Saturday, December 1
Houston, TX
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
at
Houston
Photo by: Samuel Marshall/Eric Evans Photo
Game Notes: Ducks to Open Houston's New Arena
11/29/18 | Men's Basketball
Oregon plays its first true road game of the season on Saturday, traveling to Houston to help the Cougars open their brand new arena, the Fertitta Center (6 p.m. PT, ESPN2). That venue's inaugural game is sold out. Houston is coached by former Washington State head coach Kelvin Sampson.
THE STARTING FIVE
• 1 – Bol Bol has scored in double figures in each of his first six games as a Duck, and has recorded a double-double in half of those games. Monday against Texas Southern, Bol scored 32 points with 11 rebounds. The 32 points were the most by an Oregon freshman since Tajuan Porter dropped in 33 against UNLV in a 2007 NCAA Sweet 16 game.
• 2 – Coincidentally, this will be the Ducks' first game in the city of Houston since Porter's 2006-07 freshman season. That game against Rice is arguably the most improbable win in program history. The Ducks trailed 65-57 with :56 left in the game, and pulled off the miracle to win 79-73 in overtime.
• 3 – Of Oregon's 13-player roster, 77 percent (10) are either freshman or sophomores. The three outliers are junior Payton Pritchard, senior Paul White and senior grad transfer Ehab Amin.
• 4 – Nov. 16 against No. 15 Syracuse, Dana Altman passed Basketball Hall of Famer Howard Hobson for second on the UO career coaching wins list. Altman now has 214 wins at Oregon. Hobson had 212, including the 1939 NCAA Championship.
• 5 – During the November signing period, the Ducks signed four players to NLIs. The class of Chris Duarte (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic), Isaac Johnson (American Fork, Utah), Chandler Lawson (Memphis, Tenn.) and C.J. Walker (Sanford, Fla.) is currently ranked ninth nationally by Rivals.com. It is the Ducks' fourth straight top-12 recruiting class.
THE LAST TIME IN HOUSTON
Oregon's last trip to the city of Houston produced arguably the greatest comeback in program history. It happened at Rice on Nov. 21, 2006. The Owls led 65-57 with :56 left in regulation, but Oregon freshman guard Tajuan Porter made two 3-pointers and senior Aaron Brooks added another to tie the game at 66-66 and force overtime. Brooks, who would become an NBA first round draft choice of the Houston Rockets the following summer, scored six of his game-high 30 points in overtime to rally the Ducks to a 79-73 win. After Rice's Morris Almond scored the first basket of the extra period, Oregon went on a 7-0 run to open a 73-68 lead it wouldn't relinquish. Duck junior forward Maarty Leunen put in a follow shot and added a 3-pointer in that decisive spurt. Brooks made 8 of 11 shots from the field in the second half when he scored 22 points.
DUCKS ACCEPT BID TO 2019 BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS
Oregon will make its inaugural appearance in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis next season in Nassau, Bahamas. The Ducks will be joined in the 2019 field by Alabama, Gonzaga, Iowa State, North Carolina, Michigan, Seton Hall and Southern Mississippi. This will be Oregon's first appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which will be played over the Thanksgiving holiday in the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Paradise Island hotel. In addition to the Battle 4 Atlantis, Oregon's 2019-20 non-conference schedule will include games in Eugene versus Baylor, Boise State and Houston.
THE TALL FIRS
The average height of Oregon's frontline players is 6-10. That includes Bol Bol (7-2), Miles Norris (6-10), Louis King (6-9), Francis Okoro (6-9), Paul White (6-9) and Kenny Wooten (6-9).
DOUBOL-DOUBOL
Bol Bol has reached double figures in all six games this season and had recorded a double-double in half of those games. He made a splash with a double-double (12-12) in his Oregon debut against Portland State, and then followed that with another double-double (23-12) versus Eastern Washington. Bol is the first UO freshman to open his career with back-to-back double-doubles. He followed that by being named to the 2K Classic all-tournament team. He scored 14 points with seven rebounds against Iowa and then scored 26 points versus No. 15 Syracuse. He also had eight blocks for the tournament. Bol's third double-double of the season came against Texas Southern (32-11).
PRITCHARD MOVING UP CAREER ASSIST LIST; EYES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Payton Pritchard entered his junior year on pace to break Kenya Wilkins' UO career assists record of 614 and he's also increased his scoring to approach 1,000 career points. Pritchard moved past former NBA all-star Terrell Brandon (315/1989-91) for eighth against Eastern Washington and now shows 344 career assists. Fred Jones is seventh with 367 assists from 1998-02. He also has 898 career points coming into the Houston game. He has scored in double figures in five-of-six games this year, and has five or more assists in four-of-six.
