Dana Altman identifies key defensive change for Oregon to close out Oregon State win

Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks completed their season sweep of the Oregon State Beavers on Wednesday night.

Behind 22 points from Kwame Evans Jr. on the night, Oregon advanced to 19-9 on the season with their win over the Beavers. It was a close one, as a late surge almost led Oregon State to an upset, but the Ducks were able to send their rivals home with a 78-71 loss.

Speaking with the media following the game, Altman spoke regarding the way his team closed out the rivalry clash, explaining that he thought his Oregon squad did a good job of finishing the job.

“I thought we did a decent job, until those last two threes there,” Altman started. “You know, Jackson [Shelstad] quit coming on that double-screen there they ran on the baseline, and then Jermaine [Couisnard] went over the top and let him flare out. You know, we gave up two easy threes there late. But until then, I thought we were doing a better job of contesting shots.

“Other than Tyler [Bilodeau] getting some easy ones inside, I thought we did a pretty good job.”

As Altman noted, Bilodeau was hard to stop for the Ducks throughout the night, as the Beavers star amassed 26 points. However, it wasn’t enough for Oregon State to ascend to a win, and their record dropped to 12-17 on the season.

As we enter March, Oregon has been among the top teams in the Pac-12 all season long. This weekend though, they’ll have one of their biggest tests of the season, as they’ll travel to face the 22-6 Arizona Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.

That one should be a doozy, as Arizona is currently slated as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. A loss to the Ducks would certainly change that for the Wildcats though, and that’s what they’ll be trying to avoid.

On the other hand, that’s something Oregon can’t concern themselves with, as they’re hoping to clinch their destiny and make the NCAA Tournament in 2024. They’re in a good spot at the moment, but some more quality victories could solidify their standing.

Time will tell if Dana Altman and company can pull the upset, but Oregon will enjoy their win over Oregon State at the moment, and be ready for the Wildcats this weekend.