Eugene, OR – The Oregon Ducks pulled away in the last five minutes to beat South Dakota State 83-69 in front of 5,019 home fans. The 14-point margin was the largest of the game. Jackson Shelstad led the Ducks with 22 points. Takai Simpkins added 20 points and center Nate Bittle registered his 13th career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The return of Shelstad to the lineup has added continuity to the offense. Shelstad still doesn’t quite have his legs. He shot only 8-of-19 in 37 minutes of play. However, he added eight assists with no turnovers to go along with three rebounds and three steals. That’s a welcome contribution to a team plagued with turnovers in their first two contests. Although the Ducks had a few avoidable turnovers, they ended the night with only 10, which is a big improvement.
While Oregon’s offense showed improvement they still settled for too many quick shots. They were only 4-of-18 on possessions where the ball stayed on one side of the court. They hoisted 40 three-point shots, way too many for them, although they made 15, a good 37.5 percentage. The Jackrabbits outscored Oregon in the paint 26-18, which shouldn’t happen to a team with a solid inside presence. Bittle only had seven field goal attempts inside the three-point line. Oregon needs to play inside-out more and give Bittle more opportunities inside.
Simpkins had added a lot to the Ducks’ guard play. He’s shown to be a reliable shooter, he was 5-of-10 on 3’s tonight and shot 36.7% from deep at Elon last year. He also has been a good secondary initiator on offense. Wei Lin, who was the leading domestic scorer in the Chinese Basketball Association last season, has had problems transitioning to the college game. He’s been taking quick shots, has been somewhat turnover prone and has missed some defensive rotations. Tonight, he scored his first field goal but missed his four three-point attempts. He’s now 0-of-10 from deep this season. In the second half Coach Altman replaced him in the rotation with walk-on point guard Drew Carter. Carter hit a three-pointer and didn’t turn the ball over in nine minutes of play. Wei is talented and should show his skill fairly soon, but it will be interesting to see what his playing time will be over the next several games.
The Ducks received some solid minutes from Dez Lindsay who started in place of the injured Devon Pryor on the wing. Lindsey connected on 2-of-3 threes and scored eight points. It would help if Oregon can get some offense from that position and Lindsay appears capable of doing that. Sasha Kobzystyi also received some minutes. The 6’8 Ukrainian made a three-pointer and added a block, a rebound and an assist over 12 minutes.
Oregon will stay at home to face Oregon State on Monday night. It’s their final game before heading to Las Vegas to play in the Players Era Tournament. They’ll first face San Diego State and Auburn there as well as play in a third game before heading home.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Instagram, or on twitter.
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