Oregon Still Has Questions to Answer After Statement Win over Arizona

Oregon has reasserted itself as the team to beat in the Pac-12 Conference, a distinction first gained a year ago when it swept the regular-season and conference tournament titles. But as impressive as Saturday's 85-58 home win over Arizona was, it doesn't mean this Ducks team is as good as the one that reached the Elite Eight last March.

It shows Oregon is capable of being just as good if things go its way and the conditions are right. But since the win came immediately after their two worst efforts in Pac-12 play, the jury may still be out on the Ducks.

Everything went 13th-ranked Oregon's way Saturday, starting with a friendly no-call from the officiating crew after students tossed powder into the air and onto the court at Matthew Knight Arena—leading to a lengthy delay to clean the playing surface that could have warranted a technical foul.

The Ducks' good fortune continued each time No. 5 Arizona forgot to cover their perimeter shooters. They capitalized on those openings by making an arena-record 16 threes on 25 tries, including 10 in the first half in building a 20-point lead.

Oregon (21-3, 10-1) shot 65.2 percent overall, its best rate of the season and highest accuracy since making 65.3 percent of its shots against Western Carolina in November 2013. And it came against an Arizona team that entered the contest allowing 40.1 percent shooting and 62.7 points per game while riding a 15-game winning streak.

The Ducks' defensive effort was among its best of the year, too, as they held Arizona to 42.6 percent shooting—though it didn't hurt that the Wildcats guards committed 13 turnovers on mostly unforced errors.

A win like this instantly bumps Oregon up the list of national title contenders—especially on a day when Top 10 schools Baylor, Kansas and West Virginia all lost at home to unranked opponents—right? Sure, if the Ducks play all their remaining games in Eugene and against top competition, neither of which will be the case.

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Saturday's victory was Oregon's 40th in a row at home, now the nation's longest active home-court winning streak after Kansas' loss to Iowa State ended its 54-game run. In that span, the Ducks have four victories in Eugene against ranked teams, two of which include knocking off consecutive unbeaten foes UCLA and USC to start Pac-12 play in late December. Only a handful of wins during the streak were by single digits.

One of those occurred Thursday in a 71-70 victory against struggling Arizona State, where Oregon shot 43.9 percent and made eight of 23 threes against the Pac-12's worst defensive team. Sophomore guard Tyler Dorsey, who was 6-of-6 from three on Saturday en route to 23 points, made just one of five shots against the Sun Devils as part of a 6-of-30 slump from deep for the Ducks' most prolific perimeter shooter.

That sluggish performance could have been attributed to their looking ahead to Arizona (21-3, 10-1), if it hadn't come five days after the Ducks' lone Pac-12 loss (Jan. 28 at Colorado). The Buffaloes were 1-7 in the league—having beaten winless Oregon State just before that to get off the schneid—but held Oregon to 38.6 percent shooting. That was its worst effort since late November when junior wing Dillon Brooks was still getting up to speed following offseason foot surgery.

That two-game stretch prior to the blowout of Arizona is just as telling as the rout itself because it raises questions about how good (or bad) Oregon is.

Tied with the Wildcats for first place in the conference, and owners to some of the best in-league wins so far—as well as the worst conference loss on record—the Ducks have the next four weeks to determine the direction they are headed in.

And it won't be an easy road. Though Saturday was their lone regular-season meeting with the Wildcats, they still must play five times away from home—starting with the upcoming trip to UCLA and USC, which begins Thursday. They end Pac-12 play with a three-game trip that includes a visit to California, which has won 32 of its last 34 at home.

Oregon's only remaining home games are against Colorado and a Utah team it narrowly edged on the road on Jan. 26, despite shooting 5-of-18 from three.

A 36.2 percent three-point shooting team overall, Oregon has five games with at least 11 made threes on 44.0 percent accuracy, but also six where it's shot less than 30 percent and drained five or fewer. The Ducks lead the nation in blocked shots with 176, including seven against Arizona, yet they've been out-rebounded eight times and allowed 10 or more offensive boards on 10 occasions.

What we saw Saturday is the Ducks at their best, but not necessarily their standard—making it hard to pinpoint just how good they are. If Oregon fares well outside of its friendly confines and avoids letdowns against lesser opponents, it will paint a clearer picture of its ceiling.

All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.