Oregon Ducks Top UCLA Bruins, Remain Undefeated At Home

FINAL Report

Oregon Ducks Head Coach Dana Altman has built a culture in Eugene for the College Basketball Community. In his six seasons leading the team he has found a build his players into something special. This season is no exception. Last season it was Joseph Young who was the vocal team leader. In 2015-16 there are several voices that lead the Ducks inluding Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey. Dylan Ennis, even though he is out for the season with a foot injury is still a vocal leader from the bench, even though he has played in just two games.

Altman entered the season with a “Let’s See What We’ve Got” mindset. Three weeks into the Pac-12 Conference slate what he has is a pretty good basketball team. Oregon leads the Pac-12 in the very important RPI poll. The team has won four of their last five games and now face the UCLA Bruins on Saturday at Matthew Knight Arena on the National Stage on CBS.

This team has shown that even with injuries they can perform. With Ennis out of action, Casey Benson has stepped into the role of point guard. Chris Boucher has shown he can play on both sides of the ball and with Jordan Bell is a Defensive asset as a shot blocker. On the Offensive end he can hit inside shots as good as anyone in the Pac-12. Speaking of the Pac-12, what a season it has been so far.

Arizona, the team expected to compete for the title, has some hard fought losses and entering the week, USC was at the top of the Conference of Champions. Altman is not ready to talk about anything outside one game. UCLA. In his press conference following the USC game he spoke about his philosophy on figuring out how good you are. He said it was at the midway point of the Conference slate, which is still a few weeks away.

An Oregon win on Saturday would put the Ducks in good shape entering a road trip next week to the Arizona schools, a place that has not been kind to them in recent years. The Pac-12 Conference will be a battle, but for the moment, Oregon is near the top of the standings. UCLA stands in the way of their next win and keeping an undefeated record at home at Matthew Knight Arena.

Tipoff is set for 1pm Pacific Time on CBS. Autzen Zoo will have Live Coverage of the Game starting at Noon.