After the Oregon men’s basketball team increased its lead to 60-48 Saturday night, USC whipped a few passes down the court and Byron Wesley finished an easy layup. The smoothness of this play was shocking because for much of the second half, the Trojans hardly looked capable of getting the ball past halfcourt, much less scoring.

The Ducks forced 11 turnovers during the first 10 minutes of the second half, turning a close deficit into a comfortable lead. Oregon’s biggest weapon was its full-court press.

Forward Mike Moser was asked before Tuesday’s practice if his team might utilize the press more in future games.

“With the success that we’ve had, I feel like we’d be dumb not to,” Moser said.

Oregon’s players, head coach Dana Altman, the media and basically anyone else who’s watched the Ducks this season have blasted their defensive performance. It might be the biggest reason why Oregon currently sits tied for ninth in the Pac-12.

But that press against USC provided defensive optimism for a team that’s been searching for it throughout conference play. The press also provided a spark that multiple Ducks pointed out following their 78-66 win over USC.

“The press serves a lot of functions,” Altman said, “to get your team going or to get the other team on their heels a little bit.”

Another function, according to Joseph Young, comes on the other end of the floor.

“More intensity on the defensive end, getting steals and breakaway layups, I feel like that brings more explosiveness to our offense,” Young said.

This was evident against USC, mainly because turnovers often result in easy buckets because the opponent isn’t in good defensive position. But the turnovers can also be easy ways to get the offense out of a rut. For a team like Oregon that often settles for jump shots, getting good looks at the rim will drastically increase efficiency and confidence.

However, full-court press is only one answer and it’s unlikely going to solve Oregon’s yearlong struggles. There are multiple issues with pressing, namely the high-reward, high-risk nature of trying to force turnovers. Altman said his utilization of the press will vary game-to-game going forward, even though he’d like to incorporate it more.

“If you gear your press too much to those turnovers, you really expose yourself on the other end, which our guys have a tendency to do,” Altman said. “They get so excited about the press that we’ve given up easy baskets.”

That easy layup from Wesley on Saturday night could become common if Oregon becomes too reliant on the press. USC also sits dead last in the Pac-12, so the Ducks will face teams with better athletes and better schemes that can find holes in their spread-out defense.

Oregon would much rather see improvement in the other areas of defense, and some of the Ducks has been impressed with their growth so far. Jason Calliste said the defense is more of a unit now, rather than “five separate people out there” like it was earlier in Pac-12 play.

Altman expressed frustration with the fundamental mistakes his team is still making. The press is a weapon he wants to use, but he’d much rather see his team shore up the other areas of the defense.

The Ducks will need to tighten up their defense when they travel to No. 2 Arizona on Thursday, and Altman said he might be more cautious with the press because Arizona has such talented, experienced guards. But senior guard Johnathan Loyd said the press can cause problems against anyone, including the Wildcats.

“If we are having a lot of energy and flying around, we could definitely do the same thing to them,” Loyd said.

The main focus for Oregon, though, is improving their worst parts on defense, like rim protection and containing the Pac-12′s abundance of talented guards. If the Ducks can become a better all-around defensive unit, the press will be one of many barriers opposing offensives will struggle to penetrate.

“If we can kind of perfect that (the press),” Moser said, “I think that will be a great tool for us to have.”

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A man drinking an open can of beer on the sidewalk on Kincaid Street near E. 13th Avenue was arrested by the Eugene Police Monday around 8 p.m. He was also “causing a disturbance,” according to Officer Aaron Lindsey, one of the arresting officers.

“He was trying to pick fights with a bunch of people,” Lindsey said.

Lindsey said he and the other officers got a call about the man’s actions. When they arrived, Lindsey said he saw the open container and used it to get the man off the street. The officers drove away with the man in the back seat at 8:05 p.m.

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Oregon sophomore pitcher Cole Irvin will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2014 season baseball season. Todd Miles, Oregon’s Associate Director of Athletic Communications, said the surgery will take place next Monday. Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt first reported the news.

BREAKING: Just spoke with Oregon coach George Horton, who said LHP Cole Irvin will miss '14 season with tommy john surgery. h/t @LesLukach

— Aaron Fitt (@aaronfitt) February 3, 2014

Irvin told KEZI’s Stephen Nelson that he thinks the Ducks will be fine without him.

