Photo by: GoDucks.com
Hot Streaks Converge In Sweet Sixteen
03/22/17 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
High-scoring guard Tyler Dorsey and Oregon meet streaking Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday (4:10 p.m. PT, CBS).
KANSAS CITY — There may be no hotter player this postseason than Oregon's Tyler Dorsey, nor a hotter team than Michigan.
Something will have to give Thursday, when the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region No. 3 seed Ducks face the seventh-seeded Wolverines in a Sweet Sixteen matchup.
After going the entire season without scoring 20 points in consecutive games, Dorsey has surpassed that mark in all five UO postseason games. He's averaging 23.6 points per game in the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments, and hit the game-tying and game-winning three-pointers Sunday against Rhode Island in the second round.
Michigan, meanwhile, entered the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 8 seed before sweeping through four games in four days, in the process knocking off two teams — Purdue and Wisconsin — that also made the Sweet Sixteen. The Wolverines staved off a comeback attempt by Oklahoma State in the first round, then upset second-seeded and No. 10 ranked Louisville in the second round.
"We know that we're facing a very hot team, a team that is playing extremely well at this time, and it's going to take a great effort on our guys' part," Oregon coach Dana Altman said Wednesday prior to the Ducks' practice in the Sprint Center, which will host Thursday's regional semifinal (4:10 p.m. PT, CBS).
The Wolverines, too, will be trying to slow a hot streak. In his last five games, Dorsey is shooting .646 overall (42-of-65) and .536 from three-point range (15-of-28). His game-winner against Rhode Island was "the biggest shot of the tournament so far," Seth Davis of CBS said Sunday.
Dorsey's prolific scoring has been timely given the absence of injured senior Chris Boucher. The lanky post was averaging 12 points per game; Dorsey has nearly accounted for that by averaging 23.6 over his last five, up 9.2 points per game over his average at the conclusion of the regular season.
"All I've been doing is spotting up and making the simple play, the right basketball play," Dorsey said after the win over Rhode Island. "Keep my focus first on defense and rebounding, and then let the offense come. That's what I've been doing these last couple games and my teammates have confidence in me and I've been knocking down the shots."
The Ducks are well aware of Michigan's hot streak, given the national coverage of the Wolverines' airline accident on the way to the Big Ten Tournament. That came a day before Michigan played its opener in Washington D.C.; they ended up making the trip the morning of their first game, and beat Illinois wearing practice jerseys due to the travel mishap.
"We have all been rooting for them to win — until now, because obviously we want to win," UO junior Jordan Bell said. "We've all been cheering them on. We understand that going through a thing like that can really bring a lot of heart and passion out of people, so we've just been rooting for them."
Dillon Brooks was named all-district Wednesday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Brooks was joined on the NABC's District 20 first team by Lonzo Ball of UCLA, Ivan Rabb of Cal, Markelle Fultz of Washington and Lauri Markkanen of Arizona. Sean Miller of Arizona was named District 20 coach of the year.
Brooks was named Pac-12 player of the year after leading the Ducks with 16.0 points per game in the regular season. The Wooden Award and Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award finalist was also named first-team all-American by USA Today.
The two head coaches in Thursday's matchup, Altman and Michigan's John Beilein, have more than a passing familiarity.
In 2005, Altman was at Creighton and Beilein was coaching West Virginia when those two teams met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tyrone Sally of West Virginia blocked a three-pointer and then dunked home the game-winning shot, all in the final 5 seconds, for a 63-61 win by Beilein's Mountaineers.
More recently, Beilein's Wolverines beat Altman and the Ducks on Nov. 25, 2014, in the Legends Classic preseason tournament in New York. Brooks started that game for Oregon, and Bell and Casey Benson played off the bench. Michigan still boasts five veterans of that matchup.
"It's great to be battling against such a great coach and really a great program," Beilein said Wednesday.
Also, Altman and Beilein — given the proximity of their names alphabetically — have often sat next to each other at the Final Four, when the NABC hosts its annual coaches' convention.
