Dana Altman couldn’t have asked for a better way for his Ducks to shake out the kinks three days before the Pac-12 season gets under way on Saturday at Washington.
In a late-minute scheduling addition, Florida A&M (0-3) came to Eugene and played with the Ducks early on until Oregon (3-1) turned up the pressure to eventually pull away from the Rattlers 87-66.
Oregon is now 3-1 on the year with its third straight victory. FAMU dropped to 0-3.
But the Rattlers were anything but intimidated by the Ducks or the bigger arena. The visiting team from the MEAC was down just 47-35 at halftime.
The Ducks opened the second half on a 14-2 run to blow it open, but to Florida A&M’s credit, they cut into the lead with 11 minutes to go. It was 61-49 and FAMU had the ball.
From that point forward however, it was all Ducks thanks to the press and easy baskets.
N’Faly Dante poured in 22 points by channeling his inner Ruthy Hebard.
Dante went 10-for-10 from the field for a career high performance. Chris Duarte actually led the Ducks in scoring with 23 points and Eugene Omoruyi added 13.
Oregon shot 60 percent from the field, but just 6-of-23 from long range and 5-of-9 from the charity stripe, two categories the Ducks have to improve on when the conference season begins.
For now, Oregon is scheduled to face the Huskies in Seattle, but with the Washington football game in doubt because of Covid, it’s anyone’s guess whether basketball can be played on Saturday.
As of now, the game is set for a 5 pm tip televised on the Pac-12 Network.
POST GAME; DANA ALTMAN DISCUSSES THE DUCKS WIN OVER FAMU