As he backpedaled down the court midway through the first half on Saturday, Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey cracked a smile and stared at his right hand as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Dorsey had just drilled his third 3-pointer in as many possessions and might as well have been shooting fireballs out of his hand as he and Oregon rained baskets onto the Arizona Wildcat defense. Dorsey’s shooting flurry sparked a 28-5 scoring run for the Ducks that ultimately ended in an 85-58 blowout win over an Arizona team that was widely considered one of the best in the country.
During an afternoon that featured three top-5 losses throughout the nation, Oregon stole the show with a performance that was nationally televised on ESPN. The Ducks shot 16-of-25 from 3-point range and finished the game with 26 assists on 30 field goals.
“That’s the best game I’ve ever played here in the three years I’ve been here,” Oregon forward Dillon Brooks said. “Guys were focused and guys were confident in their shots. … Tyler is the X-factor on our team. He gets us going.”
Dorsey finished the game with a team-high 23 points in 28 minutes. He shot 6-of-6 from 3-point range and drilled four shots from downtown in the first half.
“After I knocked down the first one, I just tried to keep it rolling and they kept finding me throughout the game.” Dorsey said. “I just keep it calm, but we had great energy. It was great emotion out there. We just had a hot hand tonight; everybody was shooting.”
The Ducks began the game by attacking the paint on their first three possessions, determined to prove that they were willing to go inside despite the presence of Arizona 7-foot forwards Lauri Markkanen and Dusan Ristic.
After three minutes had passed, Oregon’s dribble drive attack led to a 3-pointer from Brooks to give Oregon a 5-4 lead. Brooks drilled another 3-pointer a minute later and Dorsey then unleashed three triples in two minutes to give Oregon a 19-6 lead and force an Arizona timeout.
The Wildcats managed to cut the deficit to 21-11 and with eight minutes left in the first half, Brooks picked up his second foul and was subbed out. Without its best player on the floor, Oregon proceeded to go on a 17-0 run that featured five 3-pointers.
“It was getting ridiculous,” Brooks said. “But, you know, guys feed off each other. … One guy gets hot and then another guys gets hot and next thing you know its five, six, seven 3-pointers.”
It was more of the same for Oregon in the second half as the Ducks continued to pour in 3’s. With 11 minutes left in the half, Jordan Bell tossed a lob to Chris Boucher in transition and Boucher in transition and Boucher slammed it home to push the Oregon lead to a game-high 37 points.
Dorsey shot 6-of-6, Brooks 4-of-7 and Casey Benson went 3-for-5.
“Heck, we don’t even shoot 16-for-25 in shooting drills,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said.
NBA scouts from four different teams showed up to Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday, almost certainly to watch Arizona 7-foot standout Lauri Markkanen. Instead, they saw Oregon shred an Arizona defense that was ranked 15th in the nation coming into the game. On the defensive end, Bell finished with three blocks and Oregon forced 13 Arizona turnovers. The Ducks held Markkanen, one of the best shooters in the country, to just four points in 27 minutes.
“Sometimes you have to give credit to the appointment,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller said. “It wasn’t lack of preparation, it wasn’t lack of effort; they had some answers. They’re an excellent team.
“I hope that’s their best. If they have another level above that, that’s a bad thing for every team in the country.”
Oregon is now in sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 and will likely surge in next week’s AP Poll. The hardest part of the Ducks’ schedule may be ahead of them, though, as they prepare to play five of their last seven regular season games on the road.
Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney
Oregon delivers its best shooting performance of the year, routs Arizona 85-58
Jarrid Denney
February 3, 2017
Adam Eberhardt
As he backpedaled down the court midway through the first half on Saturday, Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey cracked a smile and stared at his right hand as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Dorsey had just drilled his third 3-pointer in as many possessions and might as well …
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