University of Oregon
31-7
Oklahoma
29-7
Ducks Fall In Elite Eight, Capping 31-Win Season
03/27/16 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Photo: Kirby Lee
ANAHEIM, Calif — Despite the best efforts of senior Elgin Cook in his final game for the Ducks, Oregon's season came to an end Saturday in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight with an 80-68 loss to Oklahoma in a battle of the top two seeds in the West Regional at Honda Center.
How It Happened: Oregon (31-7) was outgunned by two-time Big 12 player of the year Buddy Hield, who scored 37 points on 13-of-20 shooting, including 8-of-13 from three-point range. Hield scored nine straight early in the second half for Oklahoma (29-7), capping the run with a three-pointer that put the Sooners up 59-41.
Oklahoma went cold for the next few minutes and Oregon tried to claw back, getting within 65-53 on a layup by Cook, whose 24 points led the Ducks. But with the score 70-57, Hield hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, the proverbial nail in Oregon's coffin.
Oklahoma scored on its first four trips of the game, two of them Hield three-pointers for an early 12-7 lead. A Chris Boucher three-pointer got the Ducks within 17-12, but they then went 6:34 until their next field goal, a Boucher follow dunk to get back within 27-17.
Cook and Dillon Brooks swarmed Hield to force a turnover and set up a Cook dunk in transition, and Oregon was within single digits at 30-21. But the Sooners responded with a 15-5 run, and Hield capped the half with his fifth three-pointer of the first 20 minutes for a 48-30 advantage.
Who Stood Out: In his final appearance to cap an outstanding three-year career at Oregon, Cook was the Ducks' best player from start to finish. The only player in program history to play in three NCAA Tournament, Cook set UO tournament career records for points (119), rebounds (49) and free throws made and attempts (39-of-48). Boucher added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but Tyler Dorsey was the only other Duck in double figures with 11 points. Brooks fouled out after scoring just seven points in 29 minutes.
What It Means: Oregon's season ends a game short of the Final Four for the third time in the last 15 years. The 2002 and 2007 teams also lost in the Elite Eight. The Ducks finished with a school record 31 wins, and Pac-12 titles in both the regular season and conference tournament.
Quotable:
Elgin Cook, UO senior
On his feelings after the loss
“It hurts, a lot. My season is over. We're done. No one expected it. We was confident. We believed in each other. This hurts a lot.”
On defending Hield
“We tried to crowd him, tried our best to corral him and keep him out of open areas, but he made a lot of tough shots.. .. He shot 8-for-13 from three, so we didn't do our job as a team and it cost us the game.”
Dana Altman, UO head coach
On the first half
“Very disappointing first half. They just killed us on the boards (23-10). They were much quicker to the ball, much more active. I'm not sure if it was the energy they produced hitting threes, but they just did a much better job on the boards. … Those second-chance points (15) put us in a hole we could just never recover from.”
Notable: Cook was named to the all-regional team. … The Ducks blocked two shots to finish with 221 for the season, three fewer than NCAA leader Washington. … Boucher did not block a shot and so finished the season with 110, a UO record and one behind national leader Vashil Fernandez of Valparaiso. … With two assists and no turnovers, Casey Benson finished the season with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.86:1, best in the nation. … Cook's two steals gave him 54 for the season, putting him in Oregon's top 10 all-time for a season.
