Oregon Ducks Face Young, But Talented UNLV In Portland

Feb 7, 2016; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman stands on the side line against the Utah Utes at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 7, 2016; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman stands on the side line against the Utah Utes at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks meet UNLV at the Moda Center in Portland on Saturday night.

The Oregon Ducks have found ways to win this season but have been anything but consistent on the floor. It seems that it is a tale of two halfs for Dana Altman. With the Pac-12 Schedule quickly approaching, the Ducks have two more tune-ups before hosting UCLA on December 28th. UNLV is up first on Saturday night in Portland.

The Runnin’ Rebels are not the same team they were even last season. A new coach and new look are like the Oregon Ducks in Dana Altman’s first season. Now Altman has an NCAA Tournament team and UNLV was dumped by Duke last week 94-45, but did not give-up in the loss according to ESPN.

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Oregon will have a better idea of who they will be once they get Dillon Brooks back into the Starting Lineup. He has played key minutes so far this season, but has yet to crack the starting five. That could happen on Saturday or next week against Boise State in the Ducks final non-conference game.

Oregon Freshman Payton Pritchard will see a homecoming in Portland. Since he entered the Starting Lineup after the loss to Georgetown, it has been nothing but wins for the Ducks.

Youth is the best word to describe UNLV. Last season they appeared to run away in the first half, but Oregon fought back to earn the win on the road. This time around, the arena may be bigger at the Moda Center, but the Oregon Ducks are the home team.

Jalen Poyser and Zion Morgan lead the charge for the Runnin’ Rebels. While they are young, they are also talented and may have enough to take down the Ducks, if they are not on their game Saturday night. Oregon has played in stretches without scoring – in some cases BIG stretches – longer than four minutes.

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The Oregon Ducks get the home court at the Moda Center in Portland on Friday night.(8pm Pacific time, ESPN2)