Oregon kicked off the most important month of the college basketball season with a 90-81 win over Colorado on Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena.
While the victory itself was crucial for the Ducks — who are now in sole possession of fourth place in the Pac-12 standings — the way in which Oregon closed out its 21st win of the season was downright convincing.
Senior guards Garrett Sim (19 points on 5-for-7 three-point shooting) and Devoe Joseph (game-high 24 points, five rebounds and five assists) continued to lead Oregon offensively. But when 6-foot-11 center Tony Woods was sidelined with a minor shoulder injury in the second half, it was Oregon’s reserves that made the biggest difference. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205335431@@
“At the end of the day, in March, you have to make plays down the stretch to get wins,” Sim said. “And we did that, and then we hit our free throws to seal the game.”
With a five-point lead and one minute left in the game, senior Tyrone Nared was sent to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity. Having not attempted a free throw since Oregon’s win over UCLA back on Jan. 21, Nared calmly sank both free throws to make it a three possession game.
Over the next minute, Nared, who hadn’t scored a single point in seven of Oregon’s last eight games, went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, including the front end of two 1-and-1’s. He also had a key block defensively with 47 seconds left to cut Colorado’s momentum.
Head coach Dana Altman admitted that he was slightly nervous with Nared heading to the line after Joseph had missed the front end of a 1-and-1 moments earlier.
“The only reason I was apprehensive about Tyrone being there is because he just hasn’t shot free throws for so long in a game situation,” Altman said. “For him to walk up and go 6-for-6 was pretty impressive.”
It’s been an up-and-down season for Nared, who suffered a knee injury in December and was forced to miss almost four weeks of action. When he returned, the 6-foot-8 forward struggled to find his rhythm and saw his minutes decrease due to a lack of production. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=235&SPSID=4295@@
Before practice on Tuesday, Nared hinted at his recent frustrations with his playing time. So when Woods went to the bench for the entire second half, and Olu Ashaolu was out with foul trouble, it was Nared and junior Carlos Emory who took full advantage of the extra playing time. Nared finished with six points, five rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes of action.
“He was huge,” Sim said. “I’m really happy for Tyrone to have a night like this. He’s kind of been struggling a little bit, but this should just boost his confidence and remind him of the player he can be and he needs to be for us to be a successful team.”
Altman echoed Sim’s sentiment, especially as the Ducks move into the Pac-12 tournament next week.
“It’s March,” Altman said. “And the more guys that can give us a minute here and there and have positive contributions makes a big difference.”
Emory continued performing well with 14 points in 27 minutes off the bench. He made all five of his shots from the foul line, including a pair in the final minute and scored in double figures for the sixth time in the last nine games.
The athleticism between Nared and Emory will be tough for most teams to match in the conference tournament. Altman said he’s excited for the opportunity to play a few back-to-back games in Los Angeles next week so his reserves, particularly Nared, can stay in a flow as the NCAA Tournament draws near.
“I hope that gets him started again,” Altman said, “because his presence in that last five, six minutes was definitely big.”