Instant Recap: Oregon cruises against Weber State 89-49

The Oregon Ducks Men’s Basketball team was back in action on Sunday afternoon, with their first game in eight days. Their opponent, the Weber State Wildcats came into this matchup at 6-7 overall and 1-4 on the road. Weber State was ranked 232nd in the Net rankings prior to this contest, and 221st in KenPom rankings. Earlier in the season, the Wildcats got pummelled by Oregon State and Nevada, who are decent, but not great teams.

First Half:

Starting for Weber State: G Miguel Tomley, G Blaise Threatt, G Viljami Vartiainen, F Nigel Burris, and C Vasilije Vucinic. For the Ducks, Dana Altman goes with a lineup of Shelstad, Bamba, Tracey, Angel, and Bittle.

At the first media timeout of the contest, Oregon leads 14-9 with 13:01 remaining in the first half. Things have been very tough for Weber State so far, but on their last two possessions they finally got things going.

Supreme Cook enters the game and immediately makes his presence felt, grabbing an offense board and throwing down an emphatic dunk. Unfortunately a possession later he was too physical and is called for an offensive foul. Ducks up 16-9 with 11:59 left in the first half.

Right out of the media timeout, Kwame Evans throws down a highlight dunk, extending the lead to 9. Supreme Cook called for his second offensive foul with 10:29 remaining in the half, Bittle checks back in.

Dana Altman calls timeout with 6:53 to play in the half, Ducks leading 24-13 over the Wildcats.

Another media timeout with 3:23 left in the first half. Oregon finds themselves up 33-15 in the middle of a 19-6 run over the last 9:31. Defense is playing well and forcing a good amount of turnovers, should see the offense pick things up in the second half.

Altman calls timeout with 13 seconds remaining in the half after a very lazy play by Ra’Heim Moss on both sides. Turned the ball over on offense and didn’t get back defensively.

First Half Stats:

The half court shot attempt from Weber State is off and the Ducks head into halftime up 40-23. Jackson Shelstad leads the team with 9 points at the break on 4/6 shooting, also adding a rebound, steal, and two assists as well. Kwame Evans has been good so far with 6 points and 2 rebounds in 8 minutes.

Tracey and Bamba each have 5, while Bittle and Angel each have 4 points. Ra’Heim Moss despite the play at the end of the half has been good too, with 3 points and 2 rebounds in 8 minutes. Supreme Cook with the 2 fouls has only played 2 minutes for the Ducks.

Oregon has forced 10 Weber State turnovers and has held the Wildcats to 36% from the field, and 15.4% from deep. Both teams only have 4 free throw attempts, and are both 3/4. Oregon has shot 53.1% from the floor but is shooting 3/10 (30%) from deep so far. The Ducks have been dominant on the boards, winning that battle 21-11.

Second Half:

Dana Altman calls timeout with 16:10 remaining in the game, Oregon now leading 52-27. Offense is starting to get in a groove right now, should see this lead expand even more.

Media timeout with 14:55 left in the game, Oregon has expanded their lead to 57-29. Now three different players in double figures; Angel, Shelstad, and Tracey.

Ducks have allowed Weber State to have a few solid offensive possessions now by the next media timeout. Still 11:53 to play but the lead has shrunk down to 59-36. Ducks haven’t made a shot since 14:30 left in the game and are now at the 10:45 mark. The lead has shrunk to 20 following a 9-0 run by Weber State.

Ducks have now reigned this one back in, leading 65-42 with 7:44 remaining in the game. Still need to do a better job defensively, but at least things are clicking on offense.

The game has now reached the final media timeout, with the Ducks leading 79-47 on the heels of a 17-5 run in the last 5:39. Under 4 minutes to play in a game that Oregon has dominated. There are certainly some things to work on before the January 2nd matchup against No. 24 Illinois.

After a Shelstad three-ball, the Ducks are now shooting 8/19 from deep this afternoon. Most of the starters out as the Ducks lead 86-48.

Oregon defeats Weber State to become 12-1 on the season, and have now played their final game of the 2024 calendar year. Now 4-0 All-Time against Weber State after a very dominant game.

Postgame Thoughts:

Really loved what I saw from Jackson Shelstad in this matchup, I hope that he is able to carry this into 2025, and the bulk of Big Ten conference play. Ducks had 5 players in double figures tonight, and 4 players with more than 5 rebounds.

Oregon shot 33/60 (55%) from the field, 9/22 (40.9%) from deep, and 14/17 (82.4%) from the charity stripe. The Ducks showed really aggressive defense tonight as well and forced Weber State into 18 turnovers. Speaking of their defense, Oregon held the Wildcats to 33% from the field, 13.6% from deep, and the Wildcats were only able to make 12/21 (57.1%) of their free throw attempts.

Would like to see the deep ball continue to improve for Oregon as conference play fully gets going but for now, I’m nitpicking. I strongly believe that this Oregon team can end up as a top 3-5 seed in March Madness with how they have played so far.

As previously mentioned, Oregon will play Illinois next on January 2nd. The game will air at 10pm EST/ 7pm PST on Fox Sports 1.