Troy University Athletics
Sunday, November 17
Eugene, Ore.
4 p.m.
Troy University
at
Oregon
Men’s Basketball Heads West to Take on Oregon
11/16/2024 9:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – The Troy men's basketball team continues its four-game road trip, as it travels to the Pacific Northwest for a matchup against Oregon on Sunday afternoon in Eugene at the Matthew Knight Arena.
This is the second-consecutive year that Troy has traveled to the Beaver State, as it took on Oregon State last season in a thrilling, yet heartbreaking, game. Thomas Dowd hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game to overtime, but Troy ultimately fell 81-80 in 2OT.
Troy (2-1) is coming off its first loss of the season, after it fell 65-49 to No. 18 Arkansas on Wednesday night in Fayetteville, Ark.
Oregon (3-0), is one of the newest members of the Big Ten, has a +18.7-scoring margin through its first three games. The Ducks are receiving votes in the current AP Poll.
Sunday will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
Game Information
The Matchup: Troy at Oregon
When: Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 – 4 p.m. CT
Where: Eugene, Ore. | Matthew Knight Arena (12,364)
Watch: B1G+
Listen: Troy Sports Media Network
Live Stats: Troystats.com
Onward and Upward
The Trojans went into Bud Walton Arena and hung tough with No. 18 Arkansas all night long. The Troy defense was dominant in the first half, holding the Razorbacks to 29.4 percent shooting – including 2-11 from 3-point range. On the offensive side, Troy buried 40.7 percent of its shots in the first 20 minutes and took a 27-26 lead into halftime.
Things remained close through the first 10 minutes of the second half, and Arkansas was leading 41-38 with just over 11 minutes left to play. However, the Razorback offense found it shooting groove and pulled away with the lead. Zvonimir Ivisic finished with 19 points and was 6-7 from 3-point range to help Arkansas pick up the win. Troy continues to search for its first win over a ranked team in program history.
Despite the loss, Troy outrebounded Arkansas 37-30, and continues to be one of the better rebounding teams in the country, something that it excelled in last year. Through its three games, Troy is leading the Sun Belt in offensive rebounds with 14.67 and is third in total rebounds with 42.67. Last year, the Trojans finished 14th nationally in offensive rebounds and 47th in total rebounds.
Troy also got another strong performance from its starting center Jackson Fields. Fields, who was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on Tuesday, was 6-8 from the field for a team-high 13 points.
Fields is leading Troy in scoring through three games with 12.7 points and is doing it with a very efficient 68.2 percent (15-22) shooting clip, which leads the Sun Belt and is 46th nationally. He has scored in double figures in all three games for Troy this season. He entered the 2024-25 campaign with just six games of double-digit scoring in his prior two seasons.
The Trojans will need to cut down on its turnovers moving forward, as they had 24 in their loss on Wednesday. However, they are distributing the ball well early on as Troy's 15.3 assists per game is fifth in the conference. Tayton Conerway is leading in that department, as he is averaging 6.0 assists per game, good for second in the conference and 42nd in the country.
In addition to Fields, forward Myles Rigsby has also scored 10 or more points in each game this season and is second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game. The sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas, is shooting 41.4 percent from the field and is continuing to play strong defense. He leads the Trojans with five blocks and also has four steals to his name.
Scouting Oregon
The Ducks defeated Portland 80-70 in overtime in its last outing, outscoring Portland 13-3 in overtime.
Through three games, Nate Bittle is leading the offensive effort with 15.3 points. In total, five Ducks are scoring in double-figures to open the season. Last year, Oregon made it to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Creighton, the school that Oregon head coach Dana Altman used to lead.
Notables
• Scott Cross is in his sixth season at the helm for Troy men's basketball, and his 18th as a Division I men's basketball head coach. While at Troy he has put together an 82-77 record, which includes three straight seasons of 20 or more wins. In each of those three seasons, he has also led the Trojans to 10 or more conference wins.
• Troy is coming off a 65-49 loss to No. 18 Arkansas on Wednesday in Fayetteville. The Trojans were leading the Razorbacks 27-26 going into halftimes. Arkansas founds its shooting stroke in the final 20 minutes to overpower Troy. The Trojans struggled to take care of the ball, turning it over a season-high 24 times.
• The Trojans won its first road game of the season last Saturday with a 78-61 victory at New Orleans. Jackson Fields recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Troy didn't win a road game until Dec. 30 last season (at Coastal Carolina).
• Troy opened its season last Monday with a dominating 84-74 win over Toledo in the MAC-SBC Challenge at Trojan Arena. It was Troy's second-largest margin of victory over a Division I opponent to open its season in its DI era. Troy defeated Quinnipiac by 11 in 2005.
• Jackson Fields was named the Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Tuesday after is impressive opening week of play. He was the first Trojan to receive the honor since Jordan Varnado on Jan. 21, 2019. Fields has scored in double-figures in all three games this season and has led Troy in scoring the last two games. He is averaging a team-best 12.7 points per game.
• The Trojans are returning 100 total starts from last season from seven different players. Troy also returned 262 total games played between 10 players.
• Myles Rigsby and Tayton Conerway each earned preseason Sun Belt honors following a strong 2023-24. Rigsby, who was named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in 2024, was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team. Conerway, who was named the Sun Belt Sixth Man of the Year, was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team. It's the second consecutive season that Troy has had multiple preseason all-conference selections after Muhammad and Eugene each earned the honor prior to last season.
