Ducks Take on Buckeyes in Title Game

SAN DIEGO — After taking down 17^th-ranked Arkansas, No. 16 Oregon looks to claim the San Diego Invitational title Wednesday, as the Ducks take on No. 3 Ohio State at 3:30 p.m. PT at Pechanga Arena.

Oregon head coach Kelly Graves collected the 200^th victory of his Oregon career in the 85-78 win over the Razorbacks. He is the second Ducks head coach to reach the 200-win milestone.

Grace VanSlooten, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, matched her career high with 26 points against the Razorbacks. Endyia Rogers dropped 20 points and Te-Hina Paopao added 12, as the Ducks overcame a seven-point, fourth-quarter deficit.

GAME #12
No. 16 Oregon (10-1) vs. No. 3 Ohio State (12-0)
Wednesday, Dec. 21 | 3:30 p.m. PT | Pechanga Arena (San Diego, Calif.)
TV: FloHoops
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM/590 AM)
Play-by-play: Terry Jonz
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon is part of a stacked four-team field at the San Diego Invitational, which got underway Tuesday at Pechanga Arena. The Ducks will take on No. 3 Ohio State after defeating 17th-ranked Arkansas 85-78 to begin the two-day event.

The win, which was Oregon's first over a top-25 team this season, marked the 200th win in head coach Kelly Graves' Oregon career. He became just the second Duck head coach to reach the 200-win milestone.

The Buckeyes will mark UO's third top-25 opponent this season, and second straight. Oregon seeks its first win over a top-five team since Feb. 24, 2020, when the Ducks took down No. 4 Stanford 74-66.

The two-day tournament signals the end of the Ducks' non-conference schedule, as UO will return to Matthew Knight Arena on Dec. 30 to host UCLA. Earlier this month, Oregon defeated rival Oregon State 75-67, earning its fifth Pac-12-opening win over the last six seasons.

LAST TIME OUT
The Ducks extended their season-long winning streak to six games with an 85-78 win over No. 17 Arkansas, picking up their first ranked win of the season. Grace VanSlooten matched her career high with 26 points while Endyia Rogers added 20.

Oregon overcame a seven-point, fourth-quarter deficit to earn the win in the semifinal round. UO put up 30 points in the final frame, getting two clutch 3-pointers from freshman Chance Gray. Phillipina Kyei grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
Ohio State overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat South Florida in overtime, 88-86. The Buckeyes got a career-high 30 points from Cotie McMahon on 10-of-18 shooting. Taylor Thierry added 23 points while Madison Greene finished with 14.

On the season, OSU is averaging 89.8 points a game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field. Taylor Mikesell leads the team with 17.5 points per game.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oregon and Ohio State will meet for just the fourth time Wednesday. OSU holds a 2-1 series lead, with the last meeting coming on Dec. 18, 2004, as the Buckeyes came away with a 73-58 win in Eugene.

OSU will mark the second team from the Big Ten the Ducks have faced. UO defeated Northwestern at Matthew Knight Arena in the season opener 100-57.

OREGON vs. RANKED TEAMS
No. 3 Ohio State marks the second straight top-25 opponent Oregon will face, and third in total this season. The Ducks 85-78 win over 17th-ranked Arkansas was UO's first of the season and 44th under head coach Kelly Graves. Graves owns 44 career wins against ranked teams in his Oregon career. A season ago, the Ducks collected a pair of top-10 wins, including a 68-66 win over No. 7 Arizona. The Ducks have picked up 16 victories over teams in the nation's top 10 in Graves' tenure, with seven coming in the 2019-20 campaign.

THE "O" STANDS FOR OFFENSE
Oregon's 119.0 offensive efficiency rating (points per 100 possessions) is the third-highest mark in the country and second-best in the Pac-12 behind only Utah at 122.1. The Ducks' 85.4 points per game rank as the ninth-best mark in the country and second-highest in the conference.

UO has scored at least 75 points in 10 of 11 outings while reaching the 90-point mark four times, including a 97-point effort on Sunday against College of Charleston. Under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves, the Ducks are 52-0 when scoring at least 90 points. This season, Oregon is 4-0 when reaching the 90-point plateau, surpassing the total number of 90-point efforts during the 2021-22 and 2020-21 seasons (three games each). At Matthew Knight Arena this season, the Ducks are averaging 86.6 points per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from behind the arc.

In 11 games, six different players have led the Ducks in scoring this season after Ahlise Hurst, Te-Hina Paopao and Endyia Rogers each led UO with 15 points against Charleston. Grace VanSlooten has finished as the team's leading scorer (or tied) a team-best four times, while Paopao and Rogers have each done so three times.