Oregon hasn't let a flurry of early injuries derail its season

Moments after Oregon secured a quality road win Monday night at Alabama, point guard Dylan Ennis offered more reason for optimism.

The injured senior sent a tweet that suggests he'll finally be ready to make his Oregon debut when the Ducks conclude non-conference play against Western Oregon on Dec. 29.

If Oregon's 72-68 victory at Alabama is its final game without Ennis, the Ducks should be satisfied with how they fared at less than full strength. Ennis has sat out the first 12 games of the season with a foot injury, top big man Jordan Bell missed eight games while recovering from offseason foot surgery and elite freshman Tyler Dorsey couldn't play in a pair of games because of a knee sprain, yet Oregon is still 10-2 and on the cusp of the AP Top 25.

The Ducks have marquee wins against 23rd-ranked Baylor, mid-major power Valparaiso and a surprising Alabama team that owns victories over Notre Dame, Wichita State and Clemson. Oregon's only two losses came on the road at Mountain West contenders UNLV and Boise State.

While backup point guard Casey Benson has done an exceptional job creating for others without turning the ball over during non-conference play, Ennis is definitely the more dynamic player and more natural leader.

The Villanova transfer started all 36 games at off guard for the Wildcats last season and averaged 9.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Big East champions. He came to Oregon in part because of the Ducks' history of success with graduate transfers and in part because he had no chance to play his natural point guard spot at Villanova with Ryan Arcidiacono back and McDonald's All-American Jalen Brunson arriving.

Ennis' return should add another weapon to the Ducks' backcourt and ease the burden on Dorsey to create for both himself and his teammates. Dorsey had been serving as Oregon's primary ball handler at times when Benson wasn't in the game.

Oregon won without Ennis on Monday night despite a 12-point halftime deficit in Tuscaloosa. A 24-6 surge highlighted by a pair of Chris Boucher 3-pointers propelled the Ducks into the lead and Oregon stayed in front for good after a tie-breaking 3-pointer from Elgin Cook with just over two minutes to go.

The win gave the Ducks two things to celebrate over the Christmas holiday. They're off to a solid start and they'll apparently soon be back at full strength.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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