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Oregon Ducks Basketball Instant Reactions: Ducks crush the Trojans as season winds down
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- Oregon Ducks Basketball Instant Reactions: Ducks crush the Trojans as season winds down
The month is March, and the Oregon Ducks are playing their best basketball . On Saturday afternoon , the Ducks defeated the USC Trojans , 82-61, moving their record to 21-8 on the season in a definitive way.
The game wasn't a blowout from the start. After four minutes of play, Oregon trailed 15-4, USC had made six of eight shots, and the Ducks didn't have a rebound. But after Head Coach Dana Altman took a time out, Oregon's defense solidified, and the Ducks started to make shots.
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The second half began with the Ducks up, 39-34, and for the first 10 minutes of the half, USC was neck and neck with Oregon. But when Ducks guard Keeshawn Barthelemy started to knock down threes in the final quarter of play, his teammates followed his lead, and the Ducks began to pull away.
Oregon has two games left in the regular season, hosting Indiana on Tuesday, and heading up to Washington next Sunday. After that, the Ducks will play in the Big Ten tournament and then, the NCAA tournament.
Oregon vs USC Keys to the Game
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After finishing the first 1/7 from three-point range, the Ducks started hitting the deep ball in the second half, led by Keeshawn Barthelemy who shot 4/5 (80%) from deep in the second half. As a team, Oregon shot 9/20 (45%) from three in the second half.
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After switching and rotating too much on defense to start the game, Oregon tightened up its one-on-one defense and started fighting over screens. The Trojans made a flurry of threes to start the game, but after the Ducks adjusted their defense, USC had a much harder time finding the basket.
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Down the stretch Oregon's rim protection was impenetrable. In the last 11 minutes of the game, the Ducks blocked five USC shots. Nate Bittle had four by himself, and Kwame Evans had perhaps the most impressive as he flew across the paint in help defense to send a USC layup off the backboard.
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USC was able to stay in the game for a while in part due to Oregon not boxing out well on defense. USC finished with 16 offensive boards and scored 13 second-chance points.
Oregon vs USC Players of the Game
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Jackson Shelstad :19 points, 8/15 FGs, 3/6 3Ps, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
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Keeshawn Barthelemy: 20 points, 8/10 FGs, 4/6 3Ps, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
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Nate Bittle: 15 points, 6/10 FGs, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 blocks, 1 steal
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KJ Evans: 8 points, 3/8 FGs, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal
Oregon vs USC Notable Stats
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The Ducks were at their best in transition on Saturday, scoring 16 fastbreak points to USC's eight. A big part of that was Oregon's ability to generate turnovers, forcing 16 Trojan cough-ups, and scoring 19 points off of them.
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After starting the game ice cold from the field, the Ducks played an efficient game overall, shooting 48% from the field and 37% from three. In contrast, the Trojans fell to 34% from the field and 23% from three after having hot hands to start.
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The Ducks finished 59.1% on shots at the rim, while USC was 40.7%. A big factor in that difference was Nate Bittle and KJ Evans' combined seven blocks.
What's Next for the Oregon Ducks
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Mar 4. — Indiana Hoosiers
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Mar. 9 — at Washington Huskies
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Mar. 12-16 — Big Ten Championship Tournament
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With just two games to go in the regular season, the Ducks are in strong position to make the NCAA tournament, but those final two games and the Big Ten tournament could have a major impact on their seeding in the Big Dance. Finishing the season with two more wins, plus a decent run in the conference championship would set the Ducks up nicely for March Madness.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Ducks Basketball comes alive down the stretch to beat USC
