After winning its first three games to open the 2019-20 season, No. 17 Syracuse (3-0) faces the toughest nonconference opponent on its schedule — No. 1 Oregon (3-0) — on Sunday. Kiara Lewis (12.3 points per game), Digna Strautmane (11.7), Emily Engstler (11.0) and Gabrielle Cooper (10.3) headline a Syracuse offense that has started games slow the past two weeks, but scored a season-high 75 points in a win against Albany on Nov. 16.

Oregon, meanwhile, has coasted through its opening trio of games and even knocked off the USA women’s basketball team in a preseason scrimmage. Led by reigning Wooden Award winner Sabrina Ionescu, the Ducks have held the AP Top 25’s top spot all three weeks. They’re risen to first in assist-to-turnover ratio, first in assists per game and second in scoring offense.

Here’s what to know about the Ducks before Sunday’s matchup.

All-time series: Oregon leads, 1-0

Last time they played: After a back-and-forth game in Eugene, Oregon, the No. 18 Orange lost 75-73 to the then-No. 3 Ducks on Nov. 10, 2018 after Erin Boley hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the final minute. Tiana Manghakia led the Orange with 15 points and was one of three Syracuse players in double figures — joined by Gabrielle Cooper and Amaya Finklea-Guity who each scored 11 points.

All game Ionescu, the eventual-Wooden Award winner, found a way to avoid the Ducks’ deficit from extending too much. She paced the Oregon offense with 26 points and six assists, helping it win the first-ever matchup between the two programs.

The Oregon Report: From top to bottom, the Ducks have one of the most talented teams in the country, and lost only two seniors from last year’s final four roster to graduation. This season, Oregon is again led by Ionescu — who holds a triple-double stat line with 12.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 10.6 assists. The team is also currently averaging 99.0 points per game. That’s unlike Ohio, Maryland Eastern Shore and Albany that Syracuse has faced over the last two weeks.

Behind Ionescu are five other players who average more than 8.7 points per game. On defense, the group has held opponents to 55 points per game, giving the Ducks a winning margin of 44 points. After winning the Pac-12 regular season championship for just the second time in program history in 2018-19, the Ducks are primed to be in competition for a second consecutive one the first week of March. 

How Syracuse beats Oregon: In order to leave the United States with a four-game winning streak heading into their British Columbia Thanksgiving Day game against Houston, the Orange need to play a complete game and hope that Oregon doesn’t. That combination didn’t work for Texas Southern, Utah State and Northeastern. And it also didn’t work for Team USA. 

Syracuse can’t start slow like it has early on during the season’s first three games. The Ducks have 6-foot-7 Sedona Prince, 6-foot-6 Lydia Giomi and 6-foot-5 Lucy Cochrane — all taller than Amaya Finklea-Guity. SU’s tallest player stands at 6-foot-4.

So the Orange offense will need to rely on what propelled runs against Ohio and Albany: the drive-and-kick option that emerges off a ball screen for Lewis. In the second half against the Bobcats — when its success was most evident — Strautmane, Engstler and Cooper would perch in the corners receive the ball once the bottom zone defenders peeled back toward the paint. The Orange need those sets to work to keep pace with the Ducks’ high-scoring offense.

Stat to know: 52.3% — The field goal percentage Oregon is shooting at through its three games this season, which ranks sixth in the country. Syracuse currently sits at 39% and ranks 201st. 

Player to watch: Ruthy Hebard, No. 24

Everyone following Oregon women’s basketball knows Ionescu, the engine behind the Ducks’ run to the final four last year. But quietly leading them in scoring this year is Hebard at a clip of 23.7 points per game. She was an honorable mention All-American last season after averaging 16.1 points and starting 36 games in Oregon’s run to the first national semifinal in program history. Hebard is projected as the No. 7 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft by ESPN, and will look to pierce the Orange’s zone and open up looks on the outside for Ionescu and other guards on the outside.

Published on November 24, 2019 at 11:57 am

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew