Saturday, February 4
Eugene, Ore.
1:00 PM
University of Oregon
21-3, 10-1
85
vs
58
Arizona
21-3, 10-1
1
2
F
Arizona
18
40
58
Oregon
38
47
85
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Ducks Make It Rain To Beat No. 5 Arizona
02/04/17 | Men's Basketball
Oregon made a Matthew Knight Arena record 16 three-pointers on its first 21 attempts Saturday to blow out the Wildcats, 85-58.
EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon men's basketball team regained the driver's seat in the race for the Pac-12 championship and made an emphatic statement to the nation Saturday afternoon, an 85-58 victory for the No. 13 Ducks over No. 5 Arizona before a sellout crowd of 12,364 fans in Matthew Knight Arena. The victory was Oregon's 40th in a row at home, the longest active streak in the nation after Kansas lost earlier Saturday, ending the Jayhawks' streak at 51.
How it Happened: The Ducks (21-3, 10-1 Pac-12) blew open the game early in the first half with a brilliant display of three-point shooting, electrifying the home crowd. Tyler Dorsey made three three-pointers in four possessions for an early 19-6 lead, and later Dorsey made the last of five three-pointers in five straight UO possessions — three by Casey Benson — to push the lead to 36-11. By that point the Ducks had 10 made three-pointers, while the Wildcats (21-3, 10-1) had 11 total points.
Dorsey added two free throws to cap what ended up being a 19-0 first-half run by the Ducks, who forced Arizona to miss 11 straight field-goal attempts during the run. The Wildcats ended up scoring the final seven points before halftime to get within 38-18, but their point total and .259 shooting in the half were easily season-lows.
Early in the second half, Arizona continued its scoring run, making the first two baskets of the half. But Dorsey and Dillon Brooks responded with two more threes — making the Ducks 12-of-16 at that point behind the arc. After the Wildcats scored again to get within 44-26, Oregon mounted another extended run, a 20-1 stretch capped by an alley oop dunk by Chris Boucher from Jordan Bell. At one point during the run, Arizona called its fourth and final timeout of the game — with 12:59 still to play, an illustration of how early and often UA coach Sean Miller tried to slow the Ducks' momentum.
Oregon led 64-27 at that point, its largest of the game. The lead was still as much as 36 at 74-38, before the Wildcats mounted a late surge to make the final score more respectable.
Who Stood Out: Dorsey finished with 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including all six three-point attempts. Brooks added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and added five rebounds with three assists and three steals. Benson made 3-of-5 three-pointers for 13 points, and Boucher added 12 points. Bell had six points, six rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.
What It Means: Oregon pulled into a tie for first in the Pac-12 with Arizona at 10-1, and the Ducks secured the tiebreaker by winning the only regular-season matchup between the two this season.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, head coach
On the electric home atmosphere
"Our energy level was really good because the shots were falling. And the crowd was great today. … With every three the crowd got louder. It was just a really good atmosphere."
Dillon Brooks, junior wing
On the significance of the win
"That's the best game I ever played in three years here. Guys were focused and guys were confident in their shots."
On the rarity of finding the zone as a team
"It was getting ridiculous. But guys feed off each other. One guy's hot, another guy gets hot. In this game it was like five, six, seven guys that got hot."
On playing so well against the Wildcats
"We look up to Arizona. We want to be just as good as them, a prestigious NCAA basketball team. They've got a great coach in Sean Miller, and great players. We're going to see them again."
Tyler Dorsey, sophomore guard
On moving on to Thursday's game at UCLA
"We control our own destiny now. We know we have to go on the road and it's going to be tough. We just have to battle and take one game at a time. UCLA in L.A., they're going to want to beat us. So we've got to be ready."
Notable: As a team the Ducks finished 16-of-25 from three-point range (.640), setting an arena record. Oregon was 30-of-46 overall (.652), with 26 assists on the 30 field goals. … The 27-point margin of victory was Oregon's largest ever against a top-10 team; the previous was 13 versus No. 1 UCLA (78-65) on Feb. 21, 1970. ... Brooks passed Jim Barnett (1,325/1963-66) for 17th in UO career scoring, finishing the game with 1,335 points. ... The UO student section celebrated the first Oregon basket by throwing powder into the air, a la LeBron James, though the gesture did lead to a delay while crews cleaned up the floor. … Freshman wing Keith Smith was again not in uniform, nor was his classmate M.J. Cage. … Former UO head coach Don Monson sat courtside with former UO athletic director Pat Kilkenny . … The sellout was the fifth of the season in Matthew Knight Arena, and the third in the last five home games.
