University of Oregon
28-6
Utah
26-8
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 21 | 36 | 57 |
| Oregon | 38 | 50 | 88 |
Ducks Add Tournament Title To Regular-Season Crown
03/13/16 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Photo: Eric Evans
LAS VEGAS — After his turnover in Friday's Pac-12 semifinal allowed Arizona to tie it late in regulation, Chris Boucher said the support his coaches and teammates showed following the Ducks' overtime victory would allow him to flush the mistake and quickly move on to Saturday's final against Utah.
That proved more difficult that he initially expected.
“It was hard,” Boucher said, a little over 24 hours later. “They kept talking about it on Pac-12 (Networks). I couldn't.”
Usually Boucher's roommate, Dylan Ennis, is the night owl of the duo. But on Friday, Ennis said, Boucher didn't get to sleep until around 3 a.m.
Ennis and Boucher had left the TV in their MGM Grand hotel room on Pac-12 Networks for the week so they could watch conference tournament games. It stayed on Friday night — well into Friday night.
“They replayed it about 30 times,” Ennis said. “They stopped going through the highlights, just started doing right to the end of the game. … It was hard on him. He didn't want to let the guys down.”
On Saturday, Boucher more than redeemed himself, as part of perhaps No. 8 Oregon's most complete performance of the season. Facing a matchup with Pac-12 player of the year Jakob Poeltl, Boucher helped the top-seeded Ducks dominate second-seeded Utah, 88-57, giving Oregon a conference tournament title — and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament — to go along with the Pac-12 regular-season crown.
“As soon as I came in today I was like, I'm focused, I'm ready,” said Boucher, who scored the Ducks' first basket, on his way to 15 points for the game. “No matter what happens, I'm going to fight to the end.”
Both teams in Saturday's final were playing for the third time in three days, after needing overtime to advance past the semifinals less than 24 hours earlier. Only Oregon summoned the will to win; Poeltl played only five second-half minutes, and went to the bench for good with 9 minutes left and the Ducks ahead 68-35. He was a 7-foot white flag being waved in the face of the Ducks' dominance.
Utah, which came into the night ranked 12th in the nation, led for all of 49 seconds in the game. After the Utes took that brief lead, 11-10, Oregon responded with a 14-2 run. The Ducks led by as much as 17 in the first half, and by 36 at one point late in the game.
“We came here with a purpose,” UO senior Elgin Cook said. “Coach harped on us about intensity, and everybody came out focused. Everybody was locked in.”
And he did mean everybody. The Ducks (28-6) shot .516, with Tyler Dorsey scoring 23 points, Dillon Brooks adding 18 and Cook – the tournament's MVP — adding 11. They also limited Utah to .432 by playing a zone defense that allowed them to flood passing lanes for 13 steals, and collapse on the post to limit Poeltl to 13 points in 27 minutes.
The weakness of a zone would be allowing three-pointers. But Oregon's athleticism on the perimeter allowed the Ducks to close out so well, they limited Utah to 16 attempts, including just four in the first half while the outcome was still in question.
“It was a little double-edge thing we had going tonight, for sure,” assistant coach Kevin McKenna said. “Our defense was good, and our offense was good.”
Before the Ducks left Eugene for the tournament, they swore they were coming to win it. Cook and fellow senior Dwayne Benjamin spoke of how much they enjoyed winning the regular-season title. The tournament title was the next chance to enjoy that feeling again and the seniors did not disappoint, as Oregon claimed the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles in the same season for the first time in school history.
Complacency is a sneaky little weasel. It couldn't catch the Ducks this week, though.
“It was big for us to come into this and continue to build on what we've been doing,” said Casey Benson, who quarterbacked a UO offense that committed just seven turnovers. “We didn't want to have any letdown. We have aspirations to play as long as possible, so we didn't want to diminish what we did in the regular season and lay an egg.”
Following Saturday's game the Ducks were scheduled to return home, where final exams beckon in the coming days. First, they'll find out their NCAA Tournament destination Sunday afternoon; Oregon is widely believed to be headed to Spokane for an opening game Friday. There was growing buzz nationally following Saturday's tournament crown that the Ducks were worthy of a No. 1 seed, as well.
In the postgame locker room, UO coach Dana Altman tried to keep the Ducks from getting ahead of themselves.
“Obviously we're not done,” he told his team. “I want you to be happy. I want you to be pleased with what we did this weekend, but absolutely not satisfied.”
There will be 67 other teams in the tournament, Altman told the Ducks. Each will want to win it all just as much as Oregon.
“We've got to differentiate ourselves some way,” Altman said after coaching his Ducks to their one-sided win over the Utes. “And playing that hard is a good way to do it.”
Earlier Saturday, the Ducks were allowed an hour for their shootaround on the Garden Arena floor. They only used about 40 minutes — most of it spent on mobility work with strength coach Adam Linens.
Altman had his players shoot some three-pointers and free throws for maybe 15 minutes. Mostly, though, they preserved their energy. Not that Altman needed to worry about how much intensity the Ducks would bring in the game, Benson said later.
“You have so much adrenaline,” Benson said. “And at the end of the day, you're playing basketball. We were ready to go. We wanted to win tonight.”
Their effort proved as much. It was a championship effort, by a championship team.
Cook Earns Tournament MVP
Cook won Pac-12 Tournament MVP honors after averaging 17.3 points and 2.7 steals per game. He was joined on the all-Tournament team by Brooks, Boucher and Dorsey ... Oregon's 31-point margin of victory was the largest in Pac-12 Championship game history ... This is the Ducks fourth Pac-12 Tournament title (2003, 2007, 2013).
