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Ducks prepare for biggest test yet in No. 3 Houston

There’s no question about it, one opponent on Oregon’s 2022 non-conference schedule stands out from the rest.

No. 3-ranked Houston (4-0) is coming off its second straight trip to the Elite 8, and returns as one of the early favorites to win the national championship this season.

Oregon (2-1) hasn't faced a major challenge yet this season, though the Ducks did manage to lose 69-56 to UC Irvine while otherwise handling business after Florida A&M and Montana State.

Now, the Ducks prepare for the undefeated Cougars, who present matchup problems up and down the depth chart as they visit Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday.

“What are they -- 2, 3 in the country? That’s where they should be,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “They’re experienced, their guards are experienced. They got big bodies — athletic bodies. Real difficult assignment. Great opportunity but very tough team to match up with, with their depth and experience.”

The Ducks will need to fix many things if they plan on making Sunday’s game a close one. While they have been able to score at times, having two 80-plus point performances through three games, the 3-point shooting has been egregious at 30.1 percent.

“You can see we hit a few 3s the other day and it kind of took the pressure off,” Altman said. “We’re not a great 3-point shooting team, but we’re definitely not a bad 3-point shooting team either.”

The 12 triples made against Montana State helped the season average tremendously, as the previous two games saw the team shoot 10-46 from beyond the arc. Key 3-point shooters Jermaine Cousinard, Brennan Rigsby and more have been sidelined with injuries. In usual Altman fashion, adjustments have already been made.

“It’s still a work in progress. We’ve tried to make a few adjustments,” Altman said. “Tried to figure out a lot more sets with some of our bigs. Trying to get them more comfortable guarding on the perimeter. I think we're making a little bit of progress, slowly but surely. We’ve got to figure out, 40 minutes with 8 or 9 guys — whatever we got — to really be active and compete on the boards.”

The Ducks' big men N'Faly Dante (14.3 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game), Nate Bittle (10.0/5.7) and freshman Kel'el Ware (9.3/5.7) and guards Keeshawn Barthelemy (10.7 PPG) and Will Richardson (9.0 PPG) have led a balanced scoring attack for Oregon.

Houston is led by senior guard Marcus Sasser (16.8 PPG) and 6-foot-8 freshman forward Jarace Walker (13.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG).

Oregon will be playing in its fourth straight in front of a home crowd and won’t be on the road until December 4th.

“The pit crew really tried the first couple of games,” Altman said. “We let them down against Irvine. I really appreciate those students who choose to support us. We really need them. We want to give them the effort so that they want to come see us play.”

The game tips off at 6:30 p.m. Sunday and will be live on ESPN.

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