USC Basketball: 2019-20 keys to beating Oregon Ducks on the road
By Andy Patton
Make Payton Pritchard work
So far this season, Ducks point guard Payton Pritchard has made pretty much everything look easy. He is averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. He is shooting 48.7 percent from the field, 41.2(!) percent from downtown and 76.5 percent from line in 36.5 minutes of action.
Plain and simple, he’s one of the best guards, and overall players, in all of college basketball – and he’s nearly impossible to game plan against.
Forcing Pritchard to give up the ball doesn’t work, as he’s a deft passer who creates open looks for his teammates. Sagging doesn’t work, as he can light it up from downtown. But if you crowd him he finds ways to get to the basket and to the free throw line, both areas he excels at.
So, while completely shutting Pritchard out is nearly impossible, USC will need to find ways to make things difficult for him, however they can.
Elijah Weaver will likely draw the one-on-one assignment, and his size advantage (he has three inches and 20 pounds on Pritchard) should make things a little tougher if he can avoid foul trouble.
On offense, USC should look to post up Pritchard whenever possible, instead of allowing him to roam out at the top of the key and conserve energy.
USC is holding PAC-12 opponents to 28 percent from downtown, the best in the conference, and opponents overall 32.7 percent mark is not bad either. Oregon presents a greater challenge than they have faced, but if they can force them as a whole into a bad shooting night, it does put added pressure on Pritchard to distribute the ball or get to the rim. While he’s good at those things, he’s easier to defend if you know what’s coming, and if he’s gassed from playing post defense – maybe it could work.