One thing was clear after a last-second win at Oregon State last week. It was a win that saw the Ducks shoot poorly from three-point range and still win the game in the final seconds thanks to N’Faly Dante.
Oregon was just 2 for 19 from distance. It would have to get better if this team wanted to make an NCAA Tournament run.
Thursday night on the road on the farm at Stanford, Oregon showed up and showed out. Dana Altman watched Jackson Shelstad have a monster game with 19 points.
Jadrian Tracey was better with 20. The shots both players put up rarely missed. Shelstad is going to be quite a player for the Ducks. His step-back three-pointers from the top of the key were important throughout the night.
Oregon was able to find some tempo from the start.
It was nowhere near what Altman wanted for this season as key players were out with injuries, but this team is becoming resilient, and while it has been a process usually set up by the end of January, better late than never for chemistry to kick in for this year's Ducks.
It was a 78-65 win at Stanford for Oregon. While it may not make much noise in the NET Rankings, wins matter. It makes two wins in a row for a team that started strong, fell apart, and is trying to work its way back.
N’Faly Dante showed signs he is still coming back from being out a good part of the season but is improving with each game. He played 31 minutes and came away with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Ducks also had 32 points off a limited bench in the win over Stanford.
Oregon will continue its road trip on Saturday and head to Berkeley to take on the California Golden Bears. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. Pacific Time on Pac-12 Networks.