.”
Since scoring two points on 0-for-9 shooting against Portland on Dec. 15, Young has averaged 18.2 in his last five games while shooting 55% from the field.
He’s not the only one playing well. During the Ducks’ four-game winning streak, senior point guard Will Richardson is averaging 17.7 points. Williams has had a good week, coming off the bench for an average of 12 points and 9.5 rebounds against the Beavers and Bruins. In Oregon’s three straight Pac-12 wins, center N’Faly Dante is averaging 10.7 points and 9.3 rebounds, and guard De’Vion Harmon is averaging 10.3 points.
“The whole team’s just coming along and it’s fun, it’s exciting,” Richardson said.
The key will be to keep it rolling, even against another top-5 team.
“If we’re gonna make anything happen we’ve got to approach every game with a sense of urgency if want to put ourselves even in any type of contention for anything,” Altman said. “Right now we’re on the outside looking in. We’ve gotta have a lot of big nights like this to put ourselves back in contention, and our guys know that.”
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
Oregon at No. 5 USC
Projected Oregon (10-6, 3-2 Pac-12) starters
De'Vion Harmon, 6-2, Jr. (10.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
Will Richardson, 6-5, Sr. (13.6 ppg, 3.3 apg)
Jacob Young, 6-3, Sr. (11.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
Quincy Guerrier, 6-8, Jr. (8.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
N'Faly Dante, 6-11, Jr. (8.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
Projected USC (14-1, 4-1) starters
Isaiah Mobley, 6-10, Jr. (15.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg)
Chevez Goodwin, 6-9, Sr. (13.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
Boogie Ellis, 6-3, Jr. (12.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
Drew Peterson, 6-9, Sr. (11.1 ppg, 3.3 apg)
Ethan Anderson, 6-1, Jr. (5.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
Time: 8 p.m. Saturday, at Galen Center, Los Angeles
TV/Radio: FS1/KUJZ-FM (95.3)
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: A short celebration for Oregon Ducks men with No. 5 USC Trojans next up
