Texas Southern @ Oregon preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 23, 2010 ) Texas Southern 52, Oregon 75

Oregon’s bumpy drive toward the start of conference play continues Monday against visiting Texas Southern, which is opening the season with 13 straight road games. The Ducks avoided their first three-game losing streak in four seasons with a dominant second half in Friday’s 95-65 win over Colorado State.

After seeing the longest home winning streak in the country come to an end with a last-second loss to Boise State, Oregon bounced back by outscoring Colorado State by 24 after the break and holding a 46-16 edge on points in the paint. “We’re a better basketball team than we’ve shown and tonight we took steps,” coach Dana Altman told reporters. “We have a long way to go to be a good team. It starts again against Texas Southern and we just have to take the same number of steps as we did (against Colorado State) to have a chance.” Freshman forward Troy Brown returned against the Rams after missing the Boise State game with a concussion and recorded his first double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Brown is averaging 11.8 points and 7.5 boards for the Ducks, who should have little trouble against a Texas Southern team that has lost its first eight games by an average of 15.4 points.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT TEXAS SOUTHERN (0-8): Picked to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the Tigers' challenging non-conference schedule has included road losses to Gonzaga, Ohio State, Syracuse, Kansas and Clemson. The backcourt is led by senior Donte Clark and Demontrae Jefferson, a 5-7, 150-pound sophomore averaging a team-high 23.0 points and 3.5 assists. The Tigers have size near the basket in 7-2 junior center Trayvon Reed, who has 17 blocks while averaging 11.1 points and 9.9 rebounds.

ABOUT OREGON (6-3): Senior guard Elijah Brown has struggled in his first month with the Ducks, but the New Mexico transfer turned in a strong performance against Colorado State with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting with five rebounds and six assists. “That was big for him,” guard Payton Pritchard told reporters. “Elijah hasn’t been shooting it like he normally does. I’m hoping that’s how every game can be. That would be a big help for us.” The Ducks also received a welcome boost from freshman forward Kenny Wooten, who had 13 points and six boards in 14 minutes off the bench.

TIP-INS

1. Oregon is 56-3 in non-conference games at Matthew Knight Arena.

2. Texas Southern has been outrebounded in six of its first eight games.

3. The Ducks are 130-14 under Altman when holding their opponent under 70 points.

PREDICTION: Oregon 84, Texas Southern 67