Payton Pritchard scored 20 points and the Oregon Ducks beat the Huskies for the second time in a week 68-48 in the Pac-12 Tournament Championship Game. The Huskies are still probably headed to the NCAA tournament but have much to figure out.
“Just like football,” the Oregon fans chanted in the final minutes. Well not exactly, the football game between the schools came down to the final play, this one was over 10 minutes into the second-half.
Moments after Matisse Thybulle broke Gary Payton’s career record with a steal and a breakaway dunk to cut Oregon’s lead to two the Ducks went on a decisive 14-0 run to go up 44-28 and they never looked back.
For Washington it was a night of frustration as they scored just 9 points the first 16 minutes of the second-half. One would have thought the Huskies would have made some adjustments having suffered their only home loss of the season to Oregon last Saturday but they had no answers.
Lots to break down from this one, all of it ugly.
Keys to the Game
This was the Huskies worst performance of the season
I know Washington lost to Auburn by 22 points, I know they lost to a California team that was 0-15 in Pac-12 play at the time but the way the Huskies crumbled in this one will be tough to swallow. Even the skeleton that is Phil Knight showed more life in the second-half than the Huskies.
While the Pac-12 Championship game is where Isaiah Thomas solidified his legacy as a Husky legend earning back to back titles, Jaylen Nowell looked nothing like the Pac-12 Player of the Year that he is. His two field goals tied a season-low and he didn’t get to the line until the game was already decided. Washington shot just 33% from the field and 21% from beyond the arc. In their past two games against the Ducks the Huskies are 8 for 43 beyond the arc (19%). It’s not like they were all contested shots either, many of these are open looks.
Oregon wanted it more
It’s one of my least favorite sports cliches but it couldn’t be more applicable. The Ducks needed a win to make it to the NCAA tournament and the win assures an automatic bid. The Ducks didn’t look like a team coming off a draining overtime game or one that had played four games in four days. Washington struggled to match their intensity and the Ducks coaching staff seemed to pull all the right strings. Oregon out rebounded the Huskies 33 to 24.
Washington failed to make any adjustments.
Oregon is on to something with their starting lineup featuring exactly four players who are 6’9”, even when the Huskies beat their man off the dribble there was another Duck waiting. Kenny Wooten started to take over defensively blocking four shots in the second-half. Rather than draw contact from him the Huskies started missing makeable layups by trying to get their shots around him. The Huskies didn’t go to the foul line once the first 32 minutes of the game. If the Ducks want to force you to shoot jump shots why play into their hands?
Outlook: Washington will probably be an 8 or 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. I don’t think they are a fundamentally “broken” team, not many teams in the tournament will be able to throw the length at them that Oregon does but the offensive ineptness is a concern. Your hope is that Washington does what they have done every other time they’ve lost a game this season, get pissed off and take it out on their next opponent. They have to find a way to kick start the offense it looked like the final years of Lorenzo Romar’s tenure on that end. Not a single Washington player scored in double figures for the first time this season.
Wright – 6 – Wright had a solid night with 5 points 3 rebounds 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Dickerson – 4 – Dickerson has now scored just 15 points the last 3 games after scoring 6 against the Ducks before fouling out. He didn’t go to the foul line once and ended up with more turnovers (4) than field goals (3).
Thybulle – 4 – Thybulle had a minimal defensive impact with just one block and one steal. He was 2 for 8 from the field, 0 for 4 from behind the 3-point line and scored just 4 points.
Nowell – 3 – It’s unfair to single Nowell out as he’s not the only Husky who didn’t play well but for the reigning Conference Player of the Year to never rise to the occasion was disappointing. Nowell earned a reputation for being a clutch player early in his career, now that the nation is watching he needs to get it back.
Crisp – Crisp had six assist in the first-half but none in the second. He continued to struggle from the field where he was just 2 of 9 for 5 points. After the Ducks beat the Sun Devils last night in overtime Crisp tweeted, “Exactly what we wanted.” Be careful what you wish for.
Carter – 3- After providing instant offense off the bench in the Huskies previous two games Carter struggled going 1 of 6 from the field. At one point he drove to the lane and appeared to rise up for a posterizing dunk but Wooten swatted Carter. It’s not often you see someone rise up with Carter, but it was that kind of night.
Green- 4 – Green was the only Husky to make multiple 3-pointers but he was only 2 of 7 from behind the arc. Several of those were open looks while the game was still in reach.
Bey – 7 – Bey is the only Husky who played better than expected. He had an aggressive layin in the first-half over Pritchard, nailed his second 3-pointer of the season and finished with a season-high 7 points.
Hardy – NR – Had a bad pass in garbage time that led to a Pritchard dunk. Played just two minutes.
Timmins – 3 – Timmins only played five minutes but struggled to make an impact against the Ducks athletic front line.
