Four takeaways from Oregon's 71-49 win over UTEP

Despite a slow start and an aggressive first-half effort from UTEP, the Oregon Ducks came away with a comfortable win against the Miners, defeating them 71-49 Saturday at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. With a final score like that, it would be easy to assume that the Ducks’ offense and shooting ability are what led to the blowout win. However, this wasn’t the case.

It was Oregon’s defensive effort and adjustments that contained the Miners to under 50 points. Let’s dive into what worked for the Ducks, and where they can look to improve. 

Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s victory. 

Defensive Effort

One thing was clear from this victory: the Ducks defense is what won them this game. In a game where their shots were not falling, Altman had his team lean on the defensive side of the ball to fuel their transition offense. Both Kwame Evans Jr. and Jermaine Couisnard had 5 steals each, as the team forced 18 total UTEP turnovers. 

Despite missing multiple key players, Oregon’s overall athleticism and size seemed to overwhelm the Miners’ offensive players. They were able to force difficult looks, both around the perimeter and in the paint. The Miners shot 26.7% from three, while also only converting 18-for-50 from the field. With splits like those, it doesn’t matter who you play, your chances of winning are slim. 

Oregon, a team that is generally known for their offensive firepower and ability to go on runs from their shooting alone, proved tonight that even without defensive anchors N’Faly Dante and Nate Bittle, were able to lean on their defense to lead them to victory.

Offensive Woes

With the absence of both centers Dante and Bittle, Oregon head coach Dana Altman was forced to play some unconventional lineups. When those two are healthy and on the floor, Oregon tends to run their offense around them, using both as a hub. Without them tonight, the Ducks’ half-court offense seemed lost.

UTEP’s aggressive perimeter defense contained Oregon’s best shooters. Jackson Shelstad was 1-for-4 from three, Brennan Rigsby was 0-for-2, Jermaine Couisnard was 2-for-6, and Jadrian Tracey was 0-for-3. As a team, they shot a combined 23.5 percent from beyond the arc, a mere 4-for-17.

UTEP came out of the game showing a variety of different defenses to contain these guys. For a majority of the game, UTEP’s defenders were face-guarding Oregon’s guards, aggressively denying any off-ball action. On the ball, they showed a two-man trap on the majority of the on-ball screens, often blowing up Oregon’s high pick-and-roll action. This, with a combination of full-court traps, had Oregon’s half-court offense in a frenzy for most of the night. 

Offensive Advantage

Where the Ducks took advantage was with their transition offense. One of their biggest advantages from the night was how they capitalized on the Miner’s turnovers. Despite the two teams having 18 turnovers each, Oregon was able to score 29 points off those turnovers, whereas the Miners only had 11. 

Additionally, the Ducks were able to score 17 transition points to UTEP’s seven. Points off turnovers and in transition are plays that always get the crowd engaged and can quickly swing momentum, which is exactly what happened in the second half. 

The Ducks came out flat in the first half, as they went into the locker room at halftime only up three points. After making the necessary adjustments, they went on multiple runs that ultimately opened up the game.

Forward Look

With their big men out for the foreseeable future, Altman is going to continue to lean on Mahamadou Diawara and Kwame Evans Jr. to hold down the back line. Oregon has had past success with small ball lineups, and it looks like they will need to depend on their guards to continue their high level of play on both ends. 

Now sitting with a 6-2 record, the Ducks will face California Baptist University on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Oregon is looking to finish out their non-conference games strong before they play their first Pac-12 Conference game against the UCLA Bruins on December 30th.