Ducks Venture East to Take on No. 16 Spartans

EUGENE, Ore. — After an undefeated three-game homestand, Oregon begins the second half of conference play with a two-game swing through the state of Michigan, beginning with a battle against No. 16 Michigan State on Thursday at Breslin Center at 3 p.m. PT.

Oregon has won three straight and six of its last seven games after a 54-47 win over Indiana last Friday. The Spartans are riding a five-game winning streak and boast a 10-0 home record this season.

The Ducks hold a 3-1 all-time series lead against MSU, including an 0-1 road record. The teams last met at PK85 in Portland, when UO earned an 86-78 win on Nov. 27, 2022.

GAME #21
Oregon (15-5, 6-3) at No. 16 Michigan State (17-3, 7-2)
Thursday, Jan. 30 | 3 p.m. PT | Breslin Center (East Lansing, Mich.)
TV: Big Ten Network
Play-by-play: Mike Hall | Analyst: Christy Winters Scott
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM/590 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton
Listen Online | Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon finished off a 3-0 homestand with its second straight comeback victory, this time a 54-47 win over Indiana. The Ducks trailed by as many as 10 in the second half, and used a 10-0 run in the game's final five minutes to complete the comeback.

Peyton Scott led the Ducks with 14 points while going 4-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point line. Scott was the lone Duck in double figures, with Ehis Etute adding nine second-half points off the bench.

UO's bench accounted for half of the Ducks offense, finishing with 27 points. The Ducks forced 17 turnovers behind 11 steals and held the Hoosiers to 22 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

It was the second straight game in which the Oregon defense held its opponent below 50 points, as its allowing just 58.4 points per game in conference play.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
No. 16 Michigan State (17-3, 7-2) enters Thursday's game having won its last five games after an 88-58 win at then-25th-ranked Michigan last Saturday. The Spartans, who have spent the last nine weeks in the top 25, boast a perfect 10-0 record at Breslin Center.

Julia Ayrault leads four Spartans who average double-figure points with 16.3 a game, while Grace VanSlooten is second with 14.2 and Theryn Hallock adds 13.8 a night. Ayrault is also the team leader with 7.9 rebounds per game.

As a team, MSU ranks first in the Big Ten in steals per game (13.3), bench points per game (28.6) and turnovers forced per game (24.3). The Spartans are second in the conference with 19.1 assists a game and in turnover margin at plus-8.7.

Jaddan Simmons and Jocelyn Tate are tied for fifth in the Big Ten with 2.2 steals per game, while Simmons ranks sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.03. Ayrault is ninth in the league with her 1.4 blocks a night.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oregon and Michigan State will meet for the fifth time, and first since squaring off at PK85 in Portland during the 2022-23 season, with UO leading the series 3-1. The Ducks defeated the Spartans 86-78, getting 15 points and 16 rebounds from Phillipina Kyei to lead four players in double figures. UO is 0-1 against MSU in East Lansing, with the only previous road matchup coming on Dec. 9, 2018 when the Spartans upset then-No. 3 Oregon 88-82.

OREGON vs. RANKED TEAMS
No. 16 Michigan State will mark the fourth ranked team Oregon will face this season, as UO is 1-2 against top-25 foes. The Ducks defeated then-No. 12 Baylor on Nov. 10, 76-74, fell to sixth-ranked USC 66-53 in Eugene and dropped a 69-60 decision at ninth-ranked Ohio State. The win over the Bears snapped a 14-game skid to top-25 teams and gave head coach Kelly Graves his 46th ranked victory of his UO tenure. The Ducks' last win over a top-25 team on the road came on Dec. 13, 2020 when they beat then-15th-ranked Oregon State 79-59.

DUCK DEFENSE
Oregon has made life difficult for its opponents on the offensive end this season. The Duck defense has registered double-digit steals in nine of its last 13 games, and in 11 of its last 17 games overall, including a season-high 17 coming against Air Force on Dec. 17. Additionally, UO is allowing opponents to shoot just 28.5 percent from beyond the arc, and has allowed only six teams to shoot over 30.0 percent. UO allowed North Texas and Grand Canyon to shoot a combined 7-of-30 from deep over a two-game stretch (Nov. 12-18).

» The Ducks have held each of their last 11 opponents below its season average, by an average of 14.9 points a game, while not allowing a team to reach the 70-point plateau in that stretch.
» Oregon held Iowa to a season-low 49 points on Jan. 19, its lowest output since the 2012-13 season, and gave up just 17 second-half points.
» UO has held each of its last two opponents below 50 points, marking the second time this it has held opponents under 50 points in consecutive games (Air Force, UC Irvine) and first time in conference play since the 1993-94 season.
» With 10 or more steals in 10 of their last 15 games, the Ducks have 12 games this season with double-digit steals after turning in only two such games last season and seven times in 2022-23.
» The Ducks recorded 10-plus steals in five straight games from Nov. 26-Dec. 19, their longest streak since putting together seven straight games with 10 or more steals in 2013-14.
» The 12 games with 10-plus steals are the third-most such games among Big Ten team, and tied for 18th nationally. It is the most such games by Oregon since producing 10-plus steals 14 times in 2019-20.
» On the season, Oregon is averaging 10.1 steals a game (fourth in the Big Ten), which would mark the most on a per-game basis since averaging 10.3 in 2011-12. UO ranks fourth in steals per game in league play at 10.1.
» The Ducks have forced opponents into 20 or more turnovers nine times this season, including in six of their last 11 games after forcing 23 against Purdue on Jan. 15. The nine such games are already the most since doing so 11 times in 2013-14.
» UO had just one game forcing 20 or more turnovers last season and did so five times in 2022-23. The last time the Ducks had more than eight games forcing at least 20 turnovers was 2013-14, when they recorded 11 such performances.
» UO has forced 20-plus turnovers in five of nine Big Ten games this season, averaging 19.8 turnovers a game in league play (the second-highest rate in the conference).
» The 19.1 turnovers forced a game would mark the highest rate by the Ducks since averaging 20.8 per game in 2010-11.
» Oregon has finished with fewer or the same number of turnovers 18 times this season, and has committed fewer turnovers than its opponent in 15 straight games.
» In Big Ten play, the Ducks are allowing just 58.4 points per game - the second lowest number in the conference (USC, 57.2)

CLUTCH DUCKS
Oregon's 50-49 comeback win over Iowa on Jan. 19 marked UO's fourth victory by two points or less this season, as the Ducks are unbeaten in those games this season. Oregon trailed by 10 points at half and by as many as 15 points in the first half, marking the first halftime deficit overcome for a win this season. UO followed that up with a 10-point comeback win against Indiana on Jan. 24, putting together a 10-0 run with under five minutes to play to pull off the victory.

» The four two-point victories are Oregon's most since at least 2009-10 and ties the most two-point games since 2014-15.
» Oregon has won its last six games decided by two points or less dating back to the 2022-23 season, and seven of the last eight such games going back to 2021-22.
» Despite only scoring 50 points against the Hawkeyes, UO picked up its first victory when scoring 50 points or less since defeating Utah 50-44 on Nov. 25, 2006 - snapping a streak of 49 straight losses when scoring 50 or less.