In a crowded Pac-12, consistency is hard to come by. Even the best of the best have off nights and struggle to distinguish themselves. This was not the case on Sunday afternoon as the Ducks were clearly the more talented team, and they dismantled the UCLA Bruins from start to finish.
Coming off a knock-down-drag-out double-overtime win against USC, the Ducks outworked the UCLA Bruins on Sunday in the Ducks’ biggest win over the program since 1936.
Just as they had in several stretches in their previous game, the Ducks’ offense looked bogged down in the opening minutes. But after Chris Duarte found fellow forward Shakur Juiston for an open dunk, the floodgates opened as Payton Pritchard and Duarte knocked down a pair of deep threes.
Then, the Ducks defense went to work.
An Oregon full-court press that had been a decisive factor all year not only helped the Ducks force four turnovers — three of which came in the form of steals from Duarte — in the early going, but also convert easy baskets.
“Ball pressure,” Will Richardson said. “Our assistant coaches always talk about ball pressure. … [Payton] leads us, he steps it up and then everyone just follows him.”
Pritchard added, “Pressuring starts with us. For the both of us, we can set the tone. Hopefully we can keep that going.”
Pritchard raced down the court, beating the Bruins’ defense and laying it up for two points. UCLA was forced to take a timeout facing a 19-9 deficit with just under 14 minutes to go in the first half.
Just two minutes later, UCLA had doubled its turnover count. Then came two more as Juiston intercepted a pass and took it the distance for an and-1. The Ducks led 24-11 at the 10-minute mark.
Baskets were few and far between for the Bruins, who shot under 20% from three in the first half. On the interior, an N’Faly Dante-less Ducks’ defense stood strong, limiting easy looks around the rim with shades of the defensive-minded 2018 squad.
On offense, Oregon remained patient and was continually rewarded with high-quality shots, a majority of which went in. The Ducks’ lead quickly ballooned to more than 20, and they entered halftime with a 48-26 lead.
Duarte — who, against USC, became the first player since 1999 to tally 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and 8-plus steals in a game — was stellar once again. He stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 24 points, six rebounds, five assists, six steals and two blocks.
“We needed that from him,” Pritchard said. “Chris has a special talent. He’s athletic, he can shoot it when he gets going and defensively this week he’s shown what he is capable of. Now we have to hold him to that standard.”
Not to be outdone, the Ducks’ lead guards showed out as well, helping Oregon stimmy UCLA. The pair of Pritchard and Richardson — who found his groove again after a series of poor offensive outings — ended with 19 and 16 points, respectively.
The start of the second half mirrored the first as both teams struggled to find a rhythm. Just as the Bruins began to piece together successful possessions, Oregon again ratcheted up its press, throwing UCLA into a frenzy.
“I thought our activity was really good,” head coach Dana Altman said. “[Especially] the first half, I thought we flew around really well.”
Despite hitting far more 3-pointers than they had in the first half, the Bruins failed to cut the lead to single digits. No matter how hot the Bruins got, it didn’t matter.
Duarte’s defensive impact and his teammates’ highlight reel-worthy baskets resulted in Oregon taking a commanding 76-52 lead with eight minutes to go, and Oregon never surrendered its lead.
The Ducks (17-4, 6-2 Pac-12), now in a three-way tie for second place in the Pac-12, will head to Northern California as they look ahead to Cal and the Pac-12-leading Stanford Cardinal.