After a pretty successful conference opener, the Huskies take on the Oregon Ducks who are fresh off a similar win over Washington State. The Ducks were led by their forward, 6-7 220lb Olu Ashaolu, who scored 26 points and 10 rebounds. That is almost a mirror of the 26 point, 9 rebound, 4 assist, 2 turnover game by Tony Wroten (he made 5-7 from the free throw line and the team went 17-20, fantastic) against OSU. Speaking of Wroten, the new leading scorer in the Pac-12 with 16.8 ppg is the aforementioned. Jared Cunningham is close behind with 16.6.
The Ducks look dangerous this season even after losing a possible star in freshman Jabari Brown who defected after two games. The Ducks also lost Bruce Bannon, younger brother of former Husky Justin Dentmon, to a similar defection.
E.J. Singler, younger brother of Kyle Singler of Duke, is a less talented than his older sibling, but proves to be a similar star for his own team. Singler can be a tough match-up. At 6-6 210lb he has both the speed and strength to power through defenses. He has a reasonably solid shot, hitting 15 of his 44 3-point attempts. Singler is third in scoring with 12.2 points per game and leads the team with 5 rebounds per game. Where Singler really excels is at the free throw line where he is shooting 90% with 40 makes on 44 attempts.
Devoe Joseph has stepped up big time and despite playing in only 7 of Oregon's 13 games leads the team with 14.7 points per game. Joseph is second in assists with 3.3 per game and first in steals with 1.6. He does commit a few turnovers, averaging over 2 per game. He has a solid outside shot and has 16 makes on 37 attempts. Joseph is also solid at the free throw line where he is 17 of 21 on the year. Joseph is very similar in build to Abdul Gaddy, but plays more of a shooting guard than a point guard.
Jonathan Loyd is a 5-8 160lb guard who drives the Oregon offense. Loyd leads the team in assists with 3.6 per game. He is a dangerous defense who uses his speed and athleticism, rather than size, to take on his man. He is second on the team in steals with 1.5 per game. Loyd is not a big time scorer, averaging only 5.7 points per game, but can be deadly when left open. He is 10 of 27 from deep. Loyd's free throw shooting leaves much to be desired, hitting only 62% of his attempts.
Garrett Sim is the third starting guard for the Ducks and is a damage dealer in himself. Sim does a bit of everything scoring 13 points, grabbing 3 boards, dealing out 3 assists, and picking up a steal every game. Sim is a smaller, more mobile guard coming in at 6-1 and 181lb. He leads the team in 3-point percentage with 49% on the season, making 23 of his 47 attempts. Sim is also an excellent free throw shooter, hitting 86% on the season and is 37 of 43 thus far.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups:
Oregon:
Jonathan Loyd 5-8 160lb
Garrett Sim 6-1 181lb
Devoe Joseph 6-4 180lb
E.J. Singler 6-6 210lb
Tony Woods 6-11 250lb
Washington:
Abdul Gaddy 6-3 185lb
Tony Wroten 6-5 205lb
Terrence Ross 6-6 195lb
Darnell Gant 6-8 230lb
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb
Keys to the Game:
Rebounding:
The Ducks don't have a bunch of size on their team, nor do they have a dominate rebounder. Their approach is definitely rebound by committee. The Huskies can utilize this by boxing out and using their superior rebounding skill set to contain the glass. Getting N'Diaye and Simmons active on the glass is the first step in controlling the offensive boards the Ducks can grab.
Free Throw Shooting:
The Ducks are a great free throw shooting team and keeping them off the line will help the Dawgs put the game in their favor. Last game against OSU, the Huskies finally looked solid at the FT line themselves, hitting 17 of 20 attempts. Tony Wroten was 5-7 and Wilcox was 6-6. Ross was 2-3. Free throws win ball games, plain and simple.
Backcourt Pressure:
While Ashaolu's performance against WSU was exceptional, it was not the norm for the Ducks who primarily rely on their guard play to win ball games. UW has great guards of its own and when they are on their game they are tough to beat. With a significant size advantage in the backcourt one could expect to see the Ducks try to force the ball into the paint, but I think we'll see Singler with the ball in his hands more often than not.
Final Thoughts:
The Huskies need to keep the momentum rolling as they take the road for matches against newcomers Colorado and Utah next week. The Ducks have been playing pretty well this season and look to be one of the better, more consistent teams in the Pac-12 and not one to be overlooked in the slightest. That being said, our team has been players and the chemistry is starting to develop as it should have from the start of the year. The great part about the win over OSU is that we did it while shooting 4-18 from deep. Our team has relied on outside shooting these past few season and have often lost when the shots weren't dropping. It's nice to see the Dawgs win one with superior inside game.
UW-92 UO-84
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