“Unfortunately going to miss the first trip to Omaha with the boys…This team is going to go with or without me,” Irvin said.

Irvin was slotted to be one of Oregon’s main starters this season after his stellar freshman year in 2013, when he tallied a 2.48 ERA, four complete games and an Oregon single-season record 12 wins in 16 starts. He was also named a first team freshman All-American.

According to Fitt, head coach George Horton doesn’t plan on moving Jake Reed back into the starting rotation after Reed made the transition to the bullpen. Tommy Thorpe, Matt Krook and either Porter Clayton or Jordan Spencer are expected to make up the rotation in Irvin’s absence.

Horton still plans to keep Jake Reed in bullpen. Expects Tommy Thorpe and Matt Krook to start, along with Porter Clayton or Jordan Spencer.

— Aaron Fitt (@aaronfitt) February 3, 2014

Perfect Game’s Kendall Rodgers also spoke with Horton and reported that Jeff Gold and Garrett Cleavinger are also in consideration for Irvin’s rotation spot.

According to Horton, @OregonBaseball will look at Jeff Gold, Porter Clayton and Garrett Cleavinger to replace Cole Irvin in rotation. #Ducks

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogersPG) February 3, 2014

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Dana Altman was full of emotion during Saturday’s press conference following Oregon’s 78-66 win over USC. In one instance, he gave a long-winded, passionate answer about Jason Calliste and some of the other key fifth year transfer players he’s coached at Oregon.

Then, he talked about Saturday’s Phil Knight bobblehead promotion.

First, Altman noted the size and energy of the crowd and was appreciative of Knight’s contributions.

“We haven’t had large crowds,” Altman said. “Today, the energy in the building the second half when we got it going was the best it’s been. Mr. Knight’s done so much, obviously, for our university, for this state. To have him here and win, it would’ve been a bad locker room if we’d have lost.”

A reporter then jokingly asked if Altman would ask Knight to give out bobbleheads more often, since this promotion resulted in a win.

“I didn’t see the bobblehead,” Altman said. “I hope it looks good for him. It’s kind of a silly promotion, but it worked. It got people here.”

Altman said it would be a good collector’s item, too. … Well, to most people, at least.

“Make sure the team doesn’t get any so we don’t put any on eBay and sell them,” Altman said, causing the room to burst into laughter.

Altman’s joke was referring to the suspensions to Dominic Artis and Ben Carter at the beginning of the season. The two Oregon players sold team gear, which is a violation of NCAA rules.

Altman also laughed, then delivered one final line.

“That’s the first time that I’ve laughed in a month, so thanks,” he said, before getting up and departing the room full of chuckling reporters.

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The Oregon men’s basketball team (15-6, 3-6 Pac-12) set a Matthew Knight Arena record on “Phil it UP” Appreciation Knight Saturday, tallying 16 steals in their 78-66 win over the visiting USC Trojans (10-12, 1-8).

“We’re playing as a unit now,” Oregon guard Calliste said, referring to the Ducks’ defense. “Before, it felt like we were just five separate people out there.”

The two halves were about a drastic as any two Oregon has played this season. The Ducks trailed 38-34 after the first half but outscored USC 44-28 in the second. And they didn’t even improve that much shooting the ball or limiting USC’s shooting percentage. The key, according to the Ducks, was their smothering press.

“I thought the press really got us going and (USC) didn’t handle it very well,” Altman said.

Altman said his team was “stuck in the mud” going into halftime. The energy wasn’t there, he said, and the stats reflected it. The Ducks were outshot by 11.3 percent from the field and outrebounded by nearly double in the first half. Without nine first-half steals, Oregon’s comeback chances would’ve been much slimmer.

Oregon’s energy was visibly more intense as soon as the second half started.

After USC center Omar Oraby scored a layup to open the half, the Ducks went on an 18-2 run to go up 56-44. Oregon’s lead would never get smaller than eight after that point, and defense was probably the biggest reason why.

“I feel like each game that we’ve played, we’re getting better,” said Oregon guard Joseph Young, who tallied game-highs in points (21) and steals (six). “The last three games, we’ve been getting better on the defensive end.”

The press was one of the biggest areas of high energy for the Ducks, but the improvement happened everywhere. They shot better. They drove towards the hoop more. They nearly tripled their first half rebounding total, both overall and on the offensive glass.

