EUGENE — Oregon is awake, but is it too late to matter?
The Ducks beat rival Oregon State 66-57 on Saturday night at Matthew Knight Arena to earn some revenge for a loss to the Beavers earlier this season.
The victory is Oregon’s second in a row — the first time the Ducks have won two straight games since before Christmas.
But is this recent success enough for Oregon to be a player in the Pac-12 Conference?
The Ducks are 4-4 in the conference and 14-7 overall, with six of their last 10 regular season games on the road.
Realistically, Oregon is out of contention for a third consecutive Pac-12 championship, as Arizona and USC have separated themselves from the pack.
But are the Ducks realistically an NCAA tournament team?
It will take a ton of work down the stretch to get there, and with Oregon’s youth and inconsistency, it will be an uphill battle.
“They know what they need to do, and they want to do it," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "But it’s not easy to change habits. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
The Ducks have had a balanced scoring attack lately, with different players stepping up each night — senior transfer Elijah Brown led the team with 20 points Saturday, and junior transfer Paul White added 17.
Balanced scoring was a key factor for Oregon last season when it reached the NCAA Final Four. Some nights, it was Dillon Brooks. Other nights, it was Tyler Dorsey or Jordan Bell or Dylan Ennis. It was tough to stop all of them, and the Ducks were on the verge of the national championship game.
This year’s team isn’t as seasoned or talented as last year’s team. That much is clear.
And for Altman, offense won’t be the problem going forward.
“I still think offensively, we can get the ball moving and guys can make some plays,” Altman said. “But we’ve got to get more consistent on the boards, and we’ve got to do a better job defensively. You can’t win on the road by just out-shooting people.”
A low point for the Ducks this season came on Jan. 5 at Gill Coliseum, when they fell 76-64 to the rival Beavers in a lethargic performance.
That loss forced Oregon’s players to do some soul-searching.
“We were able to look in the mirror after that game,” White said. “We realized that we had to do some maturing individually and as a team.”
The Ducks have made it to the NCAA tournament in five straight seasons, and that streak is in jeopardy.
Up next, Oregon will be in the Bay Area to face California and Stanford.
What do the Ducks need to do for a little late-season magic?
“Time is running short, we’ve got to get better," Altman said. "There’s got to be a sense of urgency — I’ve been telling them that for two months, and they didn’t listen really well. But it’s been building, and February is always a big month for any college basketball team.”
