When Jordan Bell and Payton Pritchard took the podium Thursday night after beating Valparaiso 76-54, both were asked about their thoughts on the game they had played two days earlier.
On Tuesday, in Waco, they got trounced by Baylor, 66-49, in what was the first true test of the season for the No.4 ranked team in the country. The Bears dominated Oregon in almost facet of the game, holding them to less than 33 percent shooting and out-rebounding them by 11.
Both Pritchard and Bell called the loss “embarrassing,” especially considering how high the expectations are for their team this year.
Thursday night was a different story. Oregon flipped the script and beat a talented team in Valparaiso. The Crusaders went 30-7 last year and finished first in the Horizon league en route to a second place finish in the NIT. Led by senior and NBA prospect Alec Peters — who was averaging 26 points per game coming into tonight — they had started the season 3-0 before their trip to Eugene.
But Dana Altman’s squad was having none of it. The Ducks came out hungry played like the No.4 team in the country should.
“I thought they were much more focused tonight,” Altman said of his team. “The energy level was better — knees bent, active, running the floor better. … Those are all indications that we were much more ready to play and guys were much more involved.”
Aside from shooting the ball from distance better on Thursday, the area that Oregon improved the most upon was rebounding, an aspect that Altman has expressed concern about this season.
The loss against Baylor only highlighted those concerns as the Bears out-rebounded them 40-31. No Duck, other than Bell who grabbed 11, recorded more than three rebounds.
While Baylor is a much more physical team than Valparaiso, the Crusaders still posed a threat on that end. They came into tonight averaging 44 boards per game, led by Peters who grabs over 10 a game.
Unlike against Baylor, though, Oregon’s intensity and hustle was very present. It showed nowhere bigger than on the boards.
The Ducks grabbed 40 rebounds to Valpo’s 27, with 15 of coming on the offensive end. Those extra possessions translated into 15 second chance points for Oregon.
Altman wants to see this trend continue and said that winning the rebounds battle will be “critical” to this team’s success this year, just like it was a season ago.
“It’s critical for every team’s [success],” Altman said after the game. “But last year it was definitely the difference when we didn’t play well and I think it’s going to be the same this year.”
Bell, who finished the game with seven rebounds, said that rebounding is something that Altman puts an emphasis on.
“He always says, ‘if you win the rebounding war, you’re gonna win the game,” Bell said. “So we try to just crash the boards every single time.”
With one of the deepest frontcourts in the country, Altman thinks that this team is always at an advantage when it comes to rebounding. Now he just wants them to show it.
“It’s not about staying even this year; we should have an advantage this year,” Altman said. “I think it’s going to be critical for us all year.”
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris
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