Oregon Basketball: 2019-20 takeaways from home win over Arizona State
3. Pac-12 play will not be a cakewalk
The Ducks already knew that conference play would not be a cakewalk. The Ducks may be the favorites to win the conference, but it will be a tight race. Arizona, Stanford, and Oregon are all in the top 15 of the NET rankings.
Road trips in the Pac-12 are difficult. Playing two games on the road with sometimes significant travel between schools makes it a challenge. Most teams hope to just split the games on the road. The Ducks found that out when they lost their conference opener at Colorado (#28 NET) before traveling to Salt Lake City to beat Utah (#52 NET).
The Ducks are going to have to pick it up on the defensive end if they want another trip to the Final Four. Oregon will need to improve their perimeter defense on the ball and against the pick and roll, which Remy Martin exploited for Arizona State.
Oregon seemed to control the game against the Sun Devils throughout. However, the Ducks let Arizona State hang in there with Oregon’s biggest lead being 14 early in the second half. One would expect them to dominate most teams at home.
Next. Biggest takeaways of the week. dark
The Ducks are going to have to be on their game every game going forward in the Pac-12. Next up on the schedule is a road trip to the struggling Washington schools. Oregon needs to move forward with a sweep next week.