6. Oregon Ducks (10-6, 1-2 Pac-12) LW: 7
For plenty reasons, Oregon could have thrown this season in the rearview mirror. But after a 21-point rout of USC, Dana Altman’s team proved it won’t settle at the end of the pack.
Led by five-star freshman Louis King, the Ducks executed their most complete performance in a month. Effective ball movement led to 16 assists on 29 shots, including a season high of 13 three-pointers, to amass a 81-60 victory, the team’s first in Pac-12 play.
While King and Paul White each had 19 points, Sunday’s win was most beneficial for Payton Pritchard. The junior guard only had nine points, but broke out of a 6-of-32 slump from the previous three contests by shooting 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 3-of-6 overall.
Defensively, Oregon pounced on USC’s weakened rotation. Without star freshman Kevin Porter Jr. to space the floor, the Trojans shot 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from beyond the arc, failing to create plays away from Bennie Boatwright, Nick Rakocevic and Jonah Mathews.
The victory rectified Thursday’s result – a devastating 87-84 overtime loss to UCLA. Leading by nine with a minute to go and as much as 17, the Ducks’ lack of execution allowed the Bruins to make a comeback in the closing seconds.
The week’s split gave Oregon its first win since Dec. 29, but it’s easy to see how they feel one got away. Regardless, competitive outings without Bol Bol, Abu Kigab and Kenny Wooten should give the Duck faithful hope for the rest of the season.
The Ducks travel to the southwest this week to face the Arizona schools. They’ll do battle with Arizona tomorrow night before facing Arizona State on Saturday.