By Charles Martindale

Oregon’s start to Pac-12 play has far from gone as planned. Two weeks ago, the Ducks lost by 21 to unranked Oregon State, a tough sign of things to come given their next two games came against No. 2 UCLA and No. 9 USC. A 26-point loss to UCLA last Friday, and the 68-54 outpacing by USC last Sunday has brought prove-it time upon the Ducks as the season approaches mid-January. Oregon hosts unranked Arizona State and Arizona at Mathew Knight Arena today and Sunday, marking the conference play home opener of the season, and the Ducks first home games of 2024. “The road wasn’t too kind to us.”, said head coach Kelly Graves after the roadtrip. In a bit of ironic luck, the Sun Devils, also winless against the Pac-12, are below Oregon in conference play, being the only team the 9-7 Ducks lead. Arizona sits at 11-5, coming off a win over top-20 Utah. The first conference win is bound to come at some point for Oregon, and as Graves added, “...we can’t be satisfied with losing, ever.”, resulting in an intriguing Pac-12 matchup vs. both Arizona schools.

As Graves was also quick to point out, the combo of Oregon St., UCLA, and USC were a combined 34-0 against teams not in the trio, a tough challenge for an Oregon squad still trying to find their ceiling. The statsheet for the season so far shows the expected contributors. Grace VanSlooten leads the scoring with 15.8 PPG, junior center Phillipina Kyei holds the lead in rebounds, and Chance Gray, who carries scoring and rebounding responsibilities herself, leads in assists as well. The offense is a critical issue of late. Oregon has put up the least shots, and made the second least shots in the conference. A hindered bench adds to this issue, but the stretch of tough competition, injury, and lack of depth has cut the Ducks’ work out for them. Oregon is middle of the pack in rebounds and turnovers. They get blocks. The only team, however, that you could say score worse, is Arizona State. While the loss to Santa Clara was tough, ASU has faced tough competition as well. Senior guard Jaddan Simmons scores, leads the team in assists, and secures steals at the highest rate on the team. Filling out the backcourt is sophomore guard Jayln Brown, averaging 16 PPG. The Ducks will possess the aforementioned home court, but also have reason to believe they can shoot with the Sun Devils, and hold their own offensively, for the first time in almost two weeks. At 4th in the conference, things have been different for the Wildcats. A bigger challenge for the Ducks, Arizona also lost to Colorado, by just a point. Sophomore guard Kaylin Gilbert already leads the team in both points and rebounds per game. Senior guard Helena Pueyo has the team lead in assists and steals, making a very formidable and seasoned offense.

While the Ducks have a typical Kelly Graves defense, and more time to show their true form, these games against more conference competition hold some significance for the story of their season. With a solid opportunity Friday for a win, Sunday may be crucial for momentum.