SB Nation Seattle - Washington Huskies Handle Oregon Ducks' Pressure To Win 87-69https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48997/seattle-fave.png2011-01-07T10:30:13-08:00http://seattle.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16835062011-01-07T10:30:13-08:002011-01-07T10:30:13-08:00Oregon Competed Against Washington, But It Wasn't Enough
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<p>You have to credit the Oregon Ducks for their effort in last night's 87-69 loss to the Washington Huskies.</p>
<p>That they were even in the game is a credit to coach Dana Altman because as the second half showed, UW is just the far superior team this year.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.addictedtoquack.com/2011/1/7/1920462/washington-87-oregon-69-ducks-continue-to-compete-but-losing-streak#storyjump" target="_blank">Washington 87, Oregon 69: Ducks Continue to Compete, but Losing Streak Hits Five - Addicted To Quack</a><br>...once the Ducks got the lead, it was as if a light bulb went off and UW stopped relying on perimeter jumpers, instead penetrating with Thomas and getting the ball into Bryan-Amaring. While Oregon was able to trade one point leads for about three minutes, Oregon finally went cold, going a four minute stretch without a bucket, and finishing under 40% shooting for the fifth consecutive game. Meanwhile, Washington clamped down defensively, and Ross and Thomas went bonkers from the field and not only put the game away, but made the score more lopsided than the game actually was.</p>
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https://seattle.sbnation.com/washington-huskies/2011/1/7/1921197/oregon-competed-against-washington-but-it-wasnt-enoughNate P.2011-01-06T19:38:39-08:002011-01-06T19:38:39-08:00Washington's Hot Shooting Second Half Shooting Defense Helps Them Pull Away For A 87-69 Win
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/oregon-ducks">Oregon Ducks</a> entered Hec Ed tonight as the worst shooting team in the conference.</p>
<p>And in the second half that poor shooting plus the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/washington-huskies">Washington Huskies</a>’ defense ended up doing the Ducks in as they fell 87-69.</p>
<p>While the Ducks shot under 40 percent in the second half, the Huskies shot close to 60 percent with Isaiah Thomas stepping it up to finish with 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds.</p>
<p>But with Abdul Gaddy out, the big question was who would step up for UW and tonight that player was the rapidly emerging freshman <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124639/terrence-ross">Terrence Ross</a> dropping 25 points on 11-for-18 shooting on the Ducks. It was clear at times that Gaddy’s presence was missed as the Huskies faced the Ducks’ pressure and zone defenses, but Ross’ production was definitely a big boost, particularly in the second half.</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/washington-huskies/2011/1/6/1920203/washington-huskies-defense-helps-them-pull-away-in-second-halfNate P.2011-01-06T18:40:43-08:002011-01-06T18:40:43-08:00Washington Takes Halftime Lead Against Oregon: Turnovers Did Make A Difference
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<p>Well, turnovers did make a difference in this game just not exactly in Oregon’s favor – the Ducks ended up turning the ball over 12 times and found themselves down at halftime.</p>
<p>However, they were only down six primarily because they managed to get themselves to the free throw line seven times, hitting six of them.</p>
<p>Senior guard <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/29068/venoy-overton">Venoy Overton</a> started for the Huskies in place of the injured Abdul Gaddy and had three points and two assists. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/29072/matthew-bryan-amaning">Matthew Bryan-Amaning</a> continued his strong play with a team-high six points and five rebounds.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53403/garrett-sim">Garrett Sim</a> led Oregon with eight points.</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/washington-huskies/2011/1/6/1920090/washington-takes-halftime-lead-against-oregon-turnovers-did-make-aNate P.2011-01-06T16:42:53-08:002011-01-06T16:42:53-08:00Oregon's Key To The Game From SBN's Addicted To Quack: 'Pray'
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<p>Ok, here's the thing about following the team that most people agree is the best in the conference: you want to be modest about it.</p>
<p>So earlier I was modest and graciously gave 7-7 Oregon the benefit of the doubt by saying that a key statistical "battleground" would be turnovers, which Oregon has done a fine job of forcing this season.</p>
