Oregon Drops Sweet 16 Game to USC

The Pac-12 champions' season has come to an end after a 82-68 loss.

Despite a commanding win over a well-respected Iowa team in the round of 32, Oregon entered Sunday's game against USC with something to prove. 

USC's Isaiah Mobley claimed Oregon "Stole the Pac-12 championship" from the Trojans and the Ducks were ready to prove they were the real deal and made for March. 

The offense was trading blows with USC to start the game with some crafty plays from Chris Duarte and Will Richardson. Isaiah White got things started for his team with a pair of triples--a stinging reminder of what doomed the Ducks in the last matchup between the two teams. 

The offense battled numerous scoring droughts in the first half, which is likely what contributed to more ill-advised shots than Dana Altman would liked to have seen. Oregon tried to get the ball moving around the perimeter, but the Trojans were quick to rotate all night long, making it hard to find penetration. The Pac-12's top 3-point shooting team was hardly deadly in that regard Sunday (5-21 3PT FG).

When the offense was able to penetrate from the outside, the driving player was often met by one of the massive Mobley brothers. Evan (7'0") and Isaiah (6'10") presented a huge issue that Oregon struggled to overcome: length. 

Had the team not lost N'Faly Dante earlier in the season, perhaps it could've responded to this challenge more easily--but you have to make due with what you have. This shortcoming was apparent when examining the points in the paint, an area USC outscored Oregon in 24-12 in the first half. 

The offense shot just 30.3% in the first half compared to USC's 58.6% and as a result Oregon entered the half trailing 41-26.

The Ducks played with a bit more offensive fire to start the second half but still struggled to get stops, and before long the Trojans' lead had ballooned to 20. Eugene Omoruyi did everything he could to keep his team in the game, finishing with a team-high 28 points.

Altman chose to insert Franck Kepnang to stop the bleeding a bit and the Ducks were able to string together a 9-0 run. A comeback looked possible, but Evan Mobley's presence inside and Tahj Eaddy's hot shooting groove late put the game out of reach for Oregon. 

It's worth noting LJ Figueroa was not his usual self tonight--finishing with just four points on two made shots. We saw Oregon come up short in familiar fashion: with only two players shouldering the scoring duties. 

The Ducks fell to USC 82-68 to conclude their NCAA tournament run.

Final Stats

Eugene Omoruyi: 28 pts (9-19 FG, 2-5 3pt FG), 10 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk

Chris Duarte: 21 pts (8-16 FG, 2-6 3pt FG), 6 ast, 5 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk

Franck Kepnang: 8 pts (4-5 FG), 1 reb

Will Richardson: 5 pts (2-8 FG, 1-4 3pt FG), 5 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk, 1 reb

LJ Figueroa: 4 pts (2-12 FG, 0-4 3pt FG), 4 reb

Eric Williams Jr.: 2 pts (1-7 FG)

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