If one or two plays against UCLA on Thursday went differently, the Ducks would be riding a three-game winning streak right now. But they’ll gladly take two-out-of-three. They’re seeing improvement, and it all stems from their frenetic defense.

This improvement adds a little extra joy to this win for Calliste.

“Just the way that we played, it was that much more satisfying,” he said.

Next up for the Ducks is the No. 1 team in the country, Arizona. Oregon will travel to Tuscon to take on the Wildcats this upcoming Thursday at 6 p.m.

“I told them (Oregon’s players), ‘Enjoy the day tomorrow, watch the Super Bowl and we’ll come back Monday and get ready for our toughest opponent,’” Altman said.

Noteworthy

–  Oregon’s 16 steals are the most the team’s had since Dec. 11, 2010 against Willamette, when the Ducks recorded 17.

– Joseph Young’s six steals are also a Matthew Knight Arena record. That number tied a game-high for a Duck this season (Mike Moser had six against Georgetown, the first game of the 2013-14 season).

– Moser got out of a shooting slump, scoring 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting against USC.

– Calliste scored 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

– Altman said he wants to see more of his players, like Damyean Dotson, attack the rim and shoot more free throws like Young: “I’d like to see Dot get to the rim like that and get to the free throw line. Dot’s a really good free throw shooter.”

– Going into Saturday night, USC was 6-1 this season in games where they led at half.

– Byron Wesley led USC with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

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– Oregon cornerback Troy Hill pleaded guilty to menacing on Friday morning for his arrest on Dec. 13. Hill was sentenced to 36 months of probation, $200 in fines, 70 hours of community service and must complete a treatment program for anger. The redshirt senior was arraigned —and suspended from the Alamo Bowl— three days after the arrest on charges of menacing, criminal mischief and fourth-degree assault, including strangulation.

– ESPN’s Pac-12 Blog concluded their countdown of the conference’s top 25 players in 2013 on Friday, and Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota topped the list. ESPN’s list included three other Ducks, as well: cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (No. 14), center Hroniss Grasu (No. 23) and wide receiver Josh Huff (No. 24).

– USA Today released their college baseball coaches’ poll on Wednesday, and Oregon is No. 7 on the list. The Ducks are ranked even higher in Collegiate Baseball’s poll, at No. 6. Oregon is No. 8 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s poll and No. 11 in Baseball America’s. The Oregon baseball season starts on Feb. 14 against Hawaii in Honolulu.

– The Oregon sand volleyball team will begin their inaugural season on Mar. 21 against South Carolina, assistant coach Stacy Metro announced. The Ducks will play 10 matches from March 21 to April 12. The first five contests will take place in Charleston, S.C., and the final two will be in Portland, Ore. The athletic department released a photo gallery of Oregon’s uniforms, which can be seen here.

– Three Oregon softball players —pitcher Cheridan Hawkins, catcher Alexa Peterson and outfielder Janie Takeda— were named to USA Softball’s top 50 watch list. The sophomore Hawkins led the Pac-12 in 2013 with a .128 batting average and was second in the conference in ERA (1.55). The junior Takeda led the Pac-12 in batting average (including postseason) at .442 and Peterson, a senior, won the conference’s regular season batting title, also at .442 (Peterson batted .424 overall). The Oregon softball season begins on Feb. 7 against Cal Poly at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

– The Oregonian welcomed a new Ducks sports reporter earlier this week. Tyson Alger is currently helping Andrew Greif with the Oregon men’s basketball beat and will take over as the main men’s basketball beat writer next season. Alger will also be the lead Oregon baseball beat writer this spring and will help out with football in the fall. Alger interned at the Oregonian in 2010.

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With a minute left in Thursday’s game, the Oregon men’s basketball team looked primed to win a close game for only the second time in Pac-12 play. Instead, the Ducks (14-6, 2-6 Pac-12) couldn’t hold a three-point lead over UCLA (17-4, 6-2), and they suffered another loss, putting their NCAA tournament hopes in serious jeopardy.

Not all of Oregon’s Pac-12 losses have been this close at the end (neither team on Thursday night lead by more than three in the final three minutes). But the Ducks have basically been within striking distance towards the end each of their six defeats. People might blame it on bad play calls, poor execution, bad luck or a mixture of all three, but all losses count equally and the Ducks continue to finish games with their heads aimed towards the ground.

