Well-rested Ducks don’t miss a beat
Oregon wove its way through a pandemic-altered season filled with injuries, pauses and uncertainty to win a conference title.
When another kink surfaced in the NCAA Tournament, the resilient, adaptable Ducks shook it off and soared.
Off to another Sweet 16. Chris Duarte scored 23 points and Oregon showed no signs of rust after a long layoff, beating No. 2 seed Iowa 95-80 on Monday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five NCAA Tournaments.
“The guys fought through it, they stayed together,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “I’m proud of the way they responded.”
The seventh-seeded Ducks (21-6) were put in an unprecedented spot, advancing to the West Region’s second round without playing a game. Virginia Commonwealth’s multiple positive COVID-19 tests took care of that, leaving Oregon with a nine-day break since losing in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.
Oregon’s offense hummed like it was fresh off the line once the ball went up, kicking off the tournament’s first Monday of second-round games with a masterpiece. They scored 56 points in the first half.
The Ducks flowed on the floor and glowed on the scoresheet, shooting 56% and hitting 11 3-pointers. LJ Figueroa, above, hit five 3s while scoring 21 points and Will Richardson added 19 points in an offensive domination.
“We just said keep our foot on the gas,” Duarte said. “We did and it was a lot of fun.”
The Ducks’ sweet offensive movements left the secondseeded Hawkeyes (22-9) flailing, one game short of the Sweet 16 for the fourth time under Fran McCaffery.
Luka Garza played like a two-time All-American, bulling in for three-point plays, hitting mid-range jumpers and dropping in the occasional 3. He capped his stellar college career by tying the Iowa NCAA Tournament record with 36 points and grabbing nine rebounds before receiving a nice ovation from the limited crowd allowed in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Joe Wieskamp added 17 points, but the rest of the Hawkeyes weren’t of much help to the big fella, sending them out of the bracket early with other top seeds Illinois, Ohio State and Texas
“It’s heartbreaking, so surreal, it kind of hit me all at once that this is the last time I’ll put on this jersey and that hurts a lot,” Garza said.
“I feel bad that I wasn’t able to lead this team to where it needs to go.”
The Ducks managed to navigate a difficult season full of pauses and injuries to win their second straight Pac-12 regular-season title.