Wednesday night had the potential to be a classic “trap game” for Oregon men’s basketball. After beating Oregon State last Saturday and a matchup with rival Washington looming on Sunday, the Ducks certainly could’ve played down to last-place Washington State’s level.
“We knew we had to come out with the same mentality (as Saturday). We knew we had to come out and not slack on them,” guard Tyler Dorsey said.
Three minutes into the game and it was clear there would be no letdown from the Ducks.
Oregon jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first five minutes of the game and never looked back, en route to a 76-62 victory. With the win, the Ducks improve to 23-5 overall (11-4 in the Pac-12), good enough for first place in the conference after Arizona fell to Colorado.
“We out-rebounded them which is good — our second chance points and points off turnovers obviously were the difference in the game,” head coach Dana Altman said. “It was a game that we had to have and we got to continue to get better.”
Elgin Cook led the Ducks with 24 points, including 10-for-11 from the free throw line, and added six rebounds and three assists.
“I was just trying to lock into our scouting report and just be active out there,” Cook said. “My teammates did a good job of helping me.”
Chris Boucher added 18 points and 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Dillon Brooks finished with 17 points and seven rebounds while Dorsey chipped in 12 points.
The Ducks came out firing from three-point territory to start the game. Dorsey hit two 3-pointers and Boucher added another within the first five minutes.
Defensively, Oregon bothered the Cougars into contested shots nearly every trip down the court. Combine the length of Boucher with the strength on Brooks and Cook and Washington State had a tough time finding any easy buckets.
“Chris is back there blocking shots and making good plays and with me blocking shots, it also helps set up our defense too,” Cook said.
The Cougars rallied and cut the deficit down to seven after a Que Johnson jumper with 8:59 to play in the half. That was the closest Washington State got the rest of the way, as Boucher tipped in a Dorsey miss on the following possession and the lead continued to increase from there.
Oregon closes out its home portion of the schedule with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff against Washington on Sunday.
Extra Notes
— With the victory, the Ducks won their school-record 24th consecutive home game.
— Elgin Cook set a career-high with three blocks.
— Sunday’s game against Washington will be senior night for the Ducks. The Ducks will honor Cook, Chris Boucher, Dwayne Benjamin, Dylan Ennis and Max Heller. The Ducks are appealing the senior statuses of Boucher and Ennis in hopes both players can return next year.
— It was the first time all year the guard Casey Benson finished a game with more turnovers (1) than assists (0). Benson leads the nation with a 5.12 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka