University of Oregon
21-12
Utah
17-14
Ducks Advance to Fifth Straight Pac-12 Semifinal
03/14/19 | Men's Basketball
The Oregon men's basketball team will make an appearance in their fifth consecutive Pac-12 Tournament semifinal after upsetting third-ranked Utah, 66-54, on Thursday.
LAS VEGAS – The Ducks' astounding defense secured the first comeback win of the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament, a 66-54 upset of third-seeded Utah on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.
After trailing by six after the first 20 minutes, Oregon outscored the Utes by 18 in the second half to maintain its perfect 5-0 record against Utah in Las Vegas. Oregon now moves to the semifinals for the fifth consecutive year, the longest active streak in the Pac-12, where they will face second-seeded Arizona State tomorrow (8:30 p.m. PT, ESPN).
How It Happened: Utah's fans traveled well to the Desert, making their presence known in the opening minutes of the game. With the energy of the crowd going against the Ducks, Utah was the first to hit, getting on the board with a three at the 18:38 mark.
Freshman Louis King answered right back, knocking one down from deep to tie things up, 3-3. But after that, the Ducks struggled offensively, going one-of-nine from the floor. Thankfully, Oregon's defense kept the game close, only allowing the Utes to get up by as many as six points during their cold stretch.
Ehab Amin reeled the Ducks back in, driving in for a reverse layup to begin a 9-2 Oregon run. Amin would cap Oregon's run with a transition three to give the Ducks their only lead of the half, 14-13. But with the crowd still behind them, the Utes built their lead back up to as many as eight. Utah, however, would head into the locker room up six, 24-18, after Payton Pritchard wove his way through traffic to drop in a layup with :04 left.
The Ducks opened the second half on a 6-0 run which included two back-to-back layups by Pritchard, to tie things up 23-23. From there, Oregon and Utah went back and forth, trading baskets for the next three minutes until Pritchard took control.
Thanks to a three-point play, the junior scored five points in less than a minute to give Oregon a lead that it wouldn't surrender for the remainder of the game. The Utes continued to fight, getting back within four points , 47-43, with 4:23 left, but Paul White responded immediately with his first bucket of the game, a three to extend thee Ducks' lead back to seven.
Oregon held Utah at a comfortable distance for the remainder of the half, and was solid from the line down the stretch to secure the upset-win in Las Vegas.
Who Stood Out: Payton Pritchard had an impressive 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists … Freshman Louis King also had 20 points while adding five assists and four rebounds … Francis Okoro recorded six blocks, tying the Pac-12 Tournament record and setting a new career-high.
Notable: The Ducks have now held six consecutive opponents below 62 points. Oregon last held six consecutive opponents below 62 points early in the 1982-83 season: Rutgers (53), San Diego State (49), St. Olaf (39), Montana State (55), Idaho (56) and Lamar (41) … Utah is 6-8 in Pac-12 Tournament and 0-5 against the Ducks … In the first half of the last three games, Oregon has given up just 20.7 points per game - 18 versus Washington, 20 versus Washington State and 24 against Utah … Head coach Dana Altman ties Sean Miller for the most Pac-12 tournament wins with 17 … This is the first time this season that Utah has lost when leading at halftime after previously holding a perfect 14-0 record.No one has won more Pac-12 Tournament games in Las Vegas than Oregon. The Ducks are 15-4 since the league moved the championship to the desert in 2013 ... Oregon has won six-straight games heading into the semifinals, its longest streak of the season ... Francis Okoro tied the Pac-12 Tournament record with six blocked shots in a game, matching
Stanford's Josh Huestis (2013) and Washington's Malik Dime (2017).
Quotable:
Dana Altman, Head Coach
"Really pleased with our second half. Thought our ball movement and our ability to attack the rim and get to the basket and our transition was much better in the second half. We were really stagnant that first half … I loved our defensive effort. It kept us in the first half, and were able to find a way in the second."
Payton Pritchard, Guard
"Our defense got better in the second half, but also what coach said, our ball movement got better, we started getting lane, attacking their bigs on the ball screens, and we were spreading the floor good … This team is capable of a lot in the second half, and that's how we've got to bring it starting tomorrow from the tip."
Up Next: Oregon will face #2 Arizona State in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals on Friday (8:30 p.m., ESPN).
