Arizona State @ Oregon preview
T-Mobile Arena
Last Meeting ( Feb 11, 2021 ) Oregon 75, Arizona State 64
Unranked Pac-12 regular-season champion Oregon arrives for the conference tournament with added motivation Thursday.
The Ducks (19-5) are flying high going into Las Vegas, where Pac-12 tournament play opens for a team fighting for respect with a meeting against eighth-seed Arizona State on Thursday. Oregon, winners of its second straight regular-season title after going 14-4 in conference play, has won five straight games and 10 of its past 11.
The second win of that stretch came at Arizona State, 75-64, on Feb. 11.
Head coach Dana Altman's teams are known for being at their best in February and March, and the Ducks came together after two COVID-related season pauses and injuries to several top players, most of whom have returned to coincide with a strong run to end the regular season.
Oregon guard Chris Duarte. the team's leading scorer at 17.3 points per game, joined teammate Eugene Omoruyi as members of the All-Pac-12 first team, as named by the conference. Duarte and Omoruyi gave the Ducks two players on the first team for just the second time since 2003.
The Ducks finished out the regular season on a high note even though they had to play their final eight games in 18 days.
"We're dangerous," Omoruyi, a senior transfer from Rutgers, said. "We have a lot of scorers, on the court and off the bench. Like we say, sometimes you, sometimes me, always us.
"This isn't the only goal we had; this is part of the journey. We have our next goal now. Just keep cranking out goals, one at a time."
Oregon won the Pac-12 regular-season title under Altman in 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021. The Ducks are 14-0 this season when holding the opponent under 70 points.
The Sun Devils kept their season alive on Wednesday afternoon with a 64-59 win over Washington State. Alonzo Verge Jr. had 19 of his 26 points in the second half of a tight game, including what went on to be the game-winning basket with 11 seconds to play, a floater in the lane that gave Arizona State the lead for good.
Arizona State (11-13) has not had the season it had hoped for under head coach Bobby Hurley. Injuries, COVID-related pauses and four losses by six points or fewer have helped undermine what figured to be a much more successful campaign.
Point guard Remy Martin, the Pac-12's leading scorer at 19.9 points per game entering the conference tournament, was named All-Pac-12 First Team for the second straight season. The Sun Devils have a lack of depth at forward, and need a miraculous run through the tournament to get an NCAA Tournament berth.
On Wednesday, a held ball forced by guard Holland Woods, Verge's shooting and guard Jaelen House, with his tough on-ball defense down the stretch, helped the Sun Devils' season continue.
"We pick up full court, we play hard," Hurley said. "We have to be scrappy and battle like that. I just really respect the effort of the guys."
--Field Level Media