Civil War On Tap Thursday In Vegas

Thursday, March 12

Las Vegas, NV

12:00 PM

University of Oregon

Oregon State

03/11/20 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley

Game Notes: Pac-12 Quarterfinal

The No. 13 Oregon men's basketball team will face Oregon State in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday.

By: Rob Moseley

LAS VEGAS — Turns out, the Oregon men's basketball team travelled nearly a thousand miles to play a Pac-12 Tournament game against the team from just up the road.

The No. 13 Ducks will open the conference tournament against their Civil War rivals from Oregon State on Thursday (noon PT, Pac-12 Network). The eighth-seeded Beavers beat ninth-seeded Utah with a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the opening round Wednesday, and advanced to face No. 1 seed Oregon in the quarterfinals.

Oregon and OSU split their regular-season series, each winning at home. The Ducks lost in Corvallis on Feb. 8 while playing without big men Francis Okoro and N'Faly Dante; the UO men have gone 6-1 since then, including a 69-54 win in Eugene on Feb. 27 with both Okoro and Dante back in action.

"We'll just go play and hope that we're able to survive that first game," UO coach Dana Altman said earlier this week, before the Ducks' first-round opponent was known. "And then the adrenaline kicks in, and we can go from there. But we will have a tough game."

For the second year in a row, the Ducks enter the Pac-12 Tournament on a four-game win streak. A year ago, Oregon allowed 62 points in the second half of a loss at UCLA, rallied together in the wake of that defeat, won four games in four days to win the conference tournament and made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

This year's Ducks last lost Feb. 20 at Arizona State, the only time since February dawned that Oregon has allowed more than 70 points in regulation.

"I feel like we're playing pretty well as a team, and individually," sophomore guard Will Richardson said. "We're finally getting the hang of (the fact) defense is what's gonna help us win games — and rebounding. So I feel like we feel pretty good going into the tournament."

It also helps to have an all-American leading the way, in point guard Payton Pritchard. A key to last season's late run with his defense and distribution on offense, Pritchard has been torching the nets all season to lead the Pac-12 with 20.5 points per game and rocket up NBA draft projections.

Pritchard agreed with Richardson that Oregon is in a good spot entering this Pac-12 Tournament, as was the case a year ago. But these Ducks want to write their own story — one with a couple extra chapters.

"It's a new team," Pritchard said. "We're gonna try to make a whole new run, and make something different happen."

Should they reach Friday's semifinals, Oregon would face USC, Arizona or Washington. Each of those rosters is littered with NBA-level talent, even if it didn't translate to consistent success through the rigors of the regular season.

"I like feeling good going into a tournament, going in on a win," Altman said. "How we make that develop, grow, is totally up to (the players). But they'll be ready to play."
The Ducks were ready at this time a year ago, and reaped the rewards. On Thursday they'll try to repeat that feat.

"The three guys that were with us a year ago that were part of it, they know the excitement that generates, and how much fun it was," Altman said. "It still boils down to, the college guys want to have some fun. Last year in Vegas, those four days, I saw growth in our team, but also the camaraderie and the fun that playing with the pressure on was.

"That's why you go play college ball; you want the opportunity to go on and play (professionally), but while you're here, have some fun. You know, enjoy it. Tournaments can be a heck of a lot of fun."