3-2-1: A deep dive into Oregon's impressive win over Tennessee State

The Oregon Ducks comfortably defeated the Tennessee State Tigers by a score of 92-67 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene on Friday.

While being a close game in the first half, the Ducks found their groove in the second half and pulled the game out of the reach of the Tigers. Junior guard Jadrian Tracey led the team with 15 points off the bench, while senior guard Jesse Zarzuela finished with 14.

Oregon’s offense was clicking through most of the night, despite missing multiple key players. This win improves the Ducks’ record to 3-0 on the year, where they will now fly across the country for a three-game stretch in Florida next week.

Here are three takeaways, two standout players,

Three takeaways

Oregon’s offensive attack

Oregon’s offense relied much on its production inside of the three-point line tonight. Attacking the paint early and often, it seemed like a point of emphasis from Dana Altman and his staff. Guards Kario Oquendo, Jesse Zarzuela, and Jermaine Couisnard all made an effort to attack the paint first, using their quick first steps to get past their initial defenders.

Their aggressiveness led to 12 free throws in the first half, and six in the second, which was four more total than the Ducks’ last home game against Montana. When Oregon’s guards weren’t looking to score, they still found ways to get inside and then create open looks on the perimeter for Keeshawn Barthelemy, who finished the game with 13 points, shooting 5-of-6 from the field, and 2-of-2 from three. Oregon finished with a season-high 22 assists on the night, and this was largely due to its inside-out approach. 

Transition defensive woes

One thing that Oregon head coach Dana Altman won’t be too happy about is the effort with his team’s transition defense. Despite only having one turnover in the first half, there were multiple missed shots that fell in the hands of Tennessee State players, leading to uncontested transition layups on the other end of the floor. This is the result of poor communication by the Oregon defense, as any player will tell you the number one priority in those situations is to stop the ball.

Given that it is early in the season, these issues will likely get resolved as the team plays and practices more.

“Our defensive energy picked up in the second half,” Altman said. “We took away those easy baskets in transition in the second half.”

This was certainly the case, as they held Tennessee State to 27 points in the second, compared to 40 in the first.

Switchover to small ball

As Oregon’s starting center tonight, Nate Bittle exited the game early with an apparent hand injury, the Ducks opened the second half with freshman forward Kwame Evans Jr. at center.

At 6-foot-9, Evans Jr. doesn’t provide the Ducks with the same type of height advantage as Bittle and N’Faly Dante, who are both true 7-footers. With Bittle and Dante out for the foreseeable future, though, Altman is going to have his hand forced to roll out a variety of small-ball units. This will obviously come with the drawbacks of not having the usual rim protection, low post offense, and rebounding that Oregon’s pair of big men provide. However, it will allow the Ducks to play at a faster pace, which could be a strength of theirs given their guard-heavy roster.

Two standout players

Jesse Zarzuela

One player who was on top of his game tonight was senior guard Jesse Zarzuela. After missing the home opener last week due to injury, he came out looking refreshed and energized. His quick first step and arsenal of elite pump-fakes allowed him to get to the rim at will. Additionally, his jump shot from distance was connecting as well.

As the first half expired, Zarzuela converted a four-point play after he was fouled at the top of the key, bringing an exciting close and an energy boost to end the half. In 27 minutes of action, Zarzuela finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while hitting 3-of-5 on threes. He dished out four assists, which had him at a +16 plus-minus on the night. He brought a spark tonight that led the Ducks to their comfortable victory over Tennessee State.

Mahamadou Diawara

The second player that stood out was senior center Mahamadou Diawara. With starting center N’Faly Dante still out with a knee/hamstring injury, Diawara was likely guaranteed to see the floor. What he didn’t know was that starting center Nate Bittle would exit the game at the end of the first half with a hand injury, leaving him as the go-to big man for the remainder of the game. While his stats don’t jump off the stat sheet, Diawara held strong in his 16 minutes of action. He finished 3-of-4 from the field with eight points, five rebounds, and two assists.

Maybe his most impressive stat was that he finished with Oregon’s second-highest plus-minus at +22.

“Mo did a good job,” Altman said. “He played hard and physical — +22, that doesn’t surprise me.”

One key stat

27

The number of points that the Ducks generated off of 15 Tennessee State turnovers on Friday. Meanwhile, the Tigers scored just six points off of eight Oregon turnovers.