Oregon misses Boucher but finds way to stay dangerous
KANSAS CITY, MO. When Oregon’s season twisted, Chris Boucher just rubbed his left knee, got up and kept playing, almost as if nothing had happened.
The senior forward played those final 20 seconds of the first half and then 12 minutes in the second half of the Ducks’ win March 10 against California in a Pac-12 tournament semifinal. Afterward, he complained his knee felt funny. The next morning, further tests revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Boucher and the Ducks were stunned — and damaged.
No. 3 Oregon plays No. 7 Michigan in a Sweet 16 matchup Thursday evening at Sprint Center, and no one would be surprised if the Ducks keep on winning. For a team that is a talented mesh of somewhat interchangeable parts, the loss of a sixth man, even the third-leading scorer, wouldn’t seem debilitating. But Boucher’s impact went beyond the stats.
“He was the X factor,” Oregon forward Jordan Bell says.
And the absence of the stringy 6-10, 200- pound senior who averaged 11.8 points per game has had a ripple effect on a team that had reasonable aspirations of winning the national championship. The Ducks still have them, they say. But privately, those associated with the team bemoan the loss of a combination of rim protector and rebounder on one end of the floor, legitimate perimeter threat on the other.
“That’s what the media thinks and other people think,” sophomore guard Tyler Dorsey says. “In our locker room, we just go on and play basketball. And whoever needs to step up, we’re gonna be ready.”
Dorsey is echoed by teammates, and he should be. Oregon remains very dangerous, a lineup filled with offensive threats. At least as important is the players’ collective experience, which has produced a potent combination of swagger and mental toughness. That helped them avoid an upset against Rhode Island in the Round of 32 last Sunday, when they climbed out of a 10point hole in the second half.
But with Boucher, they were better. After winning a part of the Pac-12’s regular-season title, Oregon was thought to be flirting with a possible No. 1 seed. The loss of Boucher might have had as much to do with dropping to a No. 3 as a loss to Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament championship game the day they learned he was out. One set of odds to win the NCAA tournament had Oregon at 20-1, 13th of 16 remaining teams, ahead of Butler, South Carolina and Xavier.
Unquestionably, Oregon’s journey through March has become more difficult.
A year ago, Boucher became the only player in Pac-12 history to have 100 blocks (110) and at least 35 three-pointers (39) in a season. This year, he had 79 blocks — 2.5 per game — and 36 three-pointers while averaging 6.1 rebounds. And though his absence has changed things offensively — “We miss the spacing on the floor, you had to guard him,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said — it has had a greater impact on Oregon’s defense, where Boucher functioned as a formidable eraser, both for opponents’ shots and Oregon’s defensive lapses.
“Our numbers defensively since he’s been out have just gone to heck, really quick,” Altman said.
The Ducks have held opponents to 40.5% shooting. In the regular season, they allowed an opponent to shoot 50% or better only three times. They’ve allowed it to two of three opponents since. Oregon averages 6.4 blocks, but in the three games without Boucher, it has totaled seven.
“And that doesn’t count the three or four (shots) per game that he changed,” Altman said. “So all of a sudden that’s maybe six shots at the rim. … We’ve faced good offensive teams, but (not) having that rim protector has just really changed us.”
Outwardly, there’s not much different. Altman hasn’t made many adjustments, but Oregon has been good enough offensively to overcome. Kavell Bigby-Williams, a 6-11, 230-pound junior, has moved into the rotation and has been solid. Defensively, the Ducks are different, but they’re figuring out how to play without him. Oregon’s guards, especially, can’t gamble quite as much.
“We relied on him and Jordan (Bell) to make defensive plays, especially blocking shots,” guard Dylan Ennis said. “Now that he’s out, our guards have to keep our guys in front of us.”
Said Bell: “It makes everybody else have to step up and do one extra thing: scoring, rebounding, blocking shots, defending on the perimeter better.”
Boucher did not travel to Kansas City with the rest of the Ducks. He stayed behind to take two finals Wednesday and is scheduled to fly in before Thursday’s game.
Despite the late, cruel twist, the Ducks play on. “We all have to do a little more,” Ennis said. “We can’t dwell on it. We’ve just got to get into a game plan and continue on trying to win it.”