Postseason At Hand After Overtime Win At UW

Sunday, March 9

Seattle, WA

12:00 PM

University of Oregon

23-8,12-8Big Ten

Washington

13-18,4-16Big Ten

OT 1

Oregon

Washington

Photo by: GoDucks.com

03/09/25 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Oregon will take a seven-game win streak into the postseason after beating Washington on the road Sunday behind 36 points from Nate Bittle.

By: Rob Moseley

SEATTLE — A hot start gave way to a tough battle for the Oregon men's basketball team Sunday, but the Ducks capitalized on a career day from Nate Bittle to beat Washington in overtime and take a seven-game winning streak into the postseason.

Bittle scored 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting and added 12 rebounds, and Kwame Evans Jr. recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds as Oregon closed out the regular season with an 80-73 victory over the Huskies. The UO men open the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, having earned a first-round bye as the No. 8 seed.

"Nate did an unbelievable job — what a performance," UO coach Dana Altman said. "KJ, wow was he good. Those two guys gave us some separation there and did a tremendous job."

Evans bounced back from two missed free throws late in regulation by making two to open scoring in overtime, as Oregon scored the first five points of the extra period. A putback that gave Evans his double-double put the Ducks up 75-70, and a basket by Jadrian Tracey with 1:35 to play gave Oregon a 77-71 lead that was too much for UW to overcome.

Keeshawn Barthelemy added 14 points for the Ducks, and TJ Bamba scored 10. Oregon finished the regular season with a 23-8 record, and went 12-8 in its first season of conference play in the Big Ten.

How It Happened: The Ducks made their first seven shots of the game, six by Bittle — including a three-pointer followed by a three-point play for an early 16-6 lead. The only field goal of regulation for Jackson Shelstad got the lead back to 10 at 18-8 before the Huskies began to claw back.

Washington outscored Oregon over the next six minutes, 13-5, to get back with three. The Ducks responded with a 7-2 run capped by another Bittle three-point play for a 30-23 lead, before UW rallied back within three at halftime, 36-33.

At that point Bittle had 21 points, which was two off his career high. He tied that with Oregon's first bucket of the second half, then broke it with a three-pointer for a 41-35 lead.

A pair of three-pointers for UW gave the Huskies their first lead of the second half at 49-48, before Bittle and Barthelemy hit threes moments later that put the Ducks back up, 56-51.

The Ducks had the lead back to five late, after a three-pointer by Barthelemy and a basket for Bamba made it 66-61. But UW scored six straight to retake the lead. Bittle's last bucket of regulation put Oregon up 68-67, but UW tied it with a free throw and the Ducks missed a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds, sending the game to overtime.

Notable: Bittle's 36 points are the most by an Oregon player since Jermaine Couisnard scored 40 in last season's NCAA Tournament. His 21 points in the first half were the most by an Oregon player in the first half of a game since Payton Pritchard scored 20 in the first half at Arizona on 2/22/20. He joins Luke Jackson as the only Oregon players with at least 36 points and 12 rebounds in a game for the Ducks since at least 1996-97. Kwame Evans Jr. recorded his first-career double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.

Up Next: The Ducks face Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday (9 a.m., BTN).