RICHARDSON RISES
Freshman Will Richardson has set a season high in scoring in each of the last three games. He had seven points against Syracuse, 10 against Green Bay and 13 versus Texas Southern. On the year, he's shooting 60 percent from the field and 80 percent at the free throw line.
THE STARTING FIVE
• 1 – Bol Bol has scored in double figures in each of his first six games as a Duck, and has recorded a double-double in half of those games. Monday against Texas Southern, Bol scored 32 points with 11 rebounds. The 32 points were the most by an Oregon freshman since Tajuan Porter dropped in 33 against UNLV in a 2007 NCAA Sweet 16 game.
• 2 – Coincidentally, this will be the Ducks' first game in the city of Houston since Porter's 2006-07 freshman season. That game against Rice is arguably the most improbable win in program history. The Ducks trailed 65-57 with :56 left in the game, and pulled off the miracle to win 79-73 in overtime.
• 3 – Of Oregon's 13-player roster, 77 percent (10) are either freshman or sophomores. The three outliers are junior Payton Pritchard, senior Paul White and senior grad transfer Ehab Amin.
• 4 – Nov. 16 against No. 15 Syracuse, Dana Altman passed Basketball Hall of Famer Howard Hobson for second on the UO career coaching wins list. Altman now has 214 wins at Oregon. Hobson had 212, including the 1939 NCAA Championship.
• 5 – During the November signing period, the Ducks signed four players to NLIs. The class of Chris Duarte (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic), Isaac Johnson (American Fork, Utah), Chandler Lawson (Memphis, Tenn.) and C.J. Walker (Sanford, Fla.) is currently ranked ninth nationally by Rivals.com. It is the Ducks' fourth straight top-12 recruiting class.
THE LAST TIME IN HOUSTON
Oregon's last trip to the city of Houston produced arguably the greatest comeback in program history. It happened at Rice on Nov. 21, 2006. The Owls led 65-57 with :56 left in regulation, but Oregon freshman guard Tajuan Porter made two 3-pointers and senior Aaron Brooks added another to tie the game at 66-66 and force overtime. Brooks, who would become an NBA first round draft choice of the Houston Rockets the following summer, scored six of his game-high 30 points in overtime to rally the Ducks to a 79-73 win. After Rice's Morris Almond scored the first basket of the extra period, Oregon went on a 7-0 run to open a 73-68 lead it wouldn't relinquish. Duck junior forward Maarty Leunen put in a follow shot and added a 3-pointer in that decisive spurt. Brooks made 8 of 11 shots from the field in the second half when he scored 22 points.
DUCKS ACCEPT BID TO 2019 BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS
Oregon will make its inaugural appearance in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis next season in Nassau, Bahamas. The Ducks will be joined in the 2019 field by Alabama, Gonzaga, Iowa State, North Carolina, Michigan, Seton Hall and Southern Mississippi. This will be Oregon's first appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which will be played over the Thanksgiving holiday in the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Paradise Island hotel. In addition to the Battle 4 Atlantis, Oregon's 2019-20 non-conference schedule will include games in Eugene versus Baylor, Boise State and Houston.
THE TALL FIRS
The average height of Oregon's frontline players is 6-10. That includes Bol Bol (7-2), Miles Norris (6-10), Louis King (6-9), Francis Okoro (6-9), Paul White (6-9) and Kenny Wooten (6-9).
DOUBOL-DOUBOL
Bol Bol has reached double figures in all six games this season and had recorded a double-double in half of those games. He made a splash with a double-double (12-12) in his Oregon debut against Portland State, and then followed that with another double-double (23-12) versus Eastern Washington. Bol is the first UO freshman to open his career with back-to-back double-doubles. He followed that by being named to the 2K Classic all-tournament team. He scored 14 points with seven rebounds against Iowa and then scored 26 points versus No. 15 Syracuse. He also had eight blocks for the tournament. Bol's third double-double of the season came against Texas Southern (32-11).
PRITCHARD MOVING UP CAREER ASSIST LIST; EYES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Payton Pritchard entered his junior year on pace to break Kenya Wilkins' UO career assists record of 614 and he's also increased his scoring to approach 1,000 career points. Pritchard moved past former NBA all-star Terrell Brandon (315/1989-91) for eighth against Eastern Washington and now shows 344 career assists. Fred Jones is seventh with 367 assists from 1998-02. He also has 898 career points coming into the Houston game. He has scored in double figures in five-of-six games this year, and has five or more assists in four-of-six.
RICHARDSON RISES
Freshman Will Richardson has set a season high in scoring in each of the last three games. He had seven points against Syracuse, 10 against Green Bay and 13 versus Texas Southern. On the year, he's shooting 60 percent from the field and 80 percent at the free throw line.
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