The No. 13 Oregon Ducks showed out against SMU, easily taking down the Mustangs by a final score of 86-63 at Matthew Knight Arena on Friday night.
Just like in the first game of the season against Texas Southern, the Ducks wasted no time getting into their groove. Jacob Young had the hot hand early, once again opening the scoring for the game with a three-pointer. Young’s great play early gave primary ball handler Will Richardson a few extra minutes of rest. Young ran the offense to the tune of 12 points and two assists in 14 minutes in the first period.
Oregon’s small ball offense allows for elite court spacing, and the benefits were in plain view in the first half. Five different Ducks had at least four field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes. It never rains in Autzen, but it was pouring in Matthew Knight Arena from downtown in the first; five different Ducks hit three-pointers, with Richardson connecting on three of his own. The Ducks shot efficiently from the floor in the first, with totals of 63.3% from the field and 58.3% from behind the three-point line.
SMU usually loves to shoot the three, and the Mustang backcourt of Kendric Davis and Emmanuel Bandoumel can shoot from the perimeter with great efficiency. That was not the case early Friday night, with the Mustangs shooting an uncharacteristic 29.4% (9-29) from three. The Mustangs were able to show some life near the end of the first as Bandoumel and Stefan Todorovic hit back-to-back threes to spark an 8-0 SMU run. But five straight points from Richardson ended the half on a high note, with Oregon leading 50-35.
An unexpected but major factor throughout the game was the referees. The officiating crew did a lot of whistle blowing, with a total of 27 fouls called on the night. The Ducks were victims of some undeserving and at times confusing foul calls. This earned the refs plenty of discontent from Dana Altman and his players, and even more screams of anger from the Oregon faithful.
Still, the Ducks stayed focused and played their game. Eric Williams Jr. in particular had it going on in the second half. Williams constantly would get the ball at the top of the key, then use his quickness to get past the big man and finish gracefully inside. Williams shot 5-for-8 on his field goal attempts in the second half and ended as Oregon’s leading scorer with 19 points.
Both teams would get ice cold late in the game however. The Ducks didn’t score any field goals for four minutes straight, and the Mustangs simultaneously had a scoring drought. But the Ducks were able to close out the game as they started, hitting their last three field goal attempts. The final score was 86-63 in favor of the Ducks in a well-deserved win. SMU only finished with one player in double figures, with Bandoumel ending his night with 14 points and four three-pointers.
Up next for the Ducks is a date with BYU, as the two teams will battle in the Moda Center in Portland as part of the Phil Knight Invitational.
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