“They’re down,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said of his players. “They’re competitors. This is not where we thought we’d be, where we want to be, and it’s going to take a tremendous effort to bounce back.”

Oregon might kill themselves for their poor final minute and poor stretches throughout the second half, but Altman and Young were both pleased with their spirited comeback late in the game. Down 65-54 with 5:55 left, the Ducks went on a 15-0 run to take a three-point lead heading into the final minute.

“I thought the guys really fought it there,” Altman said.

But once again, defense failed the Ducks. With 57 seconds left, Kyle Anderson found a wide open Jordan Adams for a layup. And that was only the second worst defensive instance on that play. Richard Amardi fouled Adams, who made the subsequent free through to tie the game.

Jason Calliste missed on three on the next possession but Anderson missed right after that, and Amardi appeared to have secured the rebound. But Adams quickly grabbed the ball, and the refs called it a jump ball. The possession arrow favored UCLA. After a strip of Adams, Travis Wear scooped the ball up and scored a layup. Anderson blocked Loyd’s desperate jumper on the next possession to seal the game.

“We’ve just got to get the rebound at the end,” guard Joseph Young said. “We had three consecutive rebounds that we didn’t get and those are just the toughness plays we need to get.”

Altman and Young didn’t make excuses. Oregon didn’t play a perfect game, by any means, and they acknowledged that.

“The difference in the game was the start of the second half,” Altman said.

But several of these losses in Pac-12 play could’ve easily been wins if a few plays go differently. If the Ducks miss the NCAA tournament, these close close losses will almost certainly haunt them for a long time.

“At this point, we’re just overcoming adversity,” Young said. “We played good defense and we made some good baskets on offense, but we just needed to execute on more toughness plays on the defensive end.”

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Last year, the Ducks were among the defensive elite, ranked No. 13 nationally. One Duck, in particular, stood out: power forward Arsalan Kazemi.

“Arsalan was maybe as good a defender at the four spot as I’ve ever had,” men’s basketball head coach Dana Altman said.

Kazemi stuffed the defensive stat sheet all season, especially in Oregon’s biggest games. He averaged 15 rebounds, 1.67 steals and one block per game in Oregon’s three NCAA tournament contests. But his numbers mask the dozens of other contributions he made on defense, like his incredible footwork (a skill Altman raved about), his help defense and his destruction of the pick-and-roll.

“The Oregon forward was such a devastating pick-and-roll defender at the college level that he could single-handedly disrupt an opposing offense,” Grantland’s Brett Koremenos wrote last June.

Kazemi’s overall dominance on defense and on the glass distracted viewers from two other invaluable Oregon defenders: Tony Woods and E.J. Singler. Those two weren’t as dominant as Kazemi on defense, but they grasped the little things so well that the Ducks became a consistently tough defensive team.

“When I was able to overextend, I wasn’t scared because I knew I had Tone in there to block a shot, or E.J. in their to make a rotation,” point guard Johnathan Loyd said.

Right now, Kazemi is playing basketball in his native Iran. Woods is in Greece. Singler’s playing for the Idaho Stampede. And the Ducks are getting trampled by opposing offenses. Their defensive rating is 186th in the nation, and that’s just one of many stats that illustrates their defensive deficiencies.

The issues don’t stem from just one position, but it’s hard to look at Oregon’s interior defense and not see a massive hole where Kazemi and Woods used to operate. Loyd said several big men, especially Richard Amardi, have the potential to fill that gap and they’ve all shown flashes. But Altman says the consistency is severely lacking.

“We’ve had some good defense inside, but it hasn’t been on a consistent basis like Arsalan provided,” said Altman, who also praised Woods and Singler.

The biggest problem with this year’s defense might be invisible. Loyd’s illustrates this perfectly. Loyd and other perimeter players could spend more effort pressuring their men because Kazemi and Woods were standing near the basket craving an opportunity to reject a shot. Oregon’s perimeter defenders could go over screens more often, forcing three-point shooters to take more inefficient two-point jumpers or challenge Oregon’s fearsome big men. The ball-handlers could drive and pass to a shooter, but Kazemi, Woods and Singler were brilliant at rotating to contest shots.

