The Drucks taking a Second Quack at MSU!
The 8-seeded Oregon Ducks came into the Big Ten Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country, riding a seven-game winning streak and playing its best basketball at the right time. Statistically, they were similar to their second round matchup, Indiana, though the Hoosiers had a slight scoring edge in conference play (74.2 PPG scored vs. 74.4 PPG allowed). However, the Ducks had been better defensively, averaging 6.8 steals and 4.2 blocks per game than the Headin’ Home Hoosiers. Oregon will play MSU in Game 8 of the Big Ten Tourney on Friday for the right to play in the conference semifinals.
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The Ducks are led by sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad, who averaged 15.3 points per game while shooting 47.1% from the field and 43.9% from deep in the regular season. He torched Indiana for 17 points in their meeting earlier this month, leading Oregon to a 73-64 win – today his line covered 18 pts, 3 boards, 2 assists, and 3 TOs in his 38 minutes. Big man Nate Bittle came in playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 14.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and ranking second in the Big Ten in blocks (2.2 per game) – today he was still a presence, but scored less at 7 pts, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 1 TO in his 36 minutes. After battling injuries last season, Bittle has emerged as a force inside and recently put up 36 points in a game against Washington, despite a little colder shooting against Indiana.
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Keeshawn Barthelemy provides another reliable scoring option, averaging 10.9 points while shooting 41.8% from three across the league, making Oregon a much more dangerous perimeter team than Indiana might have been. The Ducks also have a March-tested head coach in Dana Altman, who has won 74 tournament games since 2010-11—more than blueblood programs like Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Duke in that span. However, it was TJ Bamba who put up 17 points, grabbed 5 boards, and had an assist, steal, and turnover each in 33 minutes. A bit of a wildcard, Brandon Angel was highly efficient against Indiana, giving Oregon a big boost with his 14 points in just 18 minutes.
Oregon already had one win over Indiana this season – now two. The Ducks’ ability to score inside and out made them a tough matchup for the Hoosiers and the 72-59 result matched.
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Team-wise, Oregon has been solid offensively all season, averaging 74.2 points per game in conference play. Against Indiana today, the Ducks put together a well-balanced attack, shooting 47.2% from the field (25/53) and a respectable 40.0% from deep (8/20). They were also steady from the free-throw line, hitting 12 of 15 attempts (80.0%) – better than their 77.2% season average.
Defensively, Oregon stifled Indiana, holding the Hoosiers to a rough 36.2% shooting (25/69). Their D gathered 12 turnovers, leading to 12 points – though one would expect MSU to do a bit better with that same number of takeaways.
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One possible Oregon vulnerability… Rebounding? Really?? – possibly. Despite the aforementioned Bittle, Oregon was outrebounded 32-30, including just four offensive rebounds compared to Indiana’s 12. Besides Bittle, only two other bigs saw significant time, Angel for his 18 and Kwame Evans for 23 minutes. If the Ducks struggle on the glass again, second-chance points could be a great opportunity for MSU to pull away. Add in that the Ducks really only played 7, with only 7 points from the bench – between a short bench and tired legs, let’s look for MSU to Run, Run, Run the Ducks out of Indy tomorrow. MSU beat the Ducks 86-74 in East Lansing back on February 8th – with MSU’s Defense even tighter and a renewed focus on titles, let’s look to win this one with a slightly larger margin (at noon on BTN).
Go Green.