MADISON, Wis. – Freddie Jones, the leading scorer on the high-flying Oregon Ducks, had no problem saying he played “terrible” on Friday night. He admitted his teammates carried him. All he wanted to do was help.
And though it took him nearly all of the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal to do it, Jones eventually found a way. He hit a layup with 2.8 seconds left, giving the second-seeded Ducks a 72-70 win over Texas at the Kohl Center and propelling them into their first regional final in 42 years.
And he did it with only his second basket of the game.
“My overall game was terrible – I played terrible today,” said Jones, who was averaging 18.6 points but scored only four. “But coming down the stretch, I knew we needed a play, and I was happy to be able to make a play and be able to redeem myself.”
Jones had that chance because the other two-thirds of Oregon’s Big Three – sophomore guards Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson – were more than picking up his slack. Jackson led the Ducks (26-8) with 25 points and Ridnour had 20, including eight in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the game.
Those points were big because the sixth-seeded Longhorns (22-12) wouldn’t go away after overcoming a 41-28 halftime deficit with 13-0 run early in the second half. They tied the game at 51 with 12:09 left and hung around to tie it again, 68-68, when freshman point guard T.J. Ford (eight points) buried two free throws with 1:18 left.
A jumper by Ridnour 20 seconds later put the Ducks back up by two. But with 24 seconds left, the Longhorns seemed poised to take their first lead of the game. Texas center James Thomas – who led the Longhorns with 15 points – was fouled as he tied the game at 70-70. But he missed the free throw and the rebound went to the Ducks.
That’s when Oregon coach Ernie Kent waved his team up the floor without a timeout and watched as it cleared out for Jones. After dribbling the clock down, the senior guard drove down the lane for a surprisingly easy shot. “They let me get a lot closer to the rim than I thought,” he said.
After a timeout, Texas had one last chance as Ford quickly raced the ball up the court, but his desperation, running jumper bounced off the rim. That made Jones – who sat for 16 first-half minutes after two early fouls – an unlikely hero and Oregon’s Big Three complete again.
“Even though Freddie didn’t have the best game offensively, he was still contributing,” Ridnour said. “And he’s the kind of player that still wants the ball in his hands.”
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