by Steve Mims

EUGENE, OREGON

OREGON MEN’S BASKETBALL

^{Oregon Men’s Basketball 2023 Kel’el Ware, Photo by GoDucks.com}

Oregon’s men’s basketball team followed up one of its worst performances with its best win of the season.

The Ducks were sluggish on Thursday as Colorado beat Oregon 68-41 in Boulder. Two days later, the Ducks bounced back with a 70-60 win at Utah, which entered the game in first place in the Pac-12 Conference.

N’Faly Dante had 17 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Ducks against the Utes while Will Richardson added 11 points. Freshman Kel’el Ware had 10 points as the Ducks improved to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

Oregon got a boost last week with the debut of transfer Jermaine Couisnard, who had 10 points, four rebounds and four assists against the Utes. Couisnard, who transferred from South Carolina, missed the first few months of the season due to injury.

Quincy Guerrier led Oregon with 10 points in the loss to Colorado. Couisnard added nine points and four rebounds as Oregon shot just 26.9 percent from the field.

Oregon is tied for fourth in the conference as it heads home this weekend for major matchups against two teams ahead of it in the standings. ASU is 4-1 as it arrives at Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday while ninth-ranked Arizona arrives on Saturday.

Steve Mims has spent 25 years as a sportswriter, including 21 years at The Register-Guard. He covered University of Oregon athletics from 2013-2020. He works in Eugene as a registered representative and insurance agent at PBC Insurance. He can be reached at smims@pbcins.com.