Surprising Trojans Look to Win First Game against Oregon in Seven Years
The last time the University of Oregon (14-4, 3-2) lost to the USC Trojans (15-3, 4-1) was during the 2008-2009 season. A lot has changed since then. Dana Altman took over the head coaching duties for the Ducks. The Ducks have moved from MacArthur Court to Matthew Knight Arena, where the team beat the Trojans in the first ever game there. The Pac-10 has become the Pac-12. The Ducks have also made it to three straight NCAA tournaments.
The Trojans also look different now than they have in the past. The Trojans have combined players such as freshman forward Bennie Boatwright, sophomore guard Jordan McLaughlin, and junior forward Nikola Jovanovic to lead to a surprise start to the season. After a last place Pac-12 finish last year, the Trojans are in first place in the conference halfway through this season.
In the preseason, the Trojans were tabbed to finish 10th in the Pac-12 this season. After defeating Wichita State and handing the traditional Pac-12 powerhouses Arizona and UCLA losses in consecutive games, the Trojans have climbed to first in the Pac-12 rankings and #21 in the Associated Press Poll.
Oregon’s head coach Dana Altman is aware of the Trojans’ rising star-power. “They’ve got a very talented team,” Altman told the Ducks’ official website. “We knew they were going to be good; we tried to get some of those players, felt like they had tremendous upside.”
In the Trojans’ last game at rival UCLA, freshman forward and USC’s top recruit Chimezie Metu came off the bench to put up 21 points and 8 boards to push USC to an 89-75 win. Jordan McLaughlin also added a game high 23 points for the Trojans.
The Ducks have their own problems to deal with though. Oregon’s roster has been decimated with injuries as of late. Senior transfer guard Dylan Ennis was told he will not be able to play again this season because of aggravating a prior foot injury, while freshman Trevor Manuel is looking to transfer after being unhappy with his playing time. Altman is now deploying an eight man rotation to get the job done.
In the Ducks’ last game, however, the eight man rotation didn’t go as planned. The Ducks were not able to keep up with the Colorado Buffalos’ offensive attack, as they allowed a season high 91 points in a 91-87 loss in Boulder.
Oregon did have bright spots against the Buffalos. They shot over fifty percent from the field, almost sixty percent from beyond the arc, and turned the ball over less than ten times, marking the first time all season the team played that well on the offensive end.
Dana Altman will look to stay undefeated in his career against USC. Tip-off is Thursday at 6 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.
Interview snippets courtesy of goducks.com
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