Oregon Ducks Center Nate Bittle Earns MVP in Win Over Stanford Cardinal

The Oregon Ducks defeated the Stanford Cardinal 76-61 on Saturday night. There were standout performances from numerous Ducks on coach Dana Altman's roster. Who earned the game's MVP?
Dec 21, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Oregon Ducks players react after a dunk by forward Supreme Cook (not shown) against the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Oregon Ducks players react after a dunk by forward Supreme Cook (not shown) against the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

San Jose- The Oregon Ducks beat the Stanford Cardinal 76-71 on Saturday night at the SAP Center. The Ducks came into the game ranked as the No. 10 team in the country and dominated the Cardinal from start to finish. 

Who took home MVP honors for the Ducks?

Nate Bittle Gets MVP vs. Stanford

Dec 21, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Oregon Ducks center Nate Bittle (right) dribbles against Stanford Cardinal forward M
Dec 21, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Oregon Ducks center Nate Bittle (right) dribbles against Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) during the first half at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The MVP in Saturday night's 76-61 win over Stanford could have gone to a number of different Ducks, but the player that stood out the most, especially in the first half, was Oregon center Nate Bittle.

Bittle was the MVP on both ends of the floor. Bittle shot an efficient 4/6 from the field and finished with nine points. He also snagged nine rebounds.

Addionally, Bittle was key in holding the Cardinal to a season low 61 points. He patrolled the paint all night and Stanford resorted to the three-ball. The Cardinal came into the game shooting 34.0 percent from three-point land but shot 27.3 percent in the loss.

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Ducks Defense Dominates Cardinal

Dec 21, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman (right) talks with guard Keeshawn Barthelemy (9)
Dec 21, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman (right) talks with guard Keeshawn Barthelemy (9) during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

It was a slow start to the game from both teams. Bittle knocked down the first shot of the game on the opening possession. There wasn’t another made field goal from either side until Stanford center Maxime Raynaud drilled a three-pointer four minutes later. 

The Ducks got a major boost off the bench from guard Keeshawn Barthelemy. Barthelemy hit a pair of triples after subbing in to jumpstart the Oregon offense. 

Stanford was ice cold from the field, only able to muster up 19 first half points. Oregon went into the locker room with a 36-19 lead. The Ducks came flying out of the locker room and never looked back.

Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad put the finishing touches on the game with a team-leading 10 second half points to help the Ducks coast home with a 76-61 win.

The Ducks improved their record to 11-1 while Stanford fell to 9-3.

Next up for the Ducks are the Weber State Wildcats on Dec. 29 at Matthew Knight Arena. This will be the final non-conference game for Oregon.

If Oregon can beat Weber State, they will finish their 2024 non-conference schedule with a perfect record of 10-0.

It's been about as great a start this season as any Oregon fan and Dana Altman could hope for. The Ducks have already picked up wins over Alabama, Texas A&M, USC, San Diego State, Oregon State and Stanford. Their one slip up was a last second home loss to the UCLA Bruins.

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