Oregon Basketball: Three keys for the Ducks to take down Wisconsin

3. Hit the three at a reasonable rate.

For all the merits of Wooten and Okoro, they have not been scoring threats. Wooten, in particular, looked so unsettled during the Pac-12 final. He dropped multiple lob passes at the rim and there was a timeout during which he looked ready to cry. As a team, Oregon is mostly reliant in its half-court offense on making threes. It had the third-highest rate of three-pointers attempted in its conference. However, Wisconsin has a strong perimeter defense. When opponents dribble penetrate, Wisconsin defenders are aware of where opposing shooters are moving to in an attempt to get open. Something will have to give.

Pritchard is a career 36.9% three-point shooter. Although he can be dangerous from three-point land, he’s been underachieving in this regard throughout the season. There is hope for him, though. He’s made four of his last 10 and he can keep up his good form through good shot selection. He has shown the tendency to force deep threes that have a lower probability of going in. Pritchard has done better to not try to do too much and he needs to let the game come to him.

Besides Pritchard, Paul White, Louis King, and Victor Bailey attempt a lot of threes. In particular, Richardson and King are 9-for-18 from three in their past two games combined. If Oregon continues to move the ball well and if its shooters remain in good form, then they can really hurt Wisconsin. What will help them to get open shots, though, is if they establish at least some semblance of a post presence inside to give Wisconsin defenders more to worry about besides Oregon’s three-point shooters. If Wooten or Okoro don’t get anything going offensively, Pritchard and others can find open passing lanes while attacking the rim.