Ducks dominate Pac-10 conference championship
LOS ANGELES – Many observers expected a track meet between Oregon and USC in Saturday’s Pac-10 tournament championship game.
Apparently, one team did too.
Oregon’s Ducks, winners of their first two games this week by a combined 37 points, ran around, over and past the Trojans from the opening tip, winning the game in dominant fashion. By halftime the lead was 13, and with 7 minutes left all of Oregon’s reserves were in, comfortable to sit on a cushion that was as large as 39 points.
The 81-57 victory capped off a tremendous week for Ernie Kent’s team, one that earned it not only a conference tournament trophy but also a probable trip to Spokane for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament when the bracket is revealed this afternoon.
Oregon, considered a possible seventh seed before the week, could rocket up within the bracket because of its tournament success, and there’s a good chance that this red-hot squad will be the top seed of the eight teams playing in Spokane for the first week of the tournament.
“We should be a two or a three, nothing lower than that,” Kent said. “This team has just been on a fantastic roll. These last six games have been great.
“I’m more concerned about the matchup (than the location), and then secondly, can our fans get there.”
The Ducks (26-7) were seeded fourth in this tournament and caught a break this week when California defeated UCLA in the quarterfinals, thus allowing them to avoid the Pac-10’s top team.
But when presented with the opportunity, Oregon never blinked, coolly drilling one shot after another within the framework of a frenetic attack that had three opponents on their heels in three days.
No one was hotter than Bryce Taylor, who had been largely quiet of late before scoring 32 points against USC (23-11). Remarkably, the junior made all 11 of his attempts from the floor, including seven 3-pointers. He also made all three of his free-throw attempts.
“It was fun,” Taylor said. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. I just got in a rhythm.”
Taylor was the star in the final, but freshman guard Tajuan Porter took the award for the tournament’s top player. Porter scored 61 points in three games, with 16 in the final.
At 5-foot-6, the freshman excelled at creating space for himself to fire away from the perimeter, sinking 3-pointers and opponents all at once.
But even Porter, not considered one of the conference’s better defensive players, acknowledged that it was an improved effort on that end of the floor that helped Oregon blow out its opposition this week.
“We came out and played great basketball,” Porter said. “We came in with a defensive mentality to shut them down.”
Oregon became the first team to win the Pac-10 tournament twice since it was added back to the schedule in 2002. USC, looking for its first title, appeared to have a good chance after earning tough wins against Stanford and Washington State.
But apparently, those games – the Trojans needed overtime to beat the Cardinal and much of regulation to secure victory against the Cougars – wore down Tim Floyd’s team. Oregon led by 10 points just more than 10 minutes into the game, and USC never mounted a challenge thereafter.
“If they watched today, it might be a 16 (seed for us),” Floyd said.
Even if the Trojans do end up sliding down the bracket, they have the talent to do some damage in the NCAA tournament.