The Oregon Ducks passed the first test, but things will pick up considerably from here on out. Playing without star big man Chris Boucher, the Ducks were able to use their superior athleticism to take down Iona in the opening round. Their next opponent, the Rhode Island Rams, are a bigger and stronger group than the Gaels and could provide a stiff challenge for a team many believe has the pieces for a Final Four run. How quickly Oregon figures out how to play without Boucher will tell us a lot about how far they can fly.
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Despite being a lower seed, the Rams were a 2-point favorite over Creighton in their opener and easily covered the spread in their 84-72 win. Rhode Island continued an impressive run that carried them through the Atlantic-10 tournament and into the NCAA’s for the first time in 18 years, winning their ninth consecutive game while going 4-0 ATS in their last four and 7-2 ATS in that nine-game span.
Even with Boucher, the team’s third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, sidelined with a knee injury sustained in the Pac-12 tournament, the Ducks have plenty of weapons. And they were on display Friday night. Dana Altman challenged his team to pick up the slack for Boucher, who scored 11.8 points with 6.1 boards during his time on the floor, and the guys responded. It wasn’t a fair fight against Iona from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, but the Ducks were focused and did what they had to. They covered the 15-point spread and will be favored against URI, just not by as much.
Coaching Angle
The Rams will need all the help they can get and it appears as though Dan Hurley could have some insider information as he preps his team for Sunday’s clash with Oregon. Dan’s older brother, Bobby, is the current coach at Arizona State, a member of the Pac-12 along with Oregon. Bobby’s Sun Devils played the Ducks twice this season, losing in the conference tournament and taking them to the limit in a surprising contest in Eugene. Bobby’s Sun Devils nearly pulled off the big upset before bowing, 71-70.
It’s not like Bobby has had much success against Oregon in this ASU tenure, in fact he hasn’t had any, losing all three games between the clubs. But with Dan focused on his first round matchup with Creighton, he admitted there was little time to prep for the next round. That’s where a scouting report from his older brother could come in very handy.
Player to Watch
The loss of Boucher hurts the Ducks and could play a significant role later in the tournament when the Ducks player teams with stronger front lines. As it is, Oregon has Dillon Brooks to lean on. He’s one of the best players in the NCAA Tournament but goes largely unnoticed because of the Ducks superior depth. However, the depth isn’t up front, so Brooks will take over from his spot.
Brooks scored 18 points in the win over Iona and played only 30 minutes because of early foul trouble. Brooks committed two early fouls and spent a good chunk of the first half on the bench. When the Gaels whittled the deficit, Altman immediately inserted Brooks back into the game and order was quickly restored. Showing off his maturity and level of discipline, Brooks did not commit another foul the remainder of the game as the Ducks kept expanding their margin.
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Rhode Island’s win over Creighton wasn’t unexpected considering the Bluejays were playing without their most important piece. When Mo Watson went down, so did Creighton’s chances of doing anything in the tourney. Still, the Rams were able to pull away from Creighton by playing solid defense and hitting the timely shot.
However, taking down a power from the Pac-12 appears to be too much of a challenge for the Rams. If Brooks isn’t canning jumpers, Tyler Dorsey and Dylan Ennis are. And Jordan Bell has the shackles removed with Boucher out and will let the world know what kind of talent he is. Oregon has too many weapons and too much depth for URI and the Ducks will advance with another cover win.
College Basketball Odds: Oregon 79, Rhode Island 66
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