Oregon basketball entered the game with UCF having never met the Knights on the hardwood. The Ducks as a team have been one of the most impressive teams in the month of March, winning the opening round games played (NCAA, NTI, and CBI) twenty straight times.
Both the Ducks and Knights got off to slow starts before two UCF free throws. Midway through the first half UCF started to find their three-point shot hitting three of ten early in the game and forcing a Ducks timeout. The Knights had a 15-9 lead. The timeout looked to stop an 8-0 run by the Knights.
The Ducks went 3 for 3 on their next possessions, all scored by Keshawn Barthelemy tying the game at 15.
Neither team shot the ball very well from distance in the first half going a combined 6 for 29. Nate Bittle was quietly working his way to a double-double with 11 points and 7 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Oregon shot better than 45 percent while holding UCF to just under 30 percent shooting from the floor.
Quincy Guerrier hit a big three-pointer for the Ducks heading into halftime giving Oregon their largest lead of the game at 9 points.
Nate Bittle started the second half hot for the Ducks as Oregon started with a 12-0 run over a two-and-a-half-minute span while holding UCF to no points and pushing their lead to 21 points over the Knights.
UCF battled with full-court defense the rest of the game, but Oregon still found a way to a double-digit win. The Ducks hit just 5 of 19 three-pointers but finished the game hitting close to 50 percent of their shots from the floor. It was a 68-54 win despite 18 turnovers.
Nate Bittle finished with a double-double scoring 21 points and 13 rebounds to go with two assists. He was found by the basket most of the night by his teammates. Bittle has been solid over the first two games in the NIT with N’Faly Dante sidelined with an ankle injury. It is not known if Dante will be available for the third-round NIT game.
With the win, Oregon adds to their March win total and will move on in the NIT hosting Wisconsin on Tuesday at 6 pm Pacific Time on ESPN.
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