Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Oregon punches ticket, bursts bubble
Crown leaves another team as lame duck
A group of Ducks fans in the corner of T-mobile Arena erupted in jubilation as the clock ticked down on Oregon’s 75-68 victory over Colorado in the Pac-12 tournament championship game Saturday night.
Their cheers still weren’t enough to drown out the groans from faraway places like Charlottesville, Virginia; South Orange, New Jersey; and Terre Haute, Indiana.
The surprising run by the fourth-seeded Ducks to a conference championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament is likely to take a bid away from either Virginia, Seton Hall or Indiana State.
Oregon (23-11) will be in the bracket largely because of the heroics of N’faly Dante, who made all 12 of his shots from the field and finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
Though he was only credited with one block, his presence on the defensive end impacted the Buffaloes throughout the game.
Third-seeded Colorado (24-10) is still likely to earn an at-large berth, but the Buffaloes were seeking just their second Pac-12 tournament title and first since the event moved to Las Vegas in 2013.
Colorado was in it until the end, when a decisive run by the Ducks propelled them to victory.
Jackson Shelstad made a pair of free throws with 3:23 remaining, and Kwame Evans Jr. came up with a steal that Jadrian Tracey converted on the other end with a baseline drive to the rim for a layup.
The teams then traded baskets in the lane.
Dante altered a pair of shots on the next possession and then secured a rebound, following it up on the offensive end with a tip-in bucket at the rim.
The Ducks made free throws from there and got enough stops to punch their ticket into the NCAA field.
It looked early like they were worn out after surviving with narrow wins over UCLA and No. 6 Arizona in the first two rounds, but Oregon was able to grab a 33-30 lead at the break after mounting a late first-half rally.
The Ducks jumped out to a quick start, but went into a funk when Dante, a first-team all-league center, picked up his second foul with 14:30 remaining and went to the bench.
Colorado responded with a 13-0 run to take its biggest lead at 20-11.
Oregon coach Dana Altman sensed the game slipping away and put Dante back in. The Ducks responded minutes later with a 12-2 run and went into the locker room on a high note when Shelstad hit a jumper in the final seconds of the first half.
The Buffaloes had three possessions in the first 10 minutes of the second half when they could have taken the lead, but came away empty each time.
They went in front for the first time in the second half on a pair of free throws by KJ Simpson with 9:07 remaining in regulation, triggering a run of four straight possessions on which the lead changed hands.
Shelstad finished with 17 points, and Jermaine Couisnard had 14 points and eight assists in the win.
Simpson posted 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Buffaloes, but Luke O’brien was the only other Colorado player in double figures.