ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 4 Power Rankings
By Trevor Booth
2. No. 18 Oregon Ducks
Despite having one of college basketball’s most talented rosters, Oregon has hit a couple speed bumps to begin the season.
The first didn’t seem to be a major issue. Oregon fell to Iowa 77-69 in the 2K Empire Classic, which doesn’t look so bad considering Iowa is now ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll.
Following the loss to the Hawkeyes, the Ducks won their next two games, defeating Syracuse and Green Bay.
Oregon followed the Green Bay victory with six days of rest, but that didn’t pay off. The Ducks were upended by a mid-major Texas Southern squad on Monday.
A 32-point contribution from do-it-all freshman Bol Bol wasn’t enough for Oregon. Rebounding woes and foul trouble doomed the Ducks, leading to a 89-84 Texas Southern win.
On the glass, Oregon was out-rebounded 41 to 32 and 11 to six on the offensive glass. For a team with as much size as Oregon, this should never happen, especially against a mid-major.
Another area of the game in which the Ducks struggled was staying out of foul trouble. In total, Oregon committed 17 fouls, opposed to Texas Southern, which committed 10. As a result, Paul White fouled out and Will Richardson was in foul trouble with four.
Next, the Ducks hit the road to the Lone Star State for a matchup with Houston.
Though not the powerhouse it used to be, Houston is still a strong team. The Cougars are 4-0 to start the season, and most recently, they took down BYU in Provo.
– Field