• Troy did not lose or add a single player to the NCAA Transfer Portal. The only non-freshman addition to this year's team is JUCO transfer Cobi Campbell, who is out indefinitely with an injury.
This is the second-consecutive year that Troy has traveled to the Beaver State, as it took on Oregon State last season in a thrilling, yet heartbreaking, game. Thomas Dowd hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game to overtime, but Troy ultimately fell 81-80 in 2OT.
Troy (2-1) is coming off its first loss of the season, after it fell 65-49 to No. 18 Arkansas on Wednesday night in Fayetteville, Ark.
Oregon (3-0), is one of the newest members of the Big Ten, has a +18.7-scoring margin through its first three games. The Ducks are receiving votes in the current AP Poll.
Sunday will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
Game Information
The Matchup: Troy at Oregon
When: Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 – 4 p.m. CT
Where: Eugene, Ore. | Matthew Knight Arena (12,364)
Watch: B1G+
Listen: Troy Sports Media Network
Live Stats: Troystats.com
Onward and Upward
The Trojans went into Bud Walton Arena and hung tough with No. 18 Arkansas all night long. The Troy defense was dominant in the first half, holding the Razorbacks to 29.4 percent shooting – including 2-11 from 3-point range. On the offensive side, Troy buried 40.7 percent of its shots in the first 20 minutes and took a 27-26 lead into halftime.
Things remained close through the first 10 minutes of the second half, and Arkansas was leading 41-38 with just over 11 minutes left to play. However, the Razorback offense found it shooting groove and pulled away with the lead. Zvonimir Ivisic finished with 19 points and was 6-7 from 3-point range to help Arkansas pick up the win. Troy continues to search for its first win over a ranked team in program history.
Despite the loss, Troy outrebounded Arkansas 37-30, and continues to be one of the better rebounding teams in the country, something that it excelled in last year. Through its three games, Troy is leading the Sun Belt in offensive rebounds with 14.67 and is third in total rebounds with 42.67. Last year, the Trojans finished 14th nationally in offensive rebounds and 47th in total rebounds.
Troy also got another strong performance from its starting center Jackson Fields. Fields, who was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on Tuesday, was 6-8 from the field for a team-high 13 points.
Fields is leading Troy in scoring through three games with 12.7 points and is doing it with a very efficient 68.2 percent (15-22) shooting clip, which leads the Sun Belt and is 46th nationally. He has scored in double figures in all three games for Troy this season. He entered the 2024-25 campaign with just six games of double-digit scoring in his prior two seasons.
The Trojans will need to cut down on its turnovers moving forward, as they had 24 in their loss on Wednesday. However, they are distributing the ball well early on as Troy's 15.3 assists per game is fifth in the conference. Tayton Conerway is leading in that department, as he is averaging 6.0 assists per game, good for second in the conference and 42nd in the country.
In addition to Fields, forward Myles Rigsby has also scored 10 or more points in each game this season and is second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game. The sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas, is shooting 41.4 percent from the field and is continuing to play strong defense. He leads the Trojans with five blocks and also has four steals to his name.
Scouting Oregon
The Ducks defeated Portland 80-70 in overtime in its last outing, outscoring Portland 13-3 in overtime.
Through three games, Nate Bittle is leading the offensive effort with 15.3 points. In total, five Ducks are scoring in double-figures to open the season. Last year, Oregon made it to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Creighton, the school that Oregon head coach Dana Altman used to lead.
Notables
• Scott Cross is in his sixth season at the helm for Troy men's basketball, and his 18th as a Division I men's basketball head coach. While at Troy he has put together an 82-77 record, which includes three straight seasons of 20 or more wins. In each of those three seasons, he has also led the Trojans to 10 or more conference wins.
• Troy is coming off a 65-49 loss to No. 18 Arkansas on Wednesday in Fayetteville. The Trojans were leading the Razorbacks 27-26 going into halftimes. Arkansas founds its shooting stroke in the final 20 minutes to overpower Troy. The Trojans struggled to take care of the ball, turning it over a season-high 24 times.
• The Trojans won its first road game of the season last Saturday with a 78-61 victory at New Orleans. Jackson Fields recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Troy didn't win a road game until Dec. 30 last season (at Coastal Carolina).
• Troy opened its season last Monday with a dominating 84-74 win over Toledo in the MAC-SBC Challenge at Trojan Arena. It was Troy's second-largest margin of victory over a Division I opponent to open its season in its DI era. Troy defeated Quinnipiac by 11 in 2005.
• Jackson Fields was named the Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Tuesday after is impressive opening week of play. He was the first Trojan to receive the honor since Jordan Varnado on Jan. 21, 2019. Fields has scored in double-figures in all three games this season and has led Troy in scoring the last two games. He is averaging a team-best 12.7 points per game.
• The Trojans are returning 100 total starts from last season from seven different players. Troy also returned 262 total games played between 10 players.
• Myles Rigsby and Tayton Conerway each earned preseason Sun Belt honors following a strong 2023-24. Rigsby, who was named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in 2024, was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team. Conerway, who was named the Sun Belt Sixth Man of the Year, was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team. It's the second consecutive season that Troy has had multiple preseason all-conference selections after Muhammad and Eugene each earned the honor prior to last season.
• Troy did not lose or add a single player to the NCAA Transfer Portal. The only non-freshman addition to this year's team is JUCO transfer Cobi Campbell, who is out indefinitely with an injury.
Players Mentioned
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