Oregon Basketball: Ducks Get Road Win In Overtime At Michigan
Oregon Basketball showed early season grit and a defensive stand in a 71-70 win over the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday.
Payton Pritchard stepped up his game a notch showing his athleticism and experience. He finished the game with a hard-fought 26 points outplaying Zavier Simpson in a battle of point guards. Simpson finished with 8 points and did his best in overtime to the win, but the ball bounced away twice sealing the victory for the road team.
Oregon played without Shakur Juiston who sat out with a knee injury. N’Faly Dante was also on the bench for the Ducks but did not see the floor. Oregon started out hot taking a 15-7 lead as Michigan started cold from the floor. The Ducks had a 31-23 lead at halftime
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The second half saw the Ducks go cold as Michigan was able to tie the game within five minutes of the end of regulation. Anthony Mathis and Payton Pritchard led the Ducks from the floor. Mathis was 6 for 10 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down four rebounds and a steal. Mathis had a shot to win it at the end of regulation, but the ball was released just a tad too late to count sending the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, the Ducks scored 8 points and had a big defensive stand with 10 seconds left holding off the Wolverines final shot for the win. It was Payton Pritchard who won the game in the end scoring15 of the team’s final 17 points.
The victory marks some fresh history for Oregon Basketball. the 5th ranked Michigan Wolverines are the highest-ranked team the Ducks have ever beaten in the regular season. The Wolverines are also the third top 15 team that Oregon has beaten this season. All three games were on the road and away from Matthew Knight Arena making the Ducks early-season road warriors, a title that for me, was not expected.
Oregon Basketball now returns home for a three-game homestand. The Ducks welcome Montana t Matthew Knight Arena on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 8 pm on Pac-12 Network.