National Basketball Association
Oregon 80, Arizona State 57
When: 3:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 9, 2017
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials:
# Kevin Brill, # Frank Harvey, # Chris Rastatter
Attendance:
N/A
By The Sports Xchange
LAS VEGAS -- Oregon often uses a small lineup, with Pac-12 player of the year Dillon Brooks as an undersized power forward, but that doesn't mean the Ducks can't rebound.
Fifth-ranked Oregon clamped down on defense against Arizona State in the second half Thursday, gobbling up boards and sparking transition opportunities to eventually bury the Sun Devils 80-57 in a Pac-12 tournament quarterfinal at T-Mobile Arena.
The Ducks, seeded No. 1 in the tournament, will play the winner of No. 4 seed Utah vs. No. 5 seed Cal.
"We limited them to one shot, so we were able to get a little burst there," said Oregon coach Dana Altman, whose team started the second half on a 12-2 run and finished with a 20-5 spurt.
"If we're going to play a three-guard lineup, which we have consistently -- and at times four guards -- they really have to put themselves on the boards. They've got to block out against bigger guys. They've got to stick their nose in there all the time."
Brooks scored a team-high 22 points and had seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Tyler Dorsey had 21 points and tied his career high with nine boards. Senior guard Dylan Ennis grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds.
Oregon (28-4) had a 48-29 edge on the glass as Arizona State, other than guard Torian Graham, went cold from the field.
Graham scored 32 points, hitting 11 of 24 shots, including 7 of 16 from 3-point range. He didn't have enough help, as his teammates made only three shots after halftime. The rest of ASU's usual 3-point attack -- guards Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice -- went 2 of 13 from behind the arc for the game.
"Torian, he handled himself in such a great way to finish his senior year, and he's been so good all year for us," said ASU coach Bobby Hurley. "Scoring 32 was a great way for it to end. But it's hard when it ends. It doesn't feel good."
Oregon quickly turned a three-point halftime lead into a more comfortable advantage, with Ennis hitting a driving layup 17 seconds into the half and the Ducks breaking off a 10-0 run soon after.
Arizona State, playing its second game in two days, lost its shooting legs. The Sun Devils (15-18) missed 12 of their first 13 shots from the field in the second half -- including an airball from Graham -- and fell behind 52-36 on center Chris Boucher's dunk with 13:04 left, prompting a timeout from Hurley.
"I didn't have the best plan to attack them," Hurley said. "Some of that could be a physical toll -- just not having the gear that you need to go by your man off the dribble and make a play."
Arizona State produced a final Graham-fueled flurry, as he scored 14 points in about four minutes, capped by a four-point play when he was fouled by guard Casey Benson on a 3-point make. Graham's free throw cut the lead to 60-52 with 7:17 to go.
The Ducks finished the game with a 20-5 run. Brooks and Dorsey combined for 15 of those points for Oregon.
"Just taking whatever the defense gave me," Dorsey said. "They were playing up tight, so I just swept through and got to the rim. We got on the glass tonight, which helped us a lot."
The game was close throughout the first half -- neither team led by more than five points -- with Oregon's balanced scoring offset by Graham's hot hand. He had 16 points in the half, making 4 of 5 3-point shots.
Brooks broke a deadlock in the final minute with a straightaway 3-pointer with 48 seconds to go before the break, giving the Ducks a 34-31 halftime lead.
NOTES: Oregon has won six consecutive games over Arizona State. ... Arizona State made 328 3-pointers this season, the second-most in Pac-12 history. Sun Devils G Torian Graham hit 108 from behind the arc, moving into sixth on the Pac-12 list for most in a season. ... Bobby Hurley is 30-35 in two seasons as ASU's head coach. ... Oregon F Dillon Brooks was chosen as a first-team All-American by USA Today. That's the first first-team All-American recognition for an Oregon player since G Aaron Brooks in 2007. ... Oregon, which came in averaging 6.8 blocks per game, had four. The Ducks have swatted 216 shots, closing in on the school record (221) and Pac-12 mark (224).
Top Game Performances
| Arizona State |
|
Oregon |
|
Torian Graham 32 |
Scoring |
Dillon Brooks 22 |
|
Shannon Evans II 4 |
Assists |
Dylan Ennis 5 |
|
Obinna Oleka 11 |
Rebounds |
Dylan Ennis 12 |
|
Obinna Oleka 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Dillon Brooks 5 |
|
Kodi Justice 1 |
Steals |
Jordan Bell 1 |
|
Kodi Justice 1 |
Blocks |
Jordan Bell 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Arizona State
|
57 |
31.1 |
9-29 |
10-12 |
11 |
26 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
| Oregon
|
80 |
49.2 |
8-24 |
12-19 |
16 |
45 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
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