Game Notes: Ducks Host Bruins on Senior Night
It's Senior Night for Oregon when the Ducks host UCLA Wednesday at 6 p.m. (ESPN2).
THE STARTING 5
• 1 – This will be the final home game for seniors Chris Duarte, LJ Figueroa, Amauri Hardy, Eugene Omoruyi, Eddy Ionescu, Will Johnson and Luke Osborn. It will also be the last game at Matthew Knight Arena for senior managers Brian O'Reilly and Sam Stack.
• 2 – Combined, Oregon's four scholarship seniors - Chris Duarte, LJ Figueroa, Eugene Omoruyi and Amauri Hardy - are averaging more than 50 points per game (50.2). That quartet scored 58 points Saturday at California and 57 points Monday versus Arizona.
• 3 – Under coach Dana Altman, Oregon has the best record in the conference during the second half of Pac-12 play. Over the last 11 seasons, the Ducks have won more than 70 percent of their games (69-28) on the back half of the schedule.
• 4 – 2020-21 is Oregon's 11th consecutive winning season, a program first. Dana Altman also extended his streak of winning seasons as a head coach to 24; an active streak shared by only by Altman and four Hall of Famers: Jim Boeheim, Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self and Tom Izzo.
• 5 – Last week, Chris Duarte was named one of five finalists for the Jerry West Point Guard of the Year Award. He is one of only two Division I players in the country averaging at least 17.0 points and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the field.
• BENCH – Under Dana Altman, Oregon has won 90 percent of its games (190-21) when holding opponents below 70 points.
• BENCH – Monday's win against Arizona was the Ducks' 276th victory over the last 11 seasons, a program best.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Ducks are 164-22 (.882) all-time at Matthew Knight Arena since the building opened in 2011.
PAC-12 AT MKA
The Ducks are 78-18 (.813) in Pac-12 games at Matthew Knight Arena. Arizona State is 0-7, USC, Washington and Washington State are 1-8, Arizona, Colorado and Utah are 1-7, Stanford is 2-7, Oregon State is 3-8, UCLA is 3-6 and California is 4-5.
SENIORS LEAD LATE SEASON SURGE
Oregon's resurgence the last month of the season has been led by seniors Chris Duarte, LJ Figueroa and Eugene Omoruyi. The last three games, that trio scored 57 points Monday against Arizona, 58 Saturday at California and 49 Feb. 27 at Stanford. Duarte had 24 points at Stanford - 19 in the final 10 minutes - to lead the Ducks. Omoruyi (21) and Figueroa (20) hit 20 points against Cal, while Duarte (22) and Omoruyi (21) hit that mark against Arizona. Those three also accounted for 20 rebounds in the Cal win, 14 by Figueroa.
DUARTE NAMED A JERRY WEST AWARD FINALIST
Senior guard Chris Duarte was named one of five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He is the first Jerry West Award finalist in program history. Duarte, from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, is one of only two Division I players in the nation averaging 17 points and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. Peter Kiss of Bryant is the other. He leads the Pac-12 in steals (1.9 per game) and three-pointers made (2.6 per game). In addition to leading the league in steals and three-pointers, Duarte is ranked among the Pac-12's top 10 in six different statistical categories. He is fifth in scoring (17.4 points per game), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.441) and 10th in field goal percentage (.536). The other Jerry West Award finalists are Joel Ayayi of Gonzaga, Quentin Grimes of Houston, MaCio Teague of Baylor and Joe Wieskamp of Iowa.
PROTECT THE ROCK
In each of the last three games, the Ducks have committed less than 10 turnovers (7 at Stanford, 8 at Cal, 7 vs. Arizona). In conference play Oregon is averaging just 10.6 turnovers per game.
SECOND HALF SURGE
Under coach Dana Altman, Oregon has the best second half record in the Pac-12. Since the 2010-11 season, Oregon is 69-28 (.711) during the second half of Pac-12 play. That breaks down to 4-5 in 2011, 7-2 in 2012, 5-4 in 2013, 7-2 in 2014, 8-1 in 2015, 7-2 in 2016, 8-1 in 2017, 5-4 in 2018, 6-3 in 2019, 6-3 in 2020 and 6-1 in 2021. The last seven years, Oregon is 36-8 after Valentine's Day in Pac-12 Conference games.
OREGON SETS SCHOOL MARK WITH 11TH STRAIGHT WINNING SEASON
Oregon has locked up its 11th consecutive winning season, a program first. The previous best was 10 winning seasons in a row over the decade between 1923-32, under coaches William Reinhart and George Bohler. Oregon now has a program-record 276 wins over the last 11 seasons.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Oregon leads the Pac-12 in steals per game (7.7) and has clamped down on the defensive end in the last couple of weeks. The Ducks recently held three straight opponents to below 40 percent shooting from the field. Arizona State shot 33.3 percent (Feb. 11), Arizona was at 38.6 percent (Feb 13) and Colorado came in at 33.4 percent (Feb.18). Overall the Ducks have held six opponent below 40 percent this season.