Oregon got a taste of March Madness against St. Joseph’s on Sunday in Spokane, and appeared headed for an early Spring Break.
The Ducks were on the ropes, trailing 58-51 with five and a half minutes remaining. But a late rally, led by Dillon Brooks, Elgin Cook and Tyler Dorsey kept Oregon’s NCAA Tournament run alive, as the Ducks beat St. Joseph’s 69-64.
No. 1 seed Oregon seemed close to blowing the game wide open in the second half when Brooks hit a three-pointer to give the the Ducks a 45-35 lead with 14:22 remaining.
But Saint Joseph’s went on an unanswered 10-point run in the next four minutes, and took their first lead, 50-49, on Lamarr Kimble’s three-pointer. The Ducks’s offense tightened up, looking uncertain of who they should turn to. Kimble pushed the St. Joseph’s lead 58-51 with 5:33 left, their largest of the game.
On offense, Oregon leaned heavily on Brooks and Cook, who were one and two in scoring during the regular season. Brooks had a game-high 25 points, while Cook added 18. Meanwhile, Chris Boucher and Dwayne Benjamin were non-factors on offense, scoring a combined seven points on 3 of 10 shooting.
The same was true for Dorsey, until he stepped up in the waning moments of the game. With under three minutes left, St. Joseph’s gave Oregon a glimmer of hope, but still led 58-56. Cook missed a point blank shot, but out of nowhere came Dorsey for a putback lay-in.
On the next possession, Dorsey pulled up from deep to give the Ducks a go-ahead 61-60 lead. Brooks followed up Dorsey with a three of his own. Oregon hit just 6 of 24 three-pointers, but the last two gave the Ducks a 64-62 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Dorsey finished with 14 points on 4 of 12 shooting, but made arguably the two most important plays for Oregon down the stretch.
Oregon also closed the game out with timely makes from the foul line, which hadn’t been the case earlier in the season. The Ducks finished 21 of 25 from the line, significantly higher than their 70 percent average coming into the game.
Oregon’s win came during a wild day of NCAA Tournament games that included a Texas A&M win over Northern Iowa in double overtime and No. 7 seed Wisconsin upsetting No. 2 seed Xavier.
Ultimately, however, the top four seeds in the West Region advanced to the Sweet 16, including Oregon. No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 2 Oklahoma are set to play in Anaheim, California on Thursday, while Oregon will face No. 4 Duke immediately following. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. on TBS.
The Ducks last played in the Sweet 16 under Dana Altman in 2013, where they lost to eventual champion Louisville 77-69. Altman has never advanced past the round of 16, but will get another chance on Thursday.
Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner