MBB Recap: Oregon Ducks pick up critical 75-70 road win over Arizona State
Going into the weekend, the Oregon Ducks knew that they needed to go 1-1 on their road trip to the desert in order to keep their season alive.
Mission accomplished.
After a tough loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday night, the Ducks were able to pull out a scrappy, ugly, and hard-fought 75-70 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but it was good enough to keep Oregon’s hopes of getting an at-large bid in the NCAA March Madness Tournament alive and well.
This game was back and forth for much of the contest, and while the Ducks were able to build a 10-point lead in the second half, ASU fought hard to make it tight down the stretch, cutting the lead to one with under a minute remaining. Thanks to stellar play from N’Faly Dante in the second half, the Ducks were able to get a critical road win.
Here’s how it all went down:
Final Score: Oregon Ducks 75, Arizona State Sun Devils 70
Oregon coach Dana Altman, center, gathers his team together before the game against Stanford Feb. 10, 2022.
Eug 021022 Uo Stanford 17
Keys to the Game
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
There was a strange flow to the start of this game, with both teams going hot and cold in the early start of the half. Turnovers were prevalent, and missed shots were once again a factor for the Ducks. An early notable substitution came with Kel’el Ware acting as the first man off the bench to get N’Faly Dante just a few minutes into the game.
After going down early, the Ducks came back and took an 18-17 lead over ASU. However the Sun Devils bounced back and grabbed a 26-22 lead with 3 minutes left in the half.
It was an ugly and low-scoring first half, but the Ducks got their second three-pointer to fall just before the break with Keeshawn Barthelemy knocking one down in transition right before the buzzer, making it a 30-27 ASU lead at the half.
The Ducks carried the momentum through the break and jumped out to an early lead in the second half. A lot of that was thanks to more turnovers from Arizona State, but also some good, strong offense from N’Faly Dante and Will Richardson. Oregon opened the half on an 11-4 run that build a nice lead over the Sun Devils.
Arizona State wouldn’t go away. Oregon had a 10-point lead with 7 left to play, and the Sun Devils went on a 6-0 run during which Will Richardson picked up his fourth foul. ASU eventually made it a 2-point game with 4 minutes left before a 3-pointer from Richardson put the Ducks back up 5.
The final two minutes of this one were wild. Arizona State closed to within 2 points, and the teams traded baskets back and forth with N’Faly Dante getting what he wanted in the paint while ASU’s pressure defense gave the Ducks’ guards a lot of problems.
The final 30 seconds might have been even crazier. Oregon survived a couple of missed baskets from ASU, and despite throwing the ball away, it became clear that neither team could keep possession, which led to N’Faly Dante getting a breakaway dunk attempt that saw him get fouled and go to the free throw line. Dante got injured on the foul, though, which led to Nate Bittle taking the free throws, where he made 1 of 2 to put Oregon up 73-70 with 16 seconds remaining.
With a chance to tie the game, ASU missed a three-pointer with 4 seconds left, and the Ducks got the rebound. Jermaine Couisnard knocked down the free throws and clinched a 75-70 victory.
Players of the Game
Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports
N’Faly Dante: 18 points, 5 rebounds
Keeshawn Barthelemy: 15 points, 5 assists
Will Richardson: 14 points, 3 assists
What's next?
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Ducks head back home next week and look to host the Los Angeles schools, with USC coming to town on Thursday, and UCLA on Saturday.
