Preview:
Oregon comes to Maples for a Friday game at 7pm. The game will be televised on Pac 12 networks.
Hopefully on Friday someone will remember to set up the bleachers for the Band. In the last home game vs. Washington someone apparently forgot and the Band was turned away from the game. So says a neighboring fan, in any case.
Oregon is one of those dangerous teams that has talent and good coaching but which is having a down year, by their standards. One never knows when Graves will pick up the pieces and forge a strong effort. There are recent signs that the team is coming together, just in time for our matchup.
Oregon is 11-7 and is coming off a sweep of the Arizona schools in Eugene. They are ranked 51 by Massey which is a little better than Cal and a little worse than Washington. Massey gives them a 10% chance against us. The NET has them at 105. They have lost, often decisively, to every ranked team they have played, including Baylor, USC, and UCLA. Oregon State also walloped them, as did Portland and even Santa Clara. Their best win was their most recent: Arizona.
What has gone wrong at Oregon? This is a steep fall from 4 years ago when they beat us badly 3 times on their way to what would likely have been a national championship for Oregon but for COVID. Oregon has hemorrhaged talent. Just this year Sedona Prince transferred to TCU, Endyia Rogers to Texas A&M, and Tehina Pao-Pao to South Carolina. Live by the transfer and die by the transfer—a couple of these had previously transferred IN to Oregon and then took their free agencies elsewhere.
Graves still has talent, however, and it would be a mistake to underestimate it. Oregon received half a dozen transfers in, and it clearly has been a challenge to fit all the new parts together.
Oregon is led by 3 double digit scorers, and at the top of the list is Grace VanSlooten. VS is a 6’3” sophomore forward who was all-freshmen in the Pac 12 last year and who has continued to do well this year. She plays pretty much every minute, average 16 ppg (almost all from inside). She often plays more of a wing position than being always directly in the paint--but she scored mostly inside the three point line.
She is joined by 6’8” junior center Phillipina Kyei, who averages 12 ppg and 12 rpg. Thus Oregon has the height inside to match up with us in a way that no other team this year has. Kyei might actually bother Brink and Iriafen, and VanSlooten never seems to get into foul trouble. The inside game may not be as big an advantage for us against Oregon as it has been against other teams.
Oregon’s second leading scorer is 5’9” sophomore guard Chance Grey—also all freshman last year and all-defensive honorable mention. With Pao Pao’s transfer Grey has become the point guard. This year she is averaging 15ppg, shooting 39 treys along the way, and has more assists than turnovers.
Beyond those three Oregon starts 6’1” freshman guard Sophia Bell, and recently has gone for a “three big” lineup with 6’7” sophomore forward Kennedy Basham starting. Interestingly, those two are among the few remaining players who are not transfers.
Oregon thus presents unique challenges, given that they start 6’8” and 6’7” players, not to mention their superstar VanSlooten at 6’3”. They have not been a strong three point shooting team—Grey shoots 36% but is their only reliable trey maker. Figuring out how to defend all that height without Brink and/or Iriafen getting into foul trouble will be a potential challenge. And when we are on offense, Oregon has every incentive to pack the paint. We shall see if Bell can guard Jump. But we will likely need points from people other than our usual three. There will be plenty of opportunities for Demetre and Agara.
Oregon comes to Maples for a Friday game at 7pm. The game will be televised on Pac 12 networks.
Hopefully on Friday someone will remember to set up the bleachers for the Band. In the last home game vs. Washington someone apparently forgot and the Band was turned away from the game. So says a neighboring fan, in any case.
Oregon is one of those dangerous teams that has talent and good coaching but which is having a down year, by their standards. One never knows when Graves will pick up the pieces and forge a strong effort. There are recent signs that the team is coming together, just in time for our matchup.
Oregon is 11-7 and is coming off a sweep of the Arizona schools in Eugene. They are ranked 51 by Massey which is a little better than Cal and a little worse than Washington. Massey gives them a 10% chance against us. The NET has them at 105. They have lost, often decisively, to every ranked team they have played, including Baylor, USC, and UCLA. Oregon State also walloped them, as did Portland and even Santa Clara. Their best win was their most recent: Arizona.
What has gone wrong at Oregon? This is a steep fall from 4 years ago when they beat us badly 3 times on their way to what would likely have been a national championship for Oregon but for COVID. Oregon has hemorrhaged talent. Just this year Sedona Prince transferred to TCU, Endyia Rogers to Texas A&M, and Tehina Pao-Pao to South Carolina. Live by the transfer and die by the transfer—a couple of these had previously transferred IN to Oregon and then took their free agencies elsewhere.
Graves still has talent, however, and it would be a mistake to underestimate it. Oregon received half a dozen transfers in, and it clearly has been a challenge to fit all the new parts together.
Oregon is led by 3 double digit scorers, and at the top of the list is Grace VanSlooten. VS is a 6’3” sophomore forward who was all-freshmen in the Pac 12 last year and who has continued to do well this year. She plays pretty much every minute, average 16 ppg (almost all from inside). She often plays more of a wing position than being always directly in the paint--but she scored mostly inside the three point line.
She is joined by 6’8” junior center Phillipina Kyei, who averages 12 ppg and 12 rpg. Thus Oregon has the height inside to match up with us in a way that no other team this year has. Kyei might actually bother Brink and Iriafen, and VanSlooten never seems to get into foul trouble. The inside game may not be as big an advantage for us against Oregon as it has been against other teams.
Oregon’s second leading scorer is 5’9” sophomore guard Chance Grey—also all freshman last year and all-defensive honorable mention. With Pao Pao’s transfer Grey has become the point guard. This year she is averaging 15ppg, shooting 39 treys along the way, and has more assists than turnovers.
Beyond those three Oregon starts 6’1” freshman guard Sophia Bell, and recently has gone for a “three big” lineup with 6’7” sophomore forward Kennedy Basham starting. Interestingly, those two are among the few remaining players who are not transfers.
Oregon thus presents unique challenges, given that they start 6’8” and 6’7” players, not to mention their superstar VanSlooten at 6’3”. They have not been a strong three point shooting team—Grey shoots 36% but is their only reliable trey maker. Figuring out how to defend all that height without Brink and/or Iriafen getting into foul trouble will be a potential challenge. And when we are on offense, Oregon has every incentive to pack the paint. We shall see if Bell can guard Jump. But we will likely need points from people other than our usual three. There will be plenty of opportunities for Demetre and Agara.