Game Day preview: Oregon men look to salvage road trip against Utah

Oregon is coming off its worst offensive performance in coach Dana Altman’s 13 seasons when it scored just 41 points and shot 26.9% from the field against Colorado Thursday. Now the Ducks will have to figure out how to get their offense on track against arguably the top defensive team in the Pac-12. Utah is second in the conference in points allowed (60.9), No. 1 in opponent’s field-goal (36.3%) and 3-point (26.9%) shooting, third in scoring margin (plus-12.88), and second in defensive rebounds per game (31.0).

A lot has been put on the shoulders of point guard Will Richardson this season and for the most part, the senior has excelled in his role as team leader and best player. He struggled against the Buffaloes, however, scoring five points on 1-of-9 shooting and recording one assist to four turnovers. The last time Richardson failed to score in double digits was against No. 3 UConn on Nov. 24. The next night, he had a season-high 28 points, eight assists and five rebounds against Michigan State. No doubt the Ducks would like to see a similar response against the Utes.

It wasn’t just Richardson who struggled against Colorado. Oregon will need significantly more production from its starting lineup after Richardson, Quincy Guerrier, Rivaldo Soares, N’Faly Dante and Brennan Rigsby combined for just 27 points on 10-of-33 shooting — including 1-of-11 from 3-point range — 16 rebounds and 10 turnovers on Thursday.

There hasn’t been a more surprising team in the conference this season than Utah, which has already surpassed its win totals from last season when it went 11-20 overall and 4-16 in Pac-12 play. The Utes’ latest victory came Thursday in a 79-60 thumping of Oregon State as they improved to 5-0 to stay tied for the conference lead with No. 10 UCLA. Among Utah’s victories is an 81-66 win against then-No. 4 Arizona on Dec. 1.

Branden Carlson, a 7-0 senior center, had 27 points and 11 rebounds against the Beavers. He is seventh in the Pac-12 in scoring (16.1), fourth in rebounding (7.3) and second in blocks (2.3) per game. He’ll be a challenge for Oregon’s Dante, who is coming off his worst performance of the season when he had just two points and five rebounds in 25 minutes against Colorado.

Scoring average: Oregon, 68.2; Utah 73.8

Opp. scoring average: Oregon, 65.3; Utah, 60.9

FG percentage: Oregon, 44.1%; Utah, 46.5%

Opp. FG percentage: Oregon, 41.1%; Utah, 36.3%

3-point FG percentage: Oregon, 29.3%; Utah, 36.0%

3-point FG per game: Oregon, 6.3; Utah, 7.0

FT percentage: Oregon, 65.5%; Utah, 71.1%

Rebounds per game: Oregon, 37.3; Utah, 41.4

Rebounding margin: Oregon, +5.3; Utah, +7.3

Assists per game: Oregon, 12.6; Utah, 14.9

Turnovers per game: Oregon, 13.1; Utah, 13.0

Turnover margin: Oregon, -1.5; Utah, -2.1