Saturday, March 2
Eugene, OR
7:00 PM
University of Oregon
17-12, 8-8
73
vs
47
Arizona
17-13, 8-9
1
2
F
Arizona
31
16
47
Oregon
31
42
73
Photo by: Samuel Marshall
Freshmen Provide Spark As Ducks Complete Sweep Of Arizona Schools
03/02/19 | Men's Basketball
Oregon posted its most lopsided home victories ever against ASU and Arizona this week, capped by a 73-47 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday.
EUGENE, Ore. — Freshmen stole the spotlight on Senior Night at Matthew Knight Arena, with Oregon's first-year players leading the way in a 73-47 victory over Arizona in which 11,339 fans watched the Ducks' final regular-season home game.
Louis King scored 14 points to lead four players in double figures for the Ducks — three of them freshmen — and keep Oregon in the running for a first-round Pac-12 Tournament bye at least one more night. Coming on the heels of Thursday's 79-51 win over ASU, the UO men posted their highest ever combined margin of victory in a home sweep of the Arizona schools, 54 points.
"Tonight was our best night of the season — even better than Thursday," UO coach Dana Altman said. "There was really a connection with all the guys. I thought it was our best: just everybody in the boat and everybody rowing the same way. I thought they did a good job."
How It Happened: The Ducks (17-12, 8-8 Pac-12) missed their first seven shots and trailed 9-0 out of the gate, but after Payton Pritchard and Kenny Wooten got them on the board, freshmen took over. Miles Norris made a three-pointer from the wing to get Oregon within 11-9, and King banked in a three from the opposite corner to cut the lead to 13-12.
Then came the key stretch of the first half, from an unlikely group. Freshmen Norris, King, Will Richardson and Francis Okoro were joined by senior Ehab Amin during a timeout, after which Oregon proceeded to score 13 straight points. Okoro bullied his way to a putback that sparked the run and tied the score at 14-14, and Richardson scored twice in transition off defensive takeaways, a steal by Amin and a block by Norris. The run also included a spectacular pump fake and drive by Norris, another three by King and a reverse layin by Amin that made it 25-14.
"These guys love playing with energy," Amin said of the freshmen during that run. "We just saw what the first group didn't really capitalize on, and coaches told us what to do. We did a good job of bringing energy and using the crowd to our advantage."
After that group was broken up, Arizona went on a 14-1 run to lead 31-28, but Paul White nailed a game-tying three just before halftime. The Wildcats then scored twice quickly out of the break to lead 35-33, but Oregon went on a 12-0 run sparked by a Pritchard three and including two physical post moves by Okoro that broke open the game. From there Arizona was content to settle for threes — the Wildcats were just 1-of-12 in the half — while Oregon kept up the pressure to run away with it.
"I think we started to see what kind of defensive team we can be," said White, one of two UO seniors playing his final game in Eugene along with Amin. "This week we were really on the same page, and it carried over."
Who Stood Out: King scored his 14 points while also tying for the team lead with seven rebounds, and Okoro capped a breakout week by following his career-high 10 rebounds Thursday with a career-best 10 points Saturday, plus seven boards. Richardson and Pritchard each had 12 points with three assists, and Pritchard matched King with four steals.
What It Means: Oregon is suddenly surging as the postseason looms in a week, and looking to keep up the momentum for the sake of a Cinderella run to a Pac-12 Tournament title — and thus an NCAA Tournament berth.
Notable: The highest previous combined margin of victory for Oregon in a home sweep of the Arizona schools was 43, by the 2001-02 team that featured Freddie Jones, Luke Jackson and Luke Ridnour. … The pregame program included the playing of the Egyptian national anthem in recognition of Amin's final game in MKA. … Recently introduced UO football defensive coordinator Andy Avalos sat courtside for the first half of the game.
Up Next: The Ducks open the final week of the regular season at Washington State on Wednesday (8 p.m., FS1).
Louis King scored 14 points to lead four players in double figures for the Ducks — three of them freshmen — and keep Oregon in the running for a first-round Pac-12 Tournament bye at least one more night. Coming on the heels of Thursday's 79-51 win over ASU, the UO men posted their highest ever combined margin of victory in a home sweep of the Arizona schools, 54 points.
"Tonight was our best night of the season — even better than Thursday," UO coach Dana Altman said. "There was really a connection with all the guys. I thought it was our best: just everybody in the boat and everybody rowing the same way. I thought they did a good job."
How It Happened: The Ducks (17-12, 8-8 Pac-12) missed their first seven shots and trailed 9-0 out of the gate, but after Payton Pritchard and Kenny Wooten got them on the board, freshmen took over. Miles Norris made a three-pointer from the wing to get Oregon within 11-9, and King banked in a three from the opposite corner to cut the lead to 13-12.
Then came the key stretch of the first half, from an unlikely group. Freshmen Norris, King, Will Richardson and Francis Okoro were joined by senior Ehab Amin during a timeout, after which Oregon proceeded to score 13 straight points. Okoro bullied his way to a putback that sparked the run and tied the score at 14-14, and Richardson scored twice in transition off defensive takeaways, a steal by Amin and a block by Norris. The run also included a spectacular pump fake and drive by Norris, another three by King and a reverse layin by Amin that made it 25-14.
"These guys love playing with energy," Amin said of the freshmen during that run. "We just saw what the first group didn't really capitalize on, and coaches told us what to do. We did a good job of bringing energy and using the crowd to our advantage."
After that group was broken up, Arizona went on a 14-1 run to lead 31-28, but Paul White nailed a game-tying three just before halftime. The Wildcats then scored twice quickly out of the break to lead 35-33, but Oregon went on a 12-0 run sparked by a Pritchard three and including two physical post moves by Okoro that broke open the game. From there Arizona was content to settle for threes — the Wildcats were just 1-of-12 in the half — while Oregon kept up the pressure to run away with it.
"I think we started to see what kind of defensive team we can be," said White, one of two UO seniors playing his final game in Eugene along with Amin. "This week we were really on the same page, and it carried over."
Who Stood Out: King scored his 14 points while also tying for the team lead with seven rebounds, and Okoro capped a breakout week by following his career-high 10 rebounds Thursday with a career-best 10 points Saturday, plus seven boards. Richardson and Pritchard each had 12 points with three assists, and Pritchard matched King with four steals.
What It Means: Oregon is suddenly surging as the postseason looms in a week, and looking to keep up the momentum for the sake of a Cinderella run to a Pac-12 Tournament title — and thus an NCAA Tournament berth.
Notable: The highest previous combined margin of victory for Oregon in a home sweep of the Arizona schools was 43, by the 2001-02 team that featured Freddie Jones, Luke Jackson and Luke Ridnour. … The pregame program included the playing of the Egyptian national anthem in recognition of Amin's final game in MKA. … Recently introduced UO football defensive coordinator Andy Avalos sat courtside for the first half of the game.
Up Next: The Ducks open the final week of the regular season at Washington State on Wednesday (8 p.m., FS1).
Team Stats
UA
ORE
FG%
.313
.443
3FG%
.333
.364
FT%
.500
.786
RB
36
36
TO
15
3
STL
3
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballOregon Men's Basketball | Who Woulda Thought - Episode 2
Monday, September 08
Oregon Men's Basketball | Who Woulda Thought - Episode 1
Friday, August 22
Dana Altman | Selection Sunday
Sunday, March 16
Keeshawn Barthelemy & Jadrian Tracey | Selection Sunday
Sunday, March 16
