The last time we left the Ducks they went to Seattle and held off Washington for their first conference win.
That was 11 days ago.
The Ducks were scheduled for a showdown with UCLA Dec. 23, but the game was canceled about 90 minutes before tip because one of the referees had tested positive for the Coronavirus.
No such delays on this night, however, as No. 21 Oregon returned to action tonight and after a slow start that lasted the entire first half, the Ducks finally got it going and pull away from Cal to win 82-69 inside Matthew Knight Arena.
Oregon is now 7-1 and winners of seven straight.
They’re also 2-0 in league action and overall have won 26 straight games on the home court of Matthew Knight Arena.
Eugene Omaruyi led the Ducks with 26 points on 10-of-14 from the floor. Chris Duarte added 19 points, Eric Williams Jr. 13, and LJ Figueroa’s 11 all contributed to the victory.
But it was Duarte that almost single-handedly iced the game. He hit four threes in a span of three minutes that turned a close game with eight minutes left into a pull-away blowout just a few possessions later.
With 5:35 left, Oregon was up 65-62, but then Duarte hit two threes on consecutive possessions and all of the sudden it was 71-62 and the game was in control.
Cal’s Matt Bradley led the Bears with 21 points and Makale Foreman added 14 points. Those were the only two Cal players to score in double figures.
Oregon might not have had a smooth game offensively, but the defense was there for the vast majority of the game. Cal did manage to shoot nearly 45 percent from the field, but Oregon harassed them into 17 turnovers, leading to 25 Duck points.
That defensive effort will have to continue Jan. 2 as Oregon is scheduled to host Stanford.
The team from Palo Alto is 5-2 overall and 1-0 in league action with a 75-72 win over Arizona. But the Cardinal haven’t played since Dec. 21. They’ve had two straight games canceled, including tonight’s game in Corvallis.
Oregon State was forced to postpone due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Ducks and Stanford are scheduled to tip-off Jan. 2 at 7 pm televised on ESPNU.