Up Next: The Ducks face another matchup with national implications at UCLA on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN).
How it Happened: The Ducks (21-3, 10-1 Pac-12) blew open the game early in the first half with a brilliant display of three-point shooting, electrifying the home crowd. Tyler Dorsey made three three-pointers in four possessions for an early 19-6 lead, and later Dorsey made the last of five three-pointers in five straight UO possessions — three by Casey Benson — to push the lead to 36-11. By that point the Ducks had 10 made three-pointers, while the Wildcats (21-3, 10-1) had 11 total points.
Dorsey added two free throws to cap what ended up being a 19-0 first-half run by the Ducks, who forced Arizona to miss 11 straight field-goal attempts during the run. The Wildcats ended up scoring the final seven points before halftime to get within 38-18, but their point total and .259 shooting in the half were easily season-lows.
Early in the second half, Arizona continued its scoring run, making the first two baskets of the half. But Dorsey and Dillon Brooks responded with two more threes — making the Ducks 12-of-16 at that point behind the arc. After the Wildcats scored again to get within 44-26, Oregon mounted another extended run, a 20-1 stretch capped by an alley oop dunk by Chris Boucher from Jordan Bell. At one point during the run, Arizona called its fourth and final timeout of the game — with 12:59 still to play, an illustration of how early and often UA coach Sean Miller tried to slow the Ducks' momentum.
Oregon led 64-27 at that point, its largest of the game. The lead was still as much as 36 at 74-38, before the Wildcats mounted a late surge to make the final score more respectable.
Who Stood Out: Dorsey finished with 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including all six three-point attempts. Brooks added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and added five rebounds with three assists and three steals. Benson made 3-of-5 three-pointers for 13 points, and Boucher added 12 points. Bell had six points, six rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.
What It Means: Oregon pulled into a tie for first in the Pac-12 with Arizona at 10-1, and the Ducks secured the tiebreaker by winning the only regular-season matchup between the two this season.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, head coach
On the electric home atmosphere
"Our energy level was really good because the shots were falling. And the crowd was great today. … With every three the crowd got louder. It was just a really good atmosphere."
Dillon Brooks, junior wing
On the significance of the win
"That's the best game I ever played in three years here. Guys were focused and guys were confident in their shots."
On the rarity of finding the zone as a team
"It was getting ridiculous. But guys feed off each other. One guy's hot, another guy gets hot. In this game it was like five, six, seven guys that got hot."
On playing so well against the Wildcats
"We look up to Arizona. We want to be just as good as them, a prestigious NCAA basketball team. They've got a great coach in Sean Miller, and great players. We're going to see them again."
Tyler Dorsey, sophomore guard
On moving on to Thursday's game at UCLA
"We control our own destiny now. We know we have to go on the road and it's going to be tough. We just have to battle and take one game at a time. UCLA in L.A., they're going to want to beat us. So we've got to be ready."
Notable: As a team the Ducks finished 16-of-25 from three-point range (.640), setting an arena record. Oregon was 30-of-46 overall (.652), with 26 assists on the 30 field goals. … The 27-point margin of victory was Oregon's largest ever against a top-10 team; the previous was 13 versus No. 1 UCLA (78-65) on Feb. 21, 1970. ... Brooks passed Jim Barnett (1,325/1963-66) for 17th in UO career scoring, finishing the game with 1,335 points. ... The UO student section celebrated the first Oregon basket by throwing powder into the air, a la LeBron James, though the gesture did lead to a delay while crews cleaned up the floor. … Freshman wing Keith Smith was again not in uniform, nor was his classmate M.J. Cage. … Former UO head coach Don Monson sat courtside with former UO athletic director Pat Kilkenny . … The sellout was the fifth of the season in Matthew Knight Arena, and the third in the last five home games.
Up Next: The Ducks face another matchup with national implications at UCLA on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN).
Team Stats
ARIZ
ORE
FG%
.426
.652
3FG%
.294
.640
FT%
.875
.818
RB
23
25
TO
13
14
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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