Oregon men's basketball struggles in Stubblefield debut

On October 15, Tony Stubblefield and his newly assembled Oregon men's basketball team took to the court in front of a home crowd. Despite the absence of any significant impact, the Ducks fell short against Seattle in an exhibition game held at Matthew Knight Arena, losing 71-65. Stubblefield, who assumed the position as interim head coach following Dana Altman's abrupt retirement on October 7, acknowledged that the team needed improvement.

Oregon's struggling performance was evident in their 25 turnovers, a significant number even for an exhibition game, and their inability to match Seattle's 41 rebounds, including 16 offensive rebounds. Stubblefield emphasized the need for more practice, film study, and better performance in the upcoming week. The Redhawks capitalized on Oregon's errors, turning those turnovers into 18 points.

Seattle also outrebounded Oregon 41-40. Stubblefield expressed his eagerness to see how his team would fare in the upcoming matches, noting that the Ducks have only two returning scholarship players from the previous season and 10 newcomers, eight of whom participated in the game against Seattle. Forward Pharaoh Compton, who joined Oregon from San Diego State, scored a team-high 15 points, including five rebounds, in 18 minutes.

Andrew Meadow and Taylor Bol Bowen also contributed significantly to the team's efforts, with Meadow scoring 12 points and Bowen leading the team in rebounds with seven. Returning forward Sean Stewart started and had two points and four rebounds before fouling out. Point guard Wei Lin, brought in late in the first half, scored nine points.

Stubblefield experimented with different defensive and offensive combinations during the game. Freshman forward Seven Spurlock and USC transfer guard Jerry Easter II were the only players who did not play. Oregon has two more exhibition games scheduled before the regular season begins on November 2, with games against Montana, Utah, and Stanford.

Chris Hansen, covering University of Oregon football, men's basketball, track and field, cross country, and softball for The Register-Guard, provided this report.