Ducks Perform Elegant First Step at the Big Dance

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The NCAA tournament game was technically an upset: No. 12 seed Oregon topples No. 5 seed Oklahoma State 68-55.  It felt like anything but. Oregon, now 27-8, was the aggressor from the opening tip and took the game physically to the higher-ranked Cowboys from the Big-12 Conference.  On Thursday, the Ducks were simply the quicker and …

Loyd’s ‘Outstanding’ Homecoming Leads Ducks to Pac-12 Championship

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – You couldn’t write a better script. The local high school star comes back to his hometown and comes off the bench to lead his college team to a major conference championship, and along the way, picks up the tournament Most Outstanding Player award. Johnathan Loyd, a Las Vegas native son, came off Oregon’s bench for the …

Ducks Pay Back Utah and Gain Another Chance to Claim a Pac-12 Title

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Utah ended Oregon’s goal of winning the regular season conference championship a week ago in the final Pac-12 game in Salt Lake City with a stifling performance against a flat and uninspired Duck effort. Last night in semifinal action from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in No. 10-seed Utah’s third game in three nights, Oregon got …

Loyd’s FT’s Force OT and Kazemi Wakes Up to Help Ducks Advance to Pac-12 Semifinals

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – First, Johnny Loyd made two critical free throws to tie the score and send the game into overtime. Then, Arsalan Kazemi awakened from a two-and a-half-game funk in time to score 11 points and grab three rebounds in the extra period to lead the Ducks into the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament Wednesday night with a …

Oregon Basketball Analysis: What a Difference One Rocky Road Trip Makes

Luke Roth Coach's Opinion

LAS VEGAS–  Who was that team disguised in Oregon basketball uniforms playing at Colorado and Utah in the last round of Pac-12 regular season games? Certainly not the team Duck fans have learned to know this season and definitely not the same team that piled up 23 wins. Most assuredly, it wasn’t the same one that led the conference for …

Utah Seniors Wash Away Oregon’s Pac-12 Title Hopes

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Jason Washburn threw the first punch.  His 15 first-half points left the Ducks shaken, dazed, and behind 44-30 at the break.  Then Jarred DuBois knocked the Ducks out.  His late, clutch shooting display helped the lowly Utes maintain their wire-to-wire lead and provided a monumental upset on the last day of the regular season. The …

Ice-Cold Ducks Buried in the Rockies

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

BOULDER, Colo. – It’s not the time of year to lay an egg, but that’s just what the No. 19 Oregon Ducks did at Coors Events Center in Boulder on Thursday night.  In a game that would have given Oregon a share of the Pac-12 title and the number-one-seed in the upcoming conference tournament, Colorado crushed the Ducks, 76-53. In …

Seniors Rally Ducks Past Beavers, Reclaim Pac-12 Lead

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

After freshman Dominic Artis bounced in a three-pointer to break a 52-52 tie with 11:31 left in Thursday’s Civil War at Matthew Knight Arena, Oregon’s four seniors scored 29 of the final 30 points of the game as the Ducks roared past Oregon State, 85-75, and reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 race with two games remaining. …

Oregon Basketball Analysis: Down-and-Dirty Defense Allows Ducks to Run Free

Luke Roth Coach's Opinion

Until Oregon’s recent payback win over Stanford, when the Ducks shot 48% from the field, its outside shooting woes and stagnant offensive production have been well-chronicled, especially in the nine-game absence of point guard Dominic Artis. The offensive scouting report on Oregon?  “Pay close attention to Singler, Dotson, and Emory on the perimeter, but dare Loyd and everybody else to …

Johnathan Loyd Stirs the Drink as Ducks Drub Stanford

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Johnathan Loyd had heard it all. The whispers. The comments. The tweets. How he couldn’t shoot, how other teams don’t guard him, how the Ducks have gone straight downhill without Dominic Artis, and on and on. Going scoreless in a heartbreaking loss to California two nights earlier, didn’t help. But Saturday against Stanford, in a game the Ducks had to …

Last-Second California Dagger Stuns Ducks

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

After 10 consecutive losses to the Bears stretching back to 2008, it looked like No. 23 Oregon had found a way to end the streak. Despite struggling to score for nearly all 40 minutes of Thursday’s Pac-12 game at Matthew Knight Arena, the Ducks controlled the game defensively and led for nearly the entire contest. Oregon defended and rebounded with …

Cougars Give Singler Big Gift and the Ducks Escape Palouse with 79-77 OT Win

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Behind by three points and the clock winding down in overtime, WSU’s Royce Woolridge wanted the ball. As he dribbled toward the 3-point line from half court, the sophomore guard fired up his 36th point of the night on a long three with under 10 seconds remaining that tied No. 23 Oregon, 77-77. The Ducks didn’t hesitate and moved quickly …