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Ducks Ready for Quick Start Versus Red Hot Portland State Image
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

Ducks Ready for Quick Start Versus Red Hot Portland State

12/12/17 | Men's Basketball

EUGENE, Ore. – A sluggish start nearly cost Oregon the ball game Monday night against Texas Southern.

If there's another opening stretch like that again on Wednesday when Portland State invades Matthew Knight Arena (7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks), the Ducks could find themselves getting lapped by the Viking raiders.

Portland State (8-2) comes into the game ranked seventh nationally in scoring (91.1 points per game), leading the country in turnover margin (+9.7) and is second in steals (12.8 per game). PSU forced 33 turnovers in a recent win at Loyola Marymount, and then came back from 17 points down to defeat Santa Clara in a game that saw them go 20-of-24 from the floor in the second half.

PSU, with an impressive RPI of 61, also has wins over Stanford and Utah State and gave No. 1 Duke all they could handle for 35 minutes before eventually falling in the PK80 Invitational.

"You look at Portland State, they've got an impressive resume," said head coach Dana Altman. "They're a good team. They're older. They've got a lot of seniors and they're really athletic.

"It's going to be a very difficult game. We knew that after seeing them in the PK80 and how hard they played and how well they played."

The Vikings have been held below 80 just once this season, a 71-69 loss to Butler in the PK80 Invitational.

To keep up with the Vikings, the Ducks could turn to a pair of freshmen who have played well over the last week, as well as Payton Pritchard, who has emerged as a consistent scoring option early in the season.

After missing the Boise State loss due to a concussion, freshman Troy Brown Jr. recorded back-to-back double-doubles, as Oregon forged a plus-22 rebound advantage in wins over Colorado State and Boise State.

Fellow freshman Kenny Wooten is also earning his stripes at both ends of the floor, scoring 13 points with six rebounds against Colorado State, and scoring 13 points with four rebounds and four blocks against Texas Southern.

And then there's Pritchard, who has scored in double figures in eight straight games.

"Portland State's hot so we have to be ready to play," said Pritchard.