The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team (18-8, 7-8) bounced back from their mid-season slump in a major way. They followed up a win over Northwestern with a dominant second-half performance against Rutgers (12-14, 5-10) resulting in a 75-57 victory.
The Ducks and Scarlet Knights went back and forth in the early going, with Rutgers etching out in front and Oregon quick to match. Midway through the first half, it appeared like Rutgers would pull away, as it took a seven-point lead at the 11-minute mark. On the ensuing possession, forward Kwame Evans Jr. made just his ninth 3-pointer of the season. Oregon would finally take the lead with 5:13 left in the half on a Nate Bittle free throw and slowly extend that lead to five points at the break.
Rutgers played well to start the second half. Slightly less than five minutes in, a second-chance layup cut the Oregon lead to only two. From there, the Ducks went on a 7-0 run that lasted around two and a half minutes. It wasn’t long before the lead was double digits, and Oregon extended it to 19 points thanks to their stellar 3-point shooting. The final few minutes of the game were uneventful, as the Ducks bled out the clock with no issue, something they struggled to do against Northwestern.
In the postgame presser, guard Jackson Shelstad was asked about his team’s complete performance. He said, “That’s what we just talked about in the locker room. We felt like we had a full 40 minutes.”
The main contributing factor to Oregon’s success in this game was its outside shooting. Despite being notorious for their 3-point struggles all season, the Ducks made 59 percent of such shots in Sunday’s win. Five players made two or more outside shots, most notably Shelstad, who made three, and Evans, who rarely attempts deep shots. It should also be noted that Oregon was outgained in the paint in back-to-back games. This may signal that the coaching staff wants to move from a paint-focused offensive game plan to one that prioritizes deep shooting.
Shelstad followed up a career-high 26 points against Northwestern with a 19-point outing against the Scarlet Knights. He was an efficient 8-for-13 from the field and 3-for-6 from outside the arc. Bittle had himself a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Guard TJ Bamba added 11 points with four rebounds and six assists. Oregon showed their increasing depth as their bench outscored Rutgers’ bench 19-9.
Going into Sunday, CBS’ Jerry Palm had Oregon as a projected No. 7 seed, and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had them on the eight-line. While this win is unlikely to improve their position, the Ducks avoided what would’ve been a detrimental loss to a team with a losing record. Unfortunately for them, they don’t have any great resume-building opportunities left on their regular season schedule, but a good showing in the Big Ten tournament would pay dividends. As they already have eight wins in Quadrant I, they are in a good spot should they continue to take care of business.
The team will travel to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time.