SAN JOSE, Calif. — The red-hot Oregon Ducks, fresh off an upset victory, will face a disciplined Saint Louis Billikens squad in the round of 32 today. Tipoff is set for 4:10 p.m. here at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. The Billikens walloped a 13-seeded New Mexico State on Thursday, while Oregon cruised over OK State, setting up this matchup of teams seeded 12 and 4 for the chance to advance to the Sweet 16. The winner of this tilt will travel to Indianapolis to face the winner of Louisville and Colorado State. For those wanting to watch at home, the Oregon-Saint Louis clash will be televised on TBS.
Follow here for live blog updates throughout the game and then check out our post-game content including a couple of analysis stories as well as a detailed recap with reaction from Oregon head coach Dana Altman and his players. Also, for snapshots of the showdown, keep an eye out for photo posts following the game. Sports reporter Jackson Long and Photo Editor Alex McDougall are on site to catch everything, so follow and ask questions via twitter at @jacksonclong and @adougall. @ODEsports will have tweets by-the-minute.
For a lowdown on the two squads as well as some matchups to hone-in on, see the game primer here. To figure out how the Ducks launched themselves into this game, see the recap from the victory over Oklahoma State. If you have no clue what a Billiken is, read this piece so you won’t feel alone. And to learn about the good will of one specific basketball fan, peruse Jackson Long’s column. Lastly, Saint Louis is favored and their student newspaper has some keys to victory for the Billikens.
LIVE GAME BLOG
Pregame
Royal Blue and every possible shade of green in the arena to watch Saint Louis play Oregon. Duck fans hold the advantage, with proximity to venue as the primary reason. Both bands are here as well. Ducks are rocking the darkness, all black uniforms that is, while the Billikens don all whites. Starters for Oregon are the usual suspects: Dominic Artis, Damyean Dotson, E.J. Singler, Arsalan Kazemi and Tony Woods.
Watch out for the perimeter play of STL’s big men, meaning Tony Woods may be forced to guard a bit out of his comfort zone or Altman could elect to run with a smaller rotation. Billikens likely to press and trap so ball control from Artis and Dotson will be important for Ducks.
Tipoff in 10 minutes. Winner of this one will likely face Louisville who holds a 20-point lead over Colorado State as of 4 p.m.
15:27 left in first half
Saint Louis leads, 7-4. A very sloppy start from both squads, as the ball is squiring all over the place. Oregon is struggling to get into a cohesive offensive set, which is what Saint Louis is aiming to do. E.J. Singler just had a three-on-one chance but waited to long to pass and the ball went out of bounds for Singler’s third turnover already. The Ducks have a total of four turnover and have shot 2-for-5.
11:26 left in first half
Oregon leads, 14-11. Down 7-2, Oregon went on an 8-0 run, capped by a Carlos Emory three to take the lead. Johnathan Loyd has been a starter for a lot of this season but his return to the bench in favor of Artis has actually worked well as Loyd is providing a great spark as a reserve. The Ducks switched from zone defense to man and it slowed the Billikens.
8:17 left in first half
Oregon leads, 19-15. Emory added two consecutive buckets for Ducks to hold pace with Saint Louis. Duck fans had a reason to jump out of their seats when Johnathan Loyd just dropped a pass through his legs behind him for a long-range three from Singler. Emory has eight, Singler has five.
4:11 left in first half
Oregon leads, 28-17. Ducks opened up a seven-point lead with a Dotson three. That is the biggest deficit Saint Louis had faced, aside from two other times, in the last 18 games. Ducks are 3-of-5 from three while the Billikens are 0-for-6. Fade-away jumper from Emory made the lead nine and a steal from Kazemi and dish to Dotson for another bucket made it 11. Ducks lead rebounding battle as well.
Halftime
Wow, what a way to cap the half for the Ducks. 13-2 run across the final 5:45 of the half, 21-4 in the last 10 minutes. Loyd sunk an unlikely three just before time ran out on act one, which sent the arena (comprised of mostly Oregon fans) into a tizzy. Dotson continues his insane streak of great first halves, going 4-of-5 from the field for nine points. Emory has 10 off the bench and the Ducks are all over the boards, 16 to Saint Louis’ 10. The one weak spot for the Ducks has been Singler, who has turned the ball over five times. Dwayne Evans leads Saint Louis with six points. Ducks 4-of-6 from three, Saint Louis is 0-for-10.
Louisville has beaten Colorado State which means the Cardinals await either the Ducks or Billikens in Indianapolis in the Sweet 16.
13:56 left in game
Oregon leads, 44-28. Out of the gate in the second half Oregon looked flat, giving up a 6-2 run to the Billikens while Singler continued his terrible turnover streak. Dotson got an open corner three and then Loyd got a steal and the layup. Waverly Austin just made a bucket at the hoop to extend the Ducks’ lead back to 16. Kazemi has 11 rebounds as his team is beating the Billikens on the glass, 23-14.
8:53 left in game
Oregon leads, 55-37. The pacing has slowed a bit but the Ducks’ momentum has not. Dotson just drilled another three, making him 6-for-8 for 15 points, 3-of-3 from three-point. Of Kazemi’s 13 boards, five of them are offensive, a huge plus for the Ducks. The Billikens are 1-of-12 from three while the Ducks are 6-from-8.
7:34 left in game
Oregon leads, 58-39. Damyean Dotson is having the game of a lifetime. The tournament’s motto is “one shining moment” but he is having blinding week. He had four consecutive great first halves including the game against the Cowboys on Thursday. Now he has turned in a full game show, with 18 points, 7-for-9, 4-of-4 from deep with no signs of slowing down. The Ducks have an enormous lead at 19.
3:31 left in game
Oregon leads, 69-46. Fans in blue and white have gotten real silent here as Damyean Dotson and company continue to pour it on. Lead stands at 21. Ducks looking to coast to the Sweet 16.
Final
Oregon wins, 74-57. Blowout win for UO. Dotson had 23 points, Kazemi snagged 16 rebounds.