All is very well in Oregon, as the Ducks have won 11-straight games to climb all the way up to the No. 15 spot in the AP rankings.
The defending Pac-12 champs opened conference play with a pair of big-time wins over then- No. 2 UCLA and then-No. 22 USC, with junior forward Dillon Brooks, who has been playing restricted minutes since returning, averaging 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in those victories. He was deservingly named Pac-12 player of the week.
The now-healthy Brooks has finally began carrying an Oregon offense that’s racking up nearly 80 points per contest. He’s scoring a team-high 14.8 points, while his fellow starters in Chris Boucher (13.5), Tyler Dorsey (12.9), Dylan Ennis (11.5) and Jordan Bell (10.4) are all contributing more than 10 points a game.
That amount of firepower should manifest itself when the Ducks hit the road for the first time in six weeks to visit the Huskies, who are giving up almost as many points as they’re putting up. The only concern for Oregon here is the fact that no one in its current roster has ever won a game in Seattle.
Washington was initially on a three-game run before dropping Sunday night’s conference opener at home against the Cougars, 79-74.
The Huskies were led by freshman and their top scorer this season, Markelle Fultz, who was a rebound away from a triple-double. He finished with 26 points, 11 assists and nine boards, while Noah Dickerson aided him with 19 points and six rebounds.
The rest of the starters—David Crisp, Matisse Thybulle and Malik Dime—combined for a mere 18 points, 11 of which came from Crisp, the team’s second-leading scorer with 14.1 per game. The Huskies will really need him, or anyone else, to get it going versus No. 15 Oregon, a team that’s allowed no more than 70 points in all but two games this season.
Also, Washington’s got to start playing some high-level defense. On average, this team gives up at least 80 points per outing, which is a recipe for disaster in going against one of the top-scoring programs in the country right now.
Writer’s Prediction
Oregon (-8) pulls away down the stretch for an 81-70 victory.
