Oregon Basketball: 2019-20 keys for home victory against USC Trojans

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Head coach Dana Altman of the Oregon Ducks reacts against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 18: Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Oregon Basketball looks to keep the momentum going after a big come from behind win against Washington. How will they do it?

Oregon Basketball has had the most up and down set of games you could possibly have in Pac-12 play over their last four contests. It started with two big wins over #24 Arizona and Arizona State, followed by a shocking loss to CJ Elleby and the 11-7 Cougars, and ended with a huge road win against their rival Washington on the back of their Senior leader, Payton Pritchard. Next up, the Trojans of USC. The Trojans are coming off a big win themselves (an OT win over Stanford) and now stand atop the Pac-12 standings.

The “Conference of Champions” is a much-improved league from last year, and will not have any bye games for teams at the top of the conference. Oregon needs to refocus following their 16 point second-half comeback and get ready to face one of the top teams in the Pac-12. An emotional game like the one they had in Seattle can take a lot out of you, so Altman needs to get the Ducks regrouped and ready for the Trojans.

This is also a key game for the 12th ranked Ducks because of the games following it. After this matchup, they go on to face the two worst teams in the league before hitting the most difficult part of their conference schedule which includes trips to Stanford, Corvallis, and Tucson. This three-game stretch will mean a lot down the road for the Ducks and they need to capitalize.

USC will present a great challenge for this top 15 Oregon squad as their strength could be the weakness of this Duck team, size and rebounding. The Trojans look to build off of their momentum and push to 5-1 and first place in the Pac-12 while the Ducks look to improve to 5-2 and continue to climb the conference rankings.

This game is a big one as both teams have high expectations going into March. Before the Tip of this January 23rd matchup, let’s take a look into the 3 keys Oregon needs to have success, as well as some of my thoughts surrounding this Ducks team.

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