Ducks Complete Sweep Of Utes

Saturday, January 28

Eugene, OR

5:00 PM

University of Oregon

13-9,7-4Pac-12

Utah

15-8,8-4Pac-12

Utah

Oregon

Photo by: Molly McPherson

01/28/23 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Oregon followed a win in Utah earlier this month with a victory over the Utes on Saturday in Matthew Knight Arena.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Kicking off a stretch of five games against fellow conference contenders for NCAA Tournament bids, the Oregon men's basketball team completed a season sweep of Utah on Saturday, 68-56, before 8,228 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks (13-9, 7-4 Pac-12) entered Saturday tied for fifth in the conference standings, and scheduled to face all five Pac-12 foes tied with or above them over the next five games. They kicked off that stretch with Saturday's win, and now head to the desert looking to complete a season sweep of Arizona on Thursday.

"We've just gotta build — come together more and keep building," senior guard Jermaine Couisnard said after scoring a game-high 18 points against the Utes. "… We know what we're facing. We've got an older group, so we just take it day by day and try to get better."

Will Richardson added 12 points Saturday and three other Ducks scored nine each, including N'Faly Dante, who also grabbed 10 rebounds in his return from a one-game absence due to injury. Oregon entered the day tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with Arizona State, which lost at Washington State, putting the Ducks alone in fifth entering next week's road trip.

"We're gonna have to play our tails off; everybody knows that," said UO coach Dana Altman, who won his 150th career Pac-12 game Saturday, becoming the 11th coach overall to reach that mark and the sixth fastest, in 229 games. "We need to go down and make up some group, and hopefully our guys will be ready for that."

How It Happened: The Ducks used a couple of stifling defensive stretches to win Saturday, holding Utah without a field goal for a 10-minute stretch of the first half and for nine minutes in the second half. The Utes led 11-9 with 14:38 left in the first half before proceeding to miss their next 11 shots; Dante tied the game with a dunk and Quincy Guerrier hit a go-ahead three, and the Ducks never trailed again.

Ducks are flyin' high ?? @OregonMBB tops Utah for 11th straight time to register back-to-back wins this weekend. ??

Catch the highlights ?? pic.twitter.com/T46XaMmRQf
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 29, 2023

Those buckets sparked what ended up being an 18-3 run while Utah failed to make a basket. The Ducks hit seven field goals during the run, by six different players. By the end of the night, nine different Ducks played at least nine minutes, and five UO men scored at least nine points.

"We've got some depth, and this is the time of year it really can be beneficial to use that depth," Altman said.

Oregon led 36-25 at halftime, and it was 52-42 with 11:01 left in the game when the Utes went 9:01 between field goals and missed nine straight attempts. The Ducks got their lead to as much as 16 three different times during that stretch, much of it played while junior Lök Wur was on the floor; Wur was scoreless Saturday, but the Ducks were plus-17 on the scoreboard during his 12 minutes, as his defensive activity contributed to a Utah cold spell that Oregon's players recognized in the flow of play.

"When we string a bunch of stops together, that becomes obvious," Wur said "Our focus was defense tonight."

The Utes finally got another shot to drop and mounted an 8-0 run to get back within eight at 62-54, but Richardson hit a three in the final minute when he was just looking to avoid a shot-clock violation, reminiscent of Dillon Brooks against Duke in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Notable: Oregon's Holiday Bowl champion football program was honored during a timeout in the first half. … Brennan Rigsby's three-pointer in the first half was his first field goal since Jan. 12, as the Ducks have spread minutes around more with the return to health of some other guards. … Richardson is up to 456 assists in his career, two behind Johnathan Loyd for sixth all-time at Oregon. … Richardson has played in 137 games for the Ducks, fourth-most in school history behind Loyd and Payton Pritchard with 144, and E.J. Singler with 142.

Quotable:
Head coach Dana Altman on a talk he had with Dante on Saturday morning
"Just a class move, came up to my office this morning and (said), 'Coach, I'm gonna play, but start the same team; I'll come off the bench. We played good (on Thursday), so just bring me off the bench.' He didn't have to do that. One guy who's really thinking about the team."

Junior forward Lök Wur on staying ready despite reduced minutes in recent weeks
"I just knew to keep my head up off the floor, and stay ready. I just stayed in the gym and believed I was going to get another opportunity and (wanted) to make the most of it. … It just feels great to know I went out there and made an impact positively. We were able to make a run. It was big, feels good."

Up Next: The Ducks play at Arizona on Thursday (7:30 p.m., ESPN).