Friday, March 17
Sacramento, Calif.
11:00 AM
University of Oregon
30-5
93
vs
77
Iona
22-13
1
2
F
Iona
37
40
77
Oregon
55
38
93
Photo by: GoDucks.com
On To The Second Round
03/17/17 | Men's Basketball
Oregon beat Iona, 93-77 on Friday, to win in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season.
SACRAMENTO — The Oregon men won their opening game in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row Friday, pulling away from Iona late in the first half and going on to win 93-77 at the Golden 1 Center. The Ducks moved on to face Rhode Island, which defeated Creighton.
Oregon, the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, moved to 30-5 on the season, just the third time in school history the Ducks have reached 30 wins. They can tie last year's school record of 31 victories with a run in Sunday's second round.
How It Happened: The Ducks were tested early by the Gaels' diversity on offense, but Iona was no match for Oregon on the glass or defensively and the UO men soon pulled away. Oregon was up 55-37 at halftime, then jumped out to a 65-38 advantage early in the second half, with Payton Pritchard scoring eight of the first 10 points in the half.
The Gaels (22-13) were undeterred early despite being underdogs. Forward Jordan Washington scored 14 of their first 18 points to keep Iona within 23-18, and then the Gaels got hot from three to close within 29-28. But from there, Oregon closed the first half on a 26-9 run, at one point making five straight baskets, the last a Pritchard three-pointer for a 55-37 lead at the half.
After the Ducks went up 65-38 out of the break, Iona scored nine straight to get within 65-47. Oregon answered with eight straight of its own, with Pritchard setting up Casey Benson for a layin on the fastbreak for a 73-47 lead. It was 77-54 when Deyshonee Much of Iona got hot from three; scoreless at the midway point of the second half, he made five three-pointers over the next several minutes to get the Gaels back within as few as 13. But a Tyler Dorsey three-pointer with about three minutes left stopped Iona's momentum, giving Oregon a 91-75 lead.
Who Stood Out: Dorsey continued his hot streak from the conference tournament, scoring a game-high 24 to surpass 20 points for the fourth time in four postseason games. Dillon Brooks added 18 points with four rebounds and four assists, and Jordan Bell provided his seventh double-double this season, 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with 12 rebounds. The duo of Pritchard and Benson, coming off a quiet Pac-12 Tournament, combined for 25 points with five three-pointers, and Ennis continued to fill up the stat sheet with five points, seven rebounds and three assists.
What It Means: The Ducks entered Friday as one of five teams to win a game in each of the last four tournaments; Gonzaga extended its streak Thursday, Oregon matched that Friday afternoon and Kansas, North Carolina and Wichita State had a chance to do so later in the day.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, head coach
To the team in the postgame locker room
"A lot of good things. The only disappointing thing is, we got a big lead and gave up some easy baskets. And then the ball movement — when we got that big lead, you guys moved it nice, got a lot of easy baskets. When we got it hung up, we weren't as effective. It's about survive and advance, but you've got to learn from it too."
Dillon Brooks, junior wing
On how the team handled its tournament opener
"We handled it pretty well. We've seen teams can get it going, so everybody had to show up. Guys were confident, knocking down shots, and it was a great first game for everybody."
Payton Pritchard, freshman guard
On rediscovering his shooting stroke
"The Pac-12 tournament I was obviously down on myself; I didn't look for my shot much. I had a great week of practice, made some shots and just tried to be ready when my number was called."
Notable: Bell improved his career total to 60 rebounds in the NCAA tournament, breaking the previous UO record held by Elgin Cook (49). … Bell's double-double was the ninth of his career. … Brooks reached 1,554 career points, moving into a tie for 10th all-time at Oregon with Blair Rasmussen (1981-85), passing E.J. Singler (1,546, 2009-13) in the process. … Oregon's 93 points were a UO record for a tournament game, surpassing the 92 scored by the 2002 team against Wake Forest, also in Sacramento.
Up Next: The Ducks face Rhode Island in the Capital 1 Center on Sunday (4:10 p.m., TBS).
Oregon, the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, moved to 30-5 on the season, just the third time in school history the Ducks have reached 30 wins. They can tie last year's school record of 31 victories with a run in Sunday's second round.
How It Happened: The Ducks were tested early by the Gaels' diversity on offense, but Iona was no match for Oregon on the glass or defensively and the UO men soon pulled away. Oregon was up 55-37 at halftime, then jumped out to a 65-38 advantage early in the second half, with Payton Pritchard scoring eight of the first 10 points in the half.
The Gaels (22-13) were undeterred early despite being underdogs. Forward Jordan Washington scored 14 of their first 18 points to keep Iona within 23-18, and then the Gaels got hot from three to close within 29-28. But from there, Oregon closed the first half on a 26-9 run, at one point making five straight baskets, the last a Pritchard three-pointer for a 55-37 lead at the half.
After the Ducks went up 65-38 out of the break, Iona scored nine straight to get within 65-47. Oregon answered with eight straight of its own, with Pritchard setting up Casey Benson for a layin on the fastbreak for a 73-47 lead. It was 77-54 when Deyshonee Much of Iona got hot from three; scoreless at the midway point of the second half, he made five three-pointers over the next several minutes to get the Gaels back within as few as 13. But a Tyler Dorsey three-pointer with about three minutes left stopped Iona's momentum, giving Oregon a 91-75 lead.
Who Stood Out: Dorsey continued his hot streak from the conference tournament, scoring a game-high 24 to surpass 20 points for the fourth time in four postseason games. Dillon Brooks added 18 points with four rebounds and four assists, and Jordan Bell provided his seventh double-double this season, 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with 12 rebounds. The duo of Pritchard and Benson, coming off a quiet Pac-12 Tournament, combined for 25 points with five three-pointers, and Ennis continued to fill up the stat sheet with five points, seven rebounds and three assists.
What It Means: The Ducks entered Friday as one of five teams to win a game in each of the last four tournaments; Gonzaga extended its streak Thursday, Oregon matched that Friday afternoon and Kansas, North Carolina and Wichita State had a chance to do so later in the day.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, head coach
To the team in the postgame locker room
"A lot of good things. The only disappointing thing is, we got a big lead and gave up some easy baskets. And then the ball movement — when we got that big lead, you guys moved it nice, got a lot of easy baskets. When we got it hung up, we weren't as effective. It's about survive and advance, but you've got to learn from it too."
Dillon Brooks, junior wing
On how the team handled its tournament opener
"We handled it pretty well. We've seen teams can get it going, so everybody had to show up. Guys were confident, knocking down shots, and it was a great first game for everybody."
Payton Pritchard, freshman guard
On rediscovering his shooting stroke
"The Pac-12 tournament I was obviously down on myself; I didn't look for my shot much. I had a great week of practice, made some shots and just tried to be ready when my number was called."
Notable: Bell improved his career total to 60 rebounds in the NCAA tournament, breaking the previous UO record held by Elgin Cook (49). … Bell's double-double was the ninth of his career. … Brooks reached 1,554 career points, moving into a tie for 10th all-time at Oregon with Blair Rasmussen (1981-85), passing E.J. Singler (1,546, 2009-13) in the process. … Oregon's 93 points were a UO record for a tournament game, surpassing the 92 scored by the 2002 team against Wake Forest, also in Sacramento.
Up Next: The Ducks face Rhode Island in the Capital 1 Center on Sunday (4:10 p.m., TBS).
Team Stats
ION
ORE
FG%
.438
.556
3FG%
.385
.391
FT%
.688
.667
RB
27
41
TO
10
12
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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