By Zach Carver
Eugen OR – After an underwhelming season, the Oregon Ducks will host the UC Irvine Anteaters at Matthew Knight Arena on Wednesday at 8pm. Oregon was able to head into the Pac-12 Tournament with momentum thanks to a 3 game winning streak to finish of the season. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they fell short in the tournament after reaching the semi finals against UCLA. With that loss, all hope of a ticket into the NCAA Tournament was lost, and the NIT became the reality. Oregon will look to have a revenge game against UC Irvine after a demoralizing 69-56 defeat to the Anteaters in just the second game of the season.
Oregon
The shooting of the Ducks has been a weakness all season long. As a team, they shot just 32% from 3-point range during the season, ranking them just seventh in the Pac-12. In their early season matchup against UC Irvine, Oregon's inability to knock down shots was pivotal in handing the win to UCI. The Ducks were just 4-21 from deep and 17-52 overall in that game. If they want to avoid another embarrassing loss to the this UCI team, Oregon needs to be able to create open opportunities to shoot and take advantage of them. Luckily for Oregon, N'faly Dante played great against them last time, evident by his 20 point, 9 rebound, and 4 block game. Dante experienced an ankle injury after playing in the Pac-12 Tournament vs Washington State, but was able to play the next game. However, he wasn't the dominant big man he was the game prior. Oregon's chances of moving on to the next round of the NIT depends heavily on how freely Dante is able to play without being held back by pain. The turnover battle will also play a big role in the game vs UC Irvine. Oregon committed 15 turnovers in their previous matchup while only being able to strip the ball away from UCI once all game. Guard Will Richardson will play a key role in the turnover battle. He comes off a 3 assists and 8 turnover game vs the Bruins. Oregon will rely on Richardson's ability to create opportunities for teammates, while also not giving the ball away to the Anteaters. Jermaine Couisnard didn't play vs UC Irvine earlier in the season, but his ability to be unstoppable at times on offense could be huge in leading the Ducks to a win.
Probable Starters – Oregon
#0 Will Richardson - G
#1 N'faly Dante - C
#5 Jermaine Couisnard - G
#32 Nate Bittle - C
#11 Rivaldo Soares - G
UC Irvine
UC Irvine heads into Eugene fresh off an 83-80 loss to Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Tournament. Despite the loss, UCI played a great game and was able to knock down the majority of their shots. They hit on 9 of 19 three point attempts and shot 52% overall for the game. This is a scary sight for Ducks fans because if UC Irvine brings this hot shooting into Matthew Knight Arena, there will likely be a similar outcome to the matchup between the two earlier in the season. The Anteaters made 28 trips to the free throw line in their last game. Oregon did show an ability to limit free throw attempts in their previous matchup, however, only allowing 10 attempts from the line for UC Irvine. Junior guard DJ Davis showed out last matchup vs the Ducks by putting up 24 points, aided by converting on 6 three pointers. Davis isn't even Irvine's leading scorer, that title belongs to guard Dawson Baker. He comes off a 22 point and 3 steal performance vs Cal State Fullerton. Last time against Oregon, Baker posted 11 points on 55% shooting from the field. On the topic of great shooting efficiency, UC Irvine lead all of the Big West Conference with their 38% three point shooting this season. Oregon has to find a way to slow down the many shooters on this Anteaters team if they want a real chance at coming away with the victory on Wednesday. UC Irvine will look to their star guards and shooters to knock Oregon out of the NIT and prove their earlier win vs the Ducks was not a fluke.
Probable Starters - UC Irvine
#1 Dawson Baker - G
#3 Pierre Crockrell II - G
#11 Devin Tillis - F
#15 Bent Leuchten - C
#22 DJ Davis - G
You can expect Oregon to come into this matchup with an extra couple of chips on their shoulder after not making the NCAA Tournament and losing to UC Irvine at the start of the season. I believe N'faly will have another great game vs the Anteaters and lead Oregon to a win, backed by great offensive games from Jermaine Couisnard and Keeshawn Barthelemy.
Prediction: Oregon - 72, UC Irvine - 64