<p>SBN's Addicted to Quack avoided all that nonsense and just kept it real.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.addictedtoquack.com/2011/1/6/1918994/mbb-preview-oregon-at-washington#storyjump" target="_blank">MBB Preview: Oregon at Washington - Addicted To Quack</a><br><b>PRAY:</b> Seriously. I could say that we have to shoot the ball at a 45% clip, but are we even capable of that? To make up for not doing that, we have to get significantly more shots than Washington, meaning we must cause a ton of turnovers in the press AND win the rebounding battle decisively. And Washington is great at both rebounding and not turning the ball over. Even if our defense is great, and theirs is poor, they are still a better offensive team than we are. The fact of the matter is that if we win this game, its much more likely to be about how poorly Washington played. We simply don't have the talent to take a game from them otherwise.</p>
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<p>Ok fine - I'll quit playing with you. Washington has a pretty good chance of winning this one handily. However, given Abdul Gaddy's injury, it will be a strong test for their guard rotation in terms of how they withstand the pressure.</p>
<p>And there's a reason they play the games anyway, right?</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/washington-huskies/2011/1/6/1919870/oregons-key-to-the-game-from-sbns-addicted-to-quack-prayNate P.2011-01-06T15:22:47-08:002011-01-06T15:22:47-08:00Washington Huskies Look To Handle Oregon Ducks' Pressure Without Abdul Gaddy
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<p>Shortly before the practice in which <a target="_blank" href="http://seattle.sbnation.com/washington-huskies/2011/1/5/1917036/abdul-gaddy-injury-torn-acl-out-for-season">the Washington Huskies lost sophomore guard Abdul Gaddy for the season</a>, coach Lorenzo Romar noted that Oregon is a pressing team but that his guards could handle it.</p>
<p>"(Former coach Ernie) Kent's teams were uptempo and coach (Dana) Altman's team right now is uptempo, but they press a lot more than coach Kent's team did," said Romar. "We feel our guards can handle presses, hopefully."</p>
<p>Not to say that losing Gaddy will cost the Huskies the game, but tonight's game will be a rather immediate test of the guard rotation without their <a target="_blank" href="http://seattle.sbnation.com/washington-huskies/2011/1/6/1918758/abdul-gaddy-washington-huskies-replacement-starting-lineup-tradeoff">most efficient all-around guards</a>. </p>
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<p><a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/01/06/1490870/acl-injury-claims-gaddy.html" target="_blank">ACL injury claims Gaddy | UW Huskies - The News Tribune</a><br>Overton is just rounding into form after being slowed most of the season with hamstring and knee injuries, but he said he is ready for an increased role.</p>
<p>"It’s going to be tough, just the fact that we’ve been having that three-guard rotation," Overton said. "That’s not going to happen now. It’s going to be a lot of it on myself. A lot of the guards are going to have to step up."</p>
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<p>That probably points to the key statistic of the game.</p>
<h4>Key statistical battleground: turnovers</h4>
<p>Both Oregon and Washington force turnovers on around 23 percent of their opponents possessions, but Washington has been a bit more efficient controlling the ball. The difference is that the turnover differential has arguably been Oregon's biggest strength and as Romar said they are going to come out and actively try to force turnovers.</p>
<p>With Gaddy out, there should be no expectation that UW will suddenly fold under pressure, but it will be interesting to see how thy handle the pressure - and which guards are most effective at it - given Oregon's game.</p>
<h4>Players to watch</h4>
<p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100872/malcolm-armstead">Malcolm Armstead</a>, G (6-foot-0, 195 pounds, Jr.)</b></p>
<p>In the context of a team that likes to pressure and force turnovers, Armstead's elite steal percentage - he gets a steal on a team-high 4.6 percent of his possessions, higher than anyone on UW - could play a role in the game. Armstead also turns the ball over a team-high 3.42 times per game, but if the game becomes about defense he could be at the center of that statistically.</p>
<p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100875/e-j-singler">E.J. Singler</a>, F (6-foot-6, 210 pounds, So.)</b></p>
<p>What Oregon has struggled with this season is shooting efficiency, ranking at the bottom of the conference in any shooting category you look at except for when nobody is guarding them at the free throw line. So although <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28881/joevan-catron">Joevan Catron</a> is their top scorer with 16.4 points per game, Singler is almost equally important statistically as their most efficient scorer, with a true shooting percentage of over 60 percent while being the team's second-leading scorer at 12.1 points per game. What Singler adds from a scoring standpoint is a team-high 37.8 percent 3-point percentage on a team that shoots under 30 percent from beyond the arc.</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/2011/1/6/2327599/washington-huskies-look-to-handle-oregon-ducks-pressure-without-abdulNate P.