Oregon’s first test of the season went about as smoothly as the Ducks could have hoped, and now they get another Big Sky opponent Friday night when Eastern Washington comes to Eugene, Ore.
The Ducks opened with an 18-point win over Montana earlier in the week, and the early signs were encouraging. Even with nine transfers on the roster, Oregon looked connected, played with pace and showed a clear appetite for pressure on both ends. The Ducks only took 11 3-pointers, choosing instead to attack the paint, get downhill and turn athleticism into points with lobs and putback dunks.
“I do think it provides some energy and gets our guys going, when you see them make some of the plays that they made,” Oregon interim head coach Tony Stubblefield said. “Guys get really enthused, and I think that picks up their defensive intensity (too). I think they really feed off of that.”
Tyrone Riley IV led the way against Montana with 17 points, and he made his presence felt defensively as well, finishing with two blocked shots and four steals, both team highs.
That balance mattered for Oregon. It’s something the Ducks didn’t have much of last season, when they stumbled to a 12-20 finish, their worst campaign in more than a decade.
This year began with a different look after longtime head coach Dana Altman abruptly announced his retirement before the season, opening the door for Stubblefield to take over as interim coach. In the opener, he went deep into the bench, using 12 players, and five of them reached double figures.
Eastern Washington arrives after a 74-65 loss at Stanford on Monday, a game that slipped away after the Eagles let a 13-point lead disappear. Even so, they were still within one point in the closing minutes before mistakes swung the result.
“Oregon's a really good team, really long and athletic,” associate head coach Ryan Lundgren said. “If we give the effort we gave (Monday) and clean some stuff up, we’ll have a chance.”
The Eagles were short-handed against Stanford, with three players out because of injury. That group included starting guard Andrew Cook, who is dealing with a left hand injury.
Alton Hamilton IV led Eastern Washington with 20 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
In Other News...
Oregons Big Ten Dominance Just Added Another Statement Win
Oregons move into the Big Ten has only sharpened the spotlight on its distance programs, and the Ducks kept that momentum rolling with a sweep at the conference cross country championships. Both the mens and womens teams came away with titles, with the women extending their run to a third straight championship and adding another line to what is becoming a familiar conference script for Oregon.
Diana Cherotich supplied one of the meets biggest moments by setting a course record on the way to the womens individual crown, while Simeon Birnbaum claimed the mens individual title. The bigger picture is hard to miss: since joining the Big Ten, Oregon has now captured 12 of 14 conference titles across cross country, indoor track and outdoor track, a level of dominance that has quickly made the Ducks a standard-bearer in their new league. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lanning Just Framed Oregons Biggest Problem In A Bigger Debate
Dan Lanning has been willing to talk openly about the way modern college football is changing, and the Oregon coach has found himself in the middle of a broader conversation with Georgias Kirby Smart about what those changes mean day to day. The discussion has centered on more than just talent and tactics. It has touched on player motivation, how hard teams can push in practice, and how NIL compensation is reshaping the expectations around effort and accountability.
For Oregon, the issue lands in a very practical place. Lanning has pointed to the way roster depth has shifted and how teams have had to adjust their practice approach, especially with injuries forcing changes along the way this season. Smart has raised concerns about the long-term effect of NIL earnings on motivation and the meaning of earning power, and the exchange underscores a question every major program is now trying to answer: how do you keep a team driven when the old rules of college football no longer fully apply? [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Is Closing In On A Recruiting Win Ducks Fans Want
Oregon is still in the hunt for one of the more important quarterback targets on its board, with four-star prospect Tristin Gaines trimming his list to five schools and setting a decision date for Nov. 14. The Ducks are the lone Big Ten program still standing among finalists that also include LSU, SMU, Florida and Houston, which gives Oregon a clean shot at selling both its development track and its place in the national recruiting picture.
Gaines has already singled out Oregons coaching staff in his praise, and that matters as the Ducks continue pushing to build out their 2028 class around high-end talent at the sports most important position. For Oregon, landing a quarterback of that caliber would be a major early win in a cycle where every top target can shape the rest of the class, and this one should stay on the radar right up to the announcement. [Read more 🡒]