Pac-12 Tournament: Oregon Ducks Run To Championship Game
Arizona State struggled with turnovers and the Oregon Ducks took advantage to get to the Pac-12 Championship game following a 79-75 win over Arizona State.
Oregon Ducks Head Coach Dana Altman seems to find a way to get his teams to play their best at the end of the season, and he has done it again. After holding four straight opponents to under 65 points, the Ducks gutted out a win over Arizona State on Friday night to reach the Pac-12 Championship game.
The Oregon Ducks opened the game on a 9-0 run with Paul White finding from distance once again. White was 4 for 8 from three-point range finishing with 14 points and 7 rebounds. While White was impressive, Payton Pritchard over the last five games is playing at a different level. Pritchard finished with 18 points and 8 assists on the night.
Freshman Louis King is finding his comfort zone late in the season with a team-high 19 points.
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The key to the game was the turnover battle. Oregon had eight turnovers. The Oregon Defense forced Arizona State into 14 points and the Ducks made the most of them putting up 25 points.
The game was a battle. After taking a lead at halftime. Oregon went cold into the second half only finding another comeback to take the game to overtime. Unlike the game earlier this season vs UCLA at Matthew Knight Arena, Oregon pulled away for the win in the extra period led by Ehab Amin.
Oregon now faces the Washington Huskies for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. While it may not be the best spot, it is still a chance to go dancing which is the ultimate goal. The Ducks will be ready to play for their fourth straight day. One player to watch is Kenny Wooten.
Wooten played one of his best games of the season vs Arizona State and was injured during the game, but he kept playing. He had a key ally-oop in overtime before fouling out vs the Sundevils.
Oregon and Washington tipoff at 7:30 pm Pacific Time Saturday on ESPN.