The Oregon Ducks defeated the Washington State Cougars in their Pac-12 opener Thursday night. Oregon had very little trouble on offense, finding open looks from three on the outside and easy dunks on the inside all night long. Oregon was able to put up 92 points on about 70 possessions. That is about 1.31 points per trip. Would have been worse if they weren't attempting to run out the clock for the last four minutes. Oregon was closer to 1.8 points per possession in a 54-point first half.
The Ducks shot a ridiculous 79 eFG%. They were a bit unconscious, but WSU was playing some terrible defense to allow them to do that. Only the 17 turnovers were able to slow Oregon down as they were led by an unlikely source. Transfer forward Olu Ashaolu controlled the paint to put up a career-high 23 points.
DaVonte Lacy led the Cougars with his own career-high of 19 points. Lacy was the only thing keeping the game from being an absolute blowout in the first half (it was still 54-34) as he hit 5/5 three-point attempts.
Faisal Aden continued the shooting struggles he has had since returning from injury. He was just 2/10 from the field for 4 points and didn't attempt a single free throw. Reggie Moore also struggled with his shot, making just 4/12. He was able to get to the line and make 5/6 to finish with 14 points. Charlie Enquist, who has hit 14 of his last 16 field goal attempts and his last 12 free throws, didn't attempt a single shot.
Just an embarrassing defensive performance by the Cougs. Things aren't going to get any easier with Oregon State coming to Spokane Arena on Saturday. The Beavers are coming off a 95-80 loss to UW and will desperately want to avoid an 0-2 start in conference play.
It isn't a basketball game against Oregon if Coug fans aren't left being miserable afterwards.