Friday, March 10
Las Vegas, Nev.
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
29-4
73
vs
65
California
21-12
1
2
F
Cal
33
32
65
Oregon
36
37
73
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Ducks Swat Away Cal's Upset Bid, Move On To Pac-12 Final
03/10/17 | Men's Basketball
Tyler Dorsey's offense and Jordan Bell's defense propelled No. 5 Oregon to a 73-65 win Friday over Cal, and into Saturday's final (8 p.m., ESPN).
LAS VEGAS — Oregon is headed to the Pac-12 Tournament final for the third straight season after the fifth-ranked and top-seeded Ducks held off California, 73-65, on Friday in the first of two semifinal games at T-Mobile Arena. The UO men will play in Saturday's final (8 p.m., ESPN) against the winner of Friday's second semifinal between UCLA and Arizona.
How It Happened: The Ducks (29-4) battled through an off night for Pac-12 player of the year Dillon Brooks thanks to the shooting of Tyler Dorsey and the defense of Jordan Bell. Dorsey surpassed 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time this season, scoring 23, while Bell collected 14 of his 15 rebounds on the defensive end and also blocked five shots.
Cal (21-12) came into the night facing its third game in three days, and was further hampered when starter Jabari Bird was lost for the game with a head injury after falling over Bell and to the floor on the third possession of the game. But the Golden Bears got a combined 8-of-11 three-point shooting performance from Grant Mullins and Charlie Moore to make a game of it regardless.
Mullins hit a three to put Cal up 29-24 late in the first half, but Oregon answered with a 12-2 run and led 36-33 at the break. The Ducks seemed poised to carry over that momentum and break the game open, but Brooks picked up his third and fourth fouls just after halftime, and spent the next 12 minutes on the bench.
Brooks' fourth foul was the first of five on Oregon on the same possession, and Cal hit two free throws to get within 40-37. The Ducks answered with nine straight to go up 49-37, and a Dorsey three-pointer moments later gave them their biggest lead, 54-41. The Golden Bears dug deep to get back within single digits the rest of the way, and closed within three at 66-63 on an Ivan Rabb baseline jumper with about three minutes left.
The teams traded empty possessions until Brooks made a free throw for a four-point lead. After Dorsey and Bell couldn't corral a defensive rebound and Cal got new life at the other end, Moore made two free throws and it was 67-65. But Dylan Ennis completed a three-point play at the other end, the Bears didn't score again and the Ducks tacked on three more points at the free-throw line.
Who Stood Out: Dorsey made 9-of-13 overall and 5-of-6 from three to get his 23 points. Ennis had another well-rounded effort with 16 points, five assists and four rebounds. Brooks and Chris Boucher each scored 10, and Bell had six points to go along with his career-high-tying 15 rebounds and five blocks.
What It Means: The Ducks are in the Pac-12 Tournament final not only for the third year in a row, but the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, head coach
On his thoughts overall
"Cal really got after us. Mullins had a great game hitting five threes, and really kept that thing close. We weren't very sharp offensively; a lot of individual plays that got our ball movement stopped and got us out of sync. But they had a lot to do with that, did the same thing at their place. So we're fortunate to move on. In tournament play, all the games aren't going to go as smoothly as you want. You have to grind some out, and that happened today."
Tyler Dorsey, sophomore guard
On the keys to another big night
"My teammates were finding me in great positions, and I was just spotting up. My man left me and I just stepped into the shots. … We knew the ball was pretty stagnant the whole first half. We just had to move the ball — move it side to side and then dish and find our teammates. We started doing that in the second half, and that's how we got our offensive flow."
Jordan Bell, junior forward
On Oregon winning the rebound battle
"It means a lot, because every time we play these guys we get outrebounded. It shows that I really tried to play hard today; getting 15 is hard. And with how we've been getting outrebounded in the last few games, it definitely means a lot."
Cuonzo Martin, Cal coach
On Dorsey's big night with Bird unable to defend him
"He's a good player. They have good players around him, so you give up something to those guys. That's what talented teams have, multiple guys. … It was his night tonight. He played well."
Notable: Oregon's seven blocks gave the Ducks 223 for the season, surpassing the previous school record of 221 set last season. … The Ducks need two more blocks to surpass the Pac-12 record of 224 set last season by Washington. … This is the fifth time in seven seasons under Dana Altman that Oregon has set a school record for blocks. ... Brooks tied Aaron Brooks (2003-07) for 12th in UO career scoring with 1,511 points.
