Thursday, February 22
Eugene, OR
8:30 PM
University of Oregon
18-10, 8-7
75
vs
68
Arizona State
19-8, 7-8
1
2
F
Arizona State
40
28
68
Oregon
43
32
75
Photo by: Eric Evans Photography/ University of Oregon
Resilient Ducks Shut Down Devils, 75-68
02/22/18 | Men's Basketball
Coming off two hard-fought losses in Los Angeles, Oregon showed its toughness by clamping down defensively and getting back on track with a win Friday over ASU.
EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon men's basketball team fought back from an early deficit, then put the hammer down defensively to bounce back from a sweep in Los Angeles the week before and beat Arizona State on Thursday, 75-68, before 9,940 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks (18-10, 8-7 Pac-12) went to a press defense late in the first half to take a lead into halftime, then held the Sun Devils to 28 points on 28.6 percent shooting in the second half. "Defensively we got hands on balls, and Kenny (Wooten) was in there deflecting and blocking shots," sophomore guard Payton Pritchard said. "We just didn't give them any easy ones."
How It Happened: Arizona State (19-8, 7-8) made 3-of-4 three-point attempts to open the game, jumping out to a 13-8 lead. Two jumpers by Remy Martin made it 17-10, and two free throws by Martin had the Sun Devils up 21-15. The Ducks then made five straight stops, two of them blocks by Wooten, and got within 21-19 when Pritchard grabbed a rebound, hung in the air and it put it back for two points.
ASU led 24-19 when Oregon fought into the lead with an 8-0 run capped by a reverse layin from MiKyle McIntosh. Fueled by their press, the Ducks used another run of seven unanswered to go up 36-28. Though ASU tied it up twice late in the first half, the Sun Devils never led again. Oregon opened the second half with a 10-0 run — the first seven by Elijah Brown — and though ASU briefly closed within three at 55-52, the Ducks kept up the defensive pressure and used a Paul White three to go on another 7-0 run and lead comfortably again.
Who Stood Out: Brown led the Ducks with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and added a season-high seven rebounds. McIntosh added 16 points with five rebounds, and White scored 11 while grabbing six rebounds. Troy Brown Jr. filled it up with nine points, three rebounds and four assists, Pritchard added nine points, five rebounds and six assists, and Wooten blocked four shots.
Elijah Brown's team-high performance stood out for the means by which it was achieved. He took just four three-pointers out of 12 attempts; typically his attempts have skewed heavily to the three-point line, where Brown had attempted 67.3 of his shots overall this season and 72.7 percent in the last five games.
In going 6-of-8 on two-points attempts, he also significantly improved his efficiency from inside the arc, after making 51.6 percent of his two-point attempts entering the game, and just 40 percent in the last five games. "The more I'm able to mix my game up, the more the three will open up," Brown said. "It's never too late; we've still got some season left. But I feel like I figured that out tonight."
What It Means: For the second time this season, the Ducks recovered from a low point by knocking off the Sun Devils. In January, Oregon won at Arizona State after a loss at Oregon State, and now the Ducks have bounced back from the losses in Los Angeles.
Up Next: The Ducks close out the 2017-18 home slate when they host No. 14 Arizona on Saturday (7:15 p.m., ESPN).
The Ducks (18-10, 8-7 Pac-12) went to a press defense late in the first half to take a lead into halftime, then held the Sun Devils to 28 points on 28.6 percent shooting in the second half. "Defensively we got hands on balls, and Kenny (Wooten) was in there deflecting and blocking shots," sophomore guard Payton Pritchard said. "We just didn't give them any easy ones."
How It Happened: Arizona State (19-8, 7-8) made 3-of-4 three-point attempts to open the game, jumping out to a 13-8 lead. Two jumpers by Remy Martin made it 17-10, and two free throws by Martin had the Sun Devils up 21-15. The Ducks then made five straight stops, two of them blocks by Wooten, and got within 21-19 when Pritchard grabbed a rebound, hung in the air and it put it back for two points.
HIGHLIGHTS | Take a look at some of the Ducks' best moments from their 75-68 win over ASU tonight! #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/qm1zlFHERZ
— Oregon Men's Basketball (@OregonMBB) February 23, 2018
ASU led 24-19 when Oregon fought into the lead with an 8-0 run capped by a reverse layin from MiKyle McIntosh. Fueled by their press, the Ducks used another run of seven unanswered to go up 36-28. Though ASU tied it up twice late in the first half, the Sun Devils never led again. Oregon opened the second half with a 10-0 run — the first seven by Elijah Brown — and though ASU briefly closed within three at 55-52, the Ducks kept up the defensive pressure and used a Paul White three to go on another 7-0 run and lead comfortably again.
Who Stood Out: Brown led the Ducks with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and added a season-high seven rebounds. McIntosh added 16 points with five rebounds, and White scored 11 while grabbing six rebounds. Troy Brown Jr. filled it up with nine points, three rebounds and four assists, Pritchard added nine points, five rebounds and six assists, and Wooten blocked four shots.
Elijah Brown's team-high performance stood out for the means by which it was achieved. He took just four three-pointers out of 12 attempts; typically his attempts have skewed heavily to the three-point line, where Brown had attempted 67.3 of his shots overall this season and 72.7 percent in the last five games.
In going 6-of-8 on two-points attempts, he also significantly improved his efficiency from inside the arc, after making 51.6 percent of his two-point attempts entering the game, and just 40 percent in the last five games. "The more I'm able to mix my game up, the more the three will open up," Brown said. "It's never too late; we've still got some season left. But I feel like I figured that out tonight."
What It Means: For the second time this season, the Ducks recovered from a low point by knocking off the Sun Devils. In January, Oregon won at Arizona State after a loss at Oregon State, and now the Ducks have bounced back from the losses in Los Angeles.
Up Next: The Ducks close out the 2017-18 home slate when they host No. 14 Arizona on Saturday (7:15 p.m., ESPN).
Team Stats
ASU
ORE
FG%
.386
.413
3FG%
.333
.250
FT%
.889
.826
RB
32
40
TO
8
7
STL
1
5
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
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