"I think he's someone that really does a great job with his team year-in, year-out, the consistency that he shows with his program," Altman said. "I've enjoyed sitting and watching the Final Four games and he's someone that I have a great deal of respect for."
Getting sloppy with the ball nearly cost the Ducks in the second round against Rhode Island, a mistake they can't afford to make Thursday, Altman said.
Oregon has been exceptionally careful with the ball since the last two weeks of the regular season, averaging just nine turnovers per game over the last four weeks. But the Ducks had five in the final seven minutes of the first half Sunday against the Rams, helping Rhode Island build an eight-point halftime lead the Ducks couldn't overcome until late in the second half.
Michigan is one of the toughest teams in the country to turn over, averaging just 9.2 per game, the best rate in the country. The Wolverines aren't going to give the Ducks many freebies Thursday, and Oregon knows it must execute in the halfcourt.
"With the exception of the last eight minutes of the first half against Rhode Island, our ball movement, other things were pretty good," Altman said. "We just had a terrible eight-minute stretch there, and part of the problem defensively is we turned the ball over so darn much and gave 'em layups. We've got to do a better job. Our guys know that. We've got to be sharper with our execution and make teams guard a little bit longer.
"We had some quick possessions, some bad possessions that we won't be able to get away with against Michigan. We're going to have to play a lot better and play a lot smarter."
Michigan has leaned heavily on a rotation of six players this postseason, and feels comfortable doing so thanks in part to technology utilized by Oregon — the Oregon football team, that is.
Beilein said the Wolverines employ a GPS tracking system for practices and games, as the Ducks' football program does. The system tracks players' work load in practice and games, and allows medical staff and coaches to tailor workouts to maximize efficiency.
"It's a great technology that we've used every day all year long and it's really worked well," Beilein said.
Two Michigan starters, guard Derrick Walton Jr. and wing Zak Irvin, have averaged more than 38 minutes per game over their last five. Two others — guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and forward D.J. Wilson — are playing more than 35 minutes per game over that same stretch.
Over Oregon's last five games, Dylan Ennis leads the Ducks with 34.8 minutes per game, Dorsey is averaging 33.4 and Bell is playing 31.6. They're the only Ducks above 30 minutes per game over that stretch.
Something will have to give Thursday, when the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region No. 3 seed Ducks face the seventh-seeded Wolverines in a Sweet Sixteen matchup.
After going the entire season without scoring 20 points in consecutive games, Dorsey has surpassed that mark in all five UO postseason games. He's averaging 23.6 points per game in the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments, and hit the game-tying and game-winning three-pointers Sunday against Rhode Island in the second round.
Michigan, meanwhile, entered the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 8 seed before sweeping through four games in four days, in the process knocking off two teams — Purdue and Wisconsin — that also made the Sweet Sixteen. The Wolverines staved off a comeback attempt by Oklahoma State in the first round, then upset second-seeded and No. 10 ranked Louisville in the second round.
"We know that we're facing a very hot team, a team that is playing extremely well at this time, and it's going to take a great effort on our guys' part," Oregon coach Dana Altman said Wednesday prior to the Ducks' practice in the Sprint Center, which will host Thursday's regional semifinal (4:10 p.m. PT, CBS).
The Wolverines, too, will be trying to slow a hot streak. In his last five games, Dorsey is shooting .646 overall (42-of-65) and .536 from three-point range (15-of-28). His game-winner against Rhode Island was "the biggest shot of the tournament so far," Seth Davis of CBS said Sunday.
Dorsey's prolific scoring has been timely given the absence of injured senior Chris Boucher. The lanky post was averaging 12 points per game; Dorsey has nearly accounted for that by averaging 23.6 over his last five, up 9.2 points per game over his average at the conclusion of the regular season.
"All I've been doing is spotting up and making the simple play, the right basketball play," Dorsey said after the win over Rhode Island. "Keep my focus first on defense and rebounding, and then let the offense come. That's what I've been doing these last couple games and my teammates have confidence in me and I've been knocking down the shots."
