Men’s Basketball Recap: Oregon vs Northwestern

The Ducks returned home Tuesday night to face off against the Northwestern Wildcats, trying to snap a 5-game losing streak. And oh boy, right from the get-go, you could tell they were ready to do so. The Ducks jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead in the game’s first 5 minutes, with Jackson Shelstad being responsible for seven of those eleven points. But, as has been the norm the last few weeks, Northwestern stormed back with a 10-2 run of their own to take a 14-13 lead with 11:20 remaining in the first half. But Oregon wouldn’t be down long, as Shelstad and Keeshawn Barthelemy would hit back-to-back 3’s, giving the Ducks a five-point lead. And they wouldn’t stop there, going on a 20-9 run to end the half, giving Oregon a commanding 39-25 lead at the half, with 29 of those points coming from Shelstad (13), Barthelemy (8) and Nate Bittle (8).

The second half was more of the same from the Ducks, who would not allow their lead to shrink down to more than 5 points the rest of the way, finally ending their losing streak, and perhaps instilling some much-needed confidence into the team. This was not a perfect win, however. Northwestern shot almost 52% from the floor for the game, and an insane 62% in the 2nd half. Thankfully the Ducks were the more aggressive team tonight, getting to the foul line frequently (25-28 FT), but specifically in the second half (21-24 FT).

Shelstad appears to have found his groove on offense once again, setting a new career high with 26 points tonight. Hopefully he can keep things rolling, because this is a very different team when he’s playing with confidence than it is when he’s off. Time will tell, but February is usually when Dana Altman’s teams start to go on a run, so hopefully that trend continues.

The Ducks have a few days off before playing host to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Sunday, February 16th.

All in all, it’s just nice to finally get back in that win column, y’know? And, as always, ‘Sco Ducks.