Payton Pritchard scored 16 points and Oregon played suffocating defense to hand Washington their first home loss of the season 55 to 47 on Senior Day.
Washington had won their first 15 home games but after a scare on Wednesday night against Oregon State, the Ducks controlled this one from end to end.
After starting Pac-12 play 13-1 the Huskies have lost two of four and there are some serious concerns heading into the Pac-12 tournament.
Washington shot just 33% from the field which is their second lowest clip since they shot 32% on November 20th against Texas A&M. The 47 points they scored was their fewest of the year.
The Huskies got a 3 from Thybulle on their first possession but didn’t score for the next five minutes until Thybulle hit another 3 .
Oregon answered with a 10-0 run to take an 18-6 lead. They would push that lead to as much as 16 following Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer with 5:49 to go made it 24 to 8.
Despite the abysmal first-half, Oregon only led 28-17 at the intermission because of poor offensive play. The Ducks were just 1 of 12 from behind the arc in the first-half and 2 of 7 at the free throw stripe.
Washington opened the second-half on a 9-1 run cutting the deficit to 29-26. They would cut the lead to three several times but never got any closer.
Washington tried to make a final run late. Down by six they had a good defensive possession and Louis King appeared to lose track of the shot clock with time winding down. He threw up a hurried shot about 30 feet from the hoop and swished it putting Oregon up 53-44 with 2:07 to go. Washington wouldn’t score another point until Elijah Hardy hit a meaningless 3-pointer in the final twenty seconds.
Keys to the Game
Washington’s start was as bad as it gets
Washington had just 8 points the first 17 minutes of the game and missed 17 of their first 20 attempts. They didn’t crack double digits until David Crisp free throw with 2:47 to go in the first-half. Washington shot a season-low 15% from beyond the arc. It wasn’t just shots not falling the offense was stagnant and they had only 4 assist against 15 turnovers.
Oregon Played Really Good Defense
The Ducks employed the same full-court pressure that caused the Huskies trouble in the first meeting in Eugene. Washington never looked comfortable on offense, particularly in the first half where they shot 21.7% from the field and 2 of 9 from behind the 3-point line. While Washington is known for their defense the Ducks showed why they are #1 in scoring defense and opponent field goal percentage. Their 8 steals matched Washington including 4 by Pritchard.
Oregon Owned the Paint
Washington began the game with a small lineup starting Dominic Green for Hameir Wright to give the senior a start in his final home game. This moved Noah Dickerson to the center of the Huskies 2-3 zone which was problematic. Eighteen of the Ducks first 20 points came in the paint and they grabbed 11 offensive rebounds which they turned into 11 second-chance points. Washington can play small with success but Oregon’s athletic front court was a difference maker.
Outlook:
It’s possible Washington’s poor play has to do with the fact they have already clinched the Pac-12 title and technically don’t have anything to play for but these losses will come back to bite when the NCAA committee does it’s seeding. From here on out it’s tournaments and so the Huskies don’t have any house money to play with.
It’s still a remarkable season for the Huskies, two years after going 2-16 in Pac-12 play they went 15-3. They will play the USC/Arizona winner next Thursday with a semi-final match looming against Oregon State/Colorado or California should they win… On to the player grades…
Green – 3 – Green was scoreless in 25 minutes going 0 of 5 from the field and 0 for 4 from behind the 3-point arc. He had a rough sequence where he was picked by Pritchard while bringing the ball up the court, Green fouled Pritchard on a fast-break layin with the Oregon guard completing the and-one at the stripe to put the Ducks up 9.
Dickerson – 7 – Dickerson had 14 points and grabbed over half of his team’s rebounds (28) with 16. He was only 6 of 11 from the free throw line and turned the ball over 4 times but he was also the only starter with a positive plus/minus. Dickerson will have more space inside to work if his teammates can knock down open shots.
Thybulle – 5 – Thybulle scored the Huskies first 6 points. He didn’t score again the rest of the game finishing 2 of 7 from the field. On a positive note Thybulle tied Jason Kidd for the Pac-12 record for steals in a single-season (110) with 5 more steals. He also blocked 3 shots.
Crisp – 4 – Not David’s best game as he was just 1 of 7 from the field and 0 for 3 from beyond the arc. He had one assist against 3 turnovers. In the second-half he appeared to hurt his groin when he slipped but played through it even though he was clearly not 100%.
Nowell – 6 – Nowell got off to a slow start not scoring the first 18 minutes of the first-half. He picked it up in the second-half scoring 13 of the Huskies 29 points and finishing with 17.
Carter – 4 – Carter had a rough night going just 1 of 5 from the field. He did complete a 3-point play but he took several contested and off-balanced shots. It was a bit surprising to see such poor shot selection from him.
Timmins – 5 – Timmins grabbed 2 rebounds in 9 minutes but wasn’t much of a defensive presence in the game. He had a -10 plus/minus, second lowest on the team.
Wright – 3 – Wright had two turnovers against the press press leading to buckets for Oregon. On the second one he picked up his dribble in a terrible spot and left his feet before making a bad pass. He also picked up 3 fouls in just 2 minutes in the first-half before being summoned to the bench.
Bey, E. Hardy – NR – Hardy hit a 3 in a cameo appearance when Hopkins took all his seniors out so the crowd could give them one final ovation.