Up Next: The Ducks face UCLA or Arizona on Saturday in the tournament final (8 p.m., ESPN).
How It Happened: The Ducks (29-4) battled through an off night for Pac-12 player of the year Dillon Brooks thanks to the shooting of Tyler Dorsey and the defense of Jordan Bell. Dorsey surpassed 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time this season, scoring 23, while Bell collected 14 of his 15 rebounds on the defensive end and also blocked five shots.
Cal (21-12) came into the night facing its third game in three days, and was further hampered when starter Jabari Bird was lost for the game with a head injury after falling over Bell and to the floor on the third possession of the game. But the Golden Bears got a combined 8-of-11 three-point shooting performance from Grant Mullins and Charlie Moore to make a game of it regardless.
Mullins hit a three to put Cal up 29-24 late in the first half, but Oregon answered with a 12-2 run and led 36-33 at the break. The Ducks seemed poised to carry over that momentum and break the game open, but Brooks picked up his third and fourth fouls just after halftime, and spent the next 12 minutes on the bench.
Brooks' fourth foul was the first of five on Oregon on the same possession, and Cal hit two free throws to get within 40-37. The Ducks answered with nine straight to go up 49-37, and a Dorsey three-pointer moments later gave them their biggest lead, 54-41. The Golden Bears dug deep to get back within single digits the rest of the way, and closed within three at 66-63 on an Ivan Rabb baseline jumper with about three minutes left.
The teams traded empty possessions until Brooks made a free throw for a four-point lead. After Dorsey and Bell couldn't corral a defensive rebound and Cal got new life at the other end, Moore made two free throws and it was 67-65. But Dylan Ennis completed a three-point play at the other end, the Bears didn't score again and the Ducks tacked on three more points at the free-throw line.
Who Stood Out: Dorsey made 9-of-13 overall and 5-of-6 from three to get his 23 points. Ennis had another well-rounded effort with 16 points, five assists and four rebounds. Brooks and Chris Boucher each scored 10, and Bell had six points to go along with his career-high-tying 15 rebounds and five blocks.
What It Means: The Ducks are in the Pac-12 Tournament final not only for the third year in a row, but the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, head coach
On his thoughts overall
"Cal really got after us. Mullins had a great game hitting five threes, and really kept that thing close. We weren't very sharp offensively; a lot of individual plays that got our ball movement stopped and got us out of sync. But they had a lot to do with that, did the same thing at their place. So we're fortunate to move on. In tournament play, all the games aren't going to go as smoothly as you want. You have to grind some out, and that happened today."
Tyler Dorsey, sophomore guard
On the keys to another big night
"My teammates were finding me in great positions, and I was just spotting up. My man left me and I just stepped into the shots. … We knew the ball was pretty stagnant the whole first half. We just had to move the ball — move it side to side and then dish and find our teammates. We started doing that in the second half, and that's how we got our offensive flow."
Jordan Bell, junior forward
On Oregon winning the rebound battle
"It means a lot, because every time we play these guys we get outrebounded. It shows that I really tried to play hard today; getting 15 is hard. And with how we've been getting outrebounded in the last few games, it definitely means a lot."
Cuonzo Martin, Cal coach
On Dorsey's big night with Bird unable to defend him
"He's a good player. They have good players around him, so you give up something to those guys. That's what talented teams have, multiple guys. … It was his night tonight. He played well."
Notable: Oregon's seven blocks gave the Ducks 223 for the season, surpassing the previous school record of 221 set last season. … The Ducks need two more blocks to surpass the Pac-12 record of 224 set last season by Washington. … This is the fifth time in seven seasons under Dana Altman that Oregon has set a school record for blocks. ... Brooks tied Aaron Brooks (2003-07) for 12th in UO career scoring with 1,511 points.
Up Next: The Ducks face UCLA or Arizona on Saturday in the tournament final (8 p.m., ESPN).
Team Stats
CAL
ORE
FG%
.431
.429
3FG%
.533
.412
FT%
.619
.783
RB
32
34
TO
11
10
STL
2
4
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
9
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballDana Altman | Postgame vs. USC
Wednesday, December 03
Dana Altman: "We'll get better."
Monday, December 01
Dana Altman: "It's an important stretch."
Friday, November 21
Oregon Men's Basketball vs. Oregon State | GAME HIGHLIGHTS (2025)
Tuesday, November 18
