Oregon is headed into Big Ten Conference play later this week and following a 23-point victory Dec. 28, the Ducks are feeling more ready than not.
Backed by another dominant all-around performance from center Nate Bittle, Oregon beat Omaha 80-57 in front of 5,392 at Matthew Knight Arena in its final nonconference men’s basketball game of the season.
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Next for the Ducks (7-6) comes a 10-week, 18-game slate of conference games before the Big Ten Tournament in mid-March in Indianapolis.
“We got an uphill climb,” coach Dana Altman said. “We’re behind where we should be with our record, we’re behind where we should be with progress with the team. So we’re just gonna have to grind some things out, figure out a way to win some ball games.”
Bittle helped with that Sunday night.
The senior finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. He was 9 for 15 from the field with three 3-pointers in what was his second straight 20-plus-point performance.
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Bittle has averaged 27 points, nine rebounds and 4.5 blocks in the Ducks’ last two games.
“We’ve moved the ball pretty well the last couple of games,” Bittle said. “It’s kind of just ended up in my hands in good spots to score and I’m just taking advantage.”
Guard Takai Simpkins also had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and forward Sean Stewart stayed out of foul trouble for the first time in a few games to have a productive outing with eight points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
Point guard Jackson Shelstad also scored 13 and reserve forward Ege Demir had 10 rebounds.
Oregon led for all but 21 seconds of the game and was up by 10 or more for the final 17:25. The Ducks shot 45.6% (31 of 68) from the field and 40% (12 of 30) from 3-point range. They also dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Mavericks 47-33.
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The Ducks’ defense helped hold the Mavericks (7-8) to 36.8% shooting and 30.8% from 3.
Oregon’s Nate Bittle dunks the ball against Omaha. Bittle had 26 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in the 80-57 win at Matthew Knight Arena.
Why was Oregon without forward Kwame Evans Jr.?
The starter injured his ankle in practice this past week and didn’t dress against Omaha.
Altman couldn’t say if Evans will play Friday against Maryland in what would be a homecoming for the junior from Baltimore.
“I’m hoping we have him back for the road trip,” Altman said. “We’ll see how it comes along. But he’ll want to play Maryland going home.”
Evans is averaging 13.6 points and 7.6 rebounds this season. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Dezdrick Lindsay, who had five points, five rebounds and seven assists. It was Lindsay’s fourth start of the season.
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Oregon was also without forward Devon Pryor, who missed his fourth straight game as he recovers from a groin injury. A starter when healthy, Pryor participated in pregame warmups with the team but didn’t play.
“He hasn’t done anything live yet,” Altman said. “But he’s been shooting, warming up.”
What’s next for Oregon men’s basketball?
The Ducks head out on their longest — by distance — road trip of the season with a game at 4:30 p.m. Friday against Maryland in College Park, MD, and at 4 p.m. Jan. 5 against Rutgers on Piscataway, N.J.
The games against the Terrapins and Scarlet Knights represents the resumption of conference play for Oregon, which is 0-2 in the Big Ten after losses to USC and UCLA earlier in December.
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Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at chansen@registerguard.com.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Nate Bittle, Oregon beat Omaha, with Big Ten hoops season on horizon