The Ducks are well aware of Michigan's hot streak, given the national coverage of the Wolverines' airline accident on the way to the Big Ten Tournament. That came a day before Michigan played its opener in Washington D.C.; they ended up making the trip the morning of their first game, and beat Illinois wearing practice jerseys due to the travel mishap.
"We have all been rooting for them to win — until now, because obviously we want to win," UO junior Jordan Bell said. "We've all been cheering them on. We understand that going through a thing like that can really bring a lot of heart and passion out of people, so we've just been rooting for them."
Dillon Brooks was named all-district Wednesday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Brooks was joined on the NABC's District 20 first team by Lonzo Ball of UCLA, Ivan Rabb of Cal, Markelle Fultz of Washington and Lauri Markkanen of Arizona. Sean Miller of Arizona was named District 20 coach of the year.
Brooks was named Pac-12 player of the year after leading the Ducks with 16.0 points per game in the regular season. The Wooden Award and Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award finalist was also named first-team all-American by USA Today.
The two head coaches in Thursday's matchup, Altman and Michigan's John Beilein, have more than a passing familiarity.
In 2005, Altman was at Creighton and Beilein was coaching West Virginia when those two teams met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tyrone Sally of West Virginia blocked a three-pointer and then dunked home the game-winning shot, all in the final 5 seconds, for a 63-61 win by Beilein's Mountaineers.
More recently, Beilein's Wolverines beat Altman and the Ducks on Nov. 25, 2014, in the Legends Classic preseason tournament in New York. Brooks started that game for Oregon, and Bell and Casey Benson played off the bench. Michigan still boasts five veterans of that matchup.
"It's great to be battling against such a great coach and really a great program," Beilein said Wednesday.
Also, Altman and Beilein — given the proximity of their names alphabetically — have often sat next to each other at the Final Four, when the NABC hosts its annual coaches' convention.
"I think he's someone that really does a great job with his team year-in, year-out, the consistency that he shows with his program," Altman said. "I've enjoyed sitting and watching the Final Four games and he's someone that I have a great deal of respect for."
Getting sloppy with the ball nearly cost the Ducks in the second round against Rhode Island, a mistake they can't afford to make Thursday, Altman said.
Oregon has been exceptionally careful with the ball since the last two weeks of the regular season, averaging just nine turnovers per game over the last four weeks. But the Ducks had five in the final seven minutes of the first half Sunday against the Rams, helping Rhode Island build an eight-point halftime lead the Ducks couldn't overcome until late in the second half.
Michigan is one of the toughest teams in the country to turn over, averaging just 9.2 per game, the best rate in the country. The Wolverines aren't going to give the Ducks many freebies Thursday, and Oregon knows it must execute in the halfcourt.
"With the exception of the last eight minutes of the first half against Rhode Island, our ball movement, other things were pretty good," Altman said. "We just had a terrible eight-minute stretch there, and part of the problem defensively is we turned the ball over so darn much and gave 'em layups. We've got to do a better job. Our guys know that. We've got to be sharper with our execution and make teams guard a little bit longer.
"We had some quick possessions, some bad possessions that we won't be able to get away with against Michigan. We're going to have to play a lot better and play a lot smarter."
Michigan has leaned heavily on a rotation of six players this postseason, and feels comfortable doing so thanks in part to technology utilized by Oregon — the Oregon football team, that is.
Beilein said the Wolverines employ a GPS tracking system for practices and games, as the Ducks' football program does. The system tracks players' work load in practice and games, and allows medical staff and coaches to tailor workouts to maximize efficiency.
"It's a great technology that we've used every day all year long and it's really worked well," Beilein said.
Two Michigan starters, guard Derrick Walton Jr. and wing Zak Irvin, have averaged more than 38 minutes per game over their last five. Two others — guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and forward D.J. Wilson — are playing more than 35 minutes per game over that same stretch.
Over Oregon's last five games, Dylan Ennis leads the Ducks with 34.8 minutes per game, Dorsey is averaging 33.4 and Bell is playing 31.6. They're the only Ducks above 30 minutes per game over that stretch.
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