These three provided comfort to their other teammates on the court. For scorers like Damyean Dotson and Dominic Artis, they might have exerted less effort on the defensive end, thus making them more effective on offense.

This year’s defense might be turning the corner. Washington State, while far from elite, shot just 25 percent from the field against Oregon.

But it’s doubtful these Ducks can even approach last year’s defensive output. As the season progresses, Oregon’s yearning for Kazemi, Woods and Singler will likely keep growing.

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Before Wednesday’s practice, Oregon men’s basketball head coach Dana Altman informed the media that Johnathan Loyd broke his nose in Tuesday’s practice and his status for Thursday’s matchup against UCLA is uncertain. Altman said redshirt senior guard Jason Calliste could be one of Oregon’s players to replace Loyd if Loyd is unable to go.

Calliste talked about this and several other topics directly after Altman spoke with the media. Calliste also discussed Arik Armstead’s departure and the 71-44 win over Washington State Sunday, which Calliste called a season-saver.

Are you prepared to do whatever’s needed Thursday night if Loyd misses the game?

“I’m ready to do whatever to help the team win. Whatever he (Altman) needs me to do, I’ll do.”

What happened to Loyd in practice yesterday?

“We were doing block-and-break and he caught an elbow. I caught an elbow last year and broke my nose, too.”

Who elbowed him?

“I think it was Mike (Moser) or Elgin (Cook).”

What was it like playing with a broken nose? Did you have to wear a mask?

“I had to wear a mask. The mask was a little uncomfortable, at first. It starts fogging up on you. It gets sweaty. It starts sliding around. I had to wear a headband with mine. I’m pretty sure you could find photos of that if you look for it. He (Loyd) will be alright.”

Did you miss a game when you broke your nose?

“I think I might have missed one. I’m not really sure, I can’t remember. I know I missed a couple of practices but a game, I might have missed one or none. I don’t remember.”

Altman said if there’s one guy on the Ducks who is tough enough to come back early, it would be Loyd.

“I’m expecting him to play tomorrow, to be honest. We’ll see what (trainer) Clay (Jamieson) says. We’ll see what coach says.”

Have things gotten better, in regards to morale, after Sunday’s win over Washington State?

“Yeah, guys’ heads are up more. More confident, obviously, after a win. But we’ve still got work to do. We can’t be satisfied with one win.”

Is there any sense of relief or a weight coming off your shoulders after the win?

“It feels good to get one, yeah. We were in a slump, so it was good to get a win, get back on track. I think we should be OK.”

Did you feel a pressure to get that win?

“I told the guys, if we don’t win this, our season’s over. That’s how I felt, personally. That was a personal feeling, so it felt good to get that win. Now we’re back on track, so we should be alright.”

Do you feel like the season now has new life and optimism?

“Eh, it’s just one game at a time for us, really. Like I said, it was good to get a win and we’ve just got to keep on rolling.”

Have you seen much on UCLA yet?

“I’ve seen them play a couple times on TV but I haven’t scouted yet. They’re real versatile. (Kyle) Anderson’s real good. Someone we’ve got to keep on our radar, but I think we should be up for it.”

Was it tough to lose Armstead?

“Yeah, it was tough to see ‘Smooth’ go, but he has to concentrate on football and I respect that. He’s going to be a pro one day.”

What was he like in practice?

“He was real physical, especially when we were doing block-and-break drills. Somebody way bigger who you have to fight around and easier when it comes to the game, so we’re going to miss his physicality, his presence.”

Joseph Young has struggled shooting the ball lately. Do you give him any advice?

“I notice when he misses a couple, he kind of looks over at me and I just give him a little face like, ‘Keep shooting, you’ll be fine.’ I’m not worried about Joe. He’s going to figure it out.”

Did you put extra pressure on yourself to have a good game against Washington State?

“I just tried to set the tone coming off the bench. I didn’t want to lose. I was tired of losing. That’s a game I know we had to get, so I just tried to set the tone and it worked out.”

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On the eve of Oregon’s game versus UCLA (16-4, 5-2 Pac-12), Ducks head coach Dana Altman said the Bruins will be an extremely tough test, especially on offense. “All eight guys that they have in the rotation can score,” Altman said. Altman also said the Bruins are big at every position, so Oregon (14-5, 2-5) will need to be ready on defense if they want to win their second game in a row.

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