Oregon and UCLA Head To Sweet Sixteen

Sacramento, CA Oregons Tyler Dorsey hit a three-pointer with 38 seconds left to push the Ducks to a hard-fought 75-72 win over a talented and tough Rhode Island squad. Dorsey continued his aggressive play and led Oregon with 27 points on 9-of-10 from the field including 4-of-5 from long distance. Dorsey added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. 6-4 reserve Stanford Robinson had the game of his career for the Rams scoring 21 points in 22 minutes of action. Oregon will now head to the Midwest regional final in Kansas City and face off against a hot Michigan team on Thursday.

After Dorseys three-pointer Robinson missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game. Rhode Island grabbed the offensive rebound to give them another chance. With six seconds remaining E.C. Matthews (13 points) missed another three-pointer, Dillon Brooks grabbed the rebound and Oregon escaped with the win.

Oregon led early and was leading 30-22 with 6:36 remaining in the half when Robinson and fellow reserve, 6-8 freshman Cyril Langevine (nine points, nine rebounds) led an impressive 24-8 run in the remainder of the half. Robinson contributed 11 points in that run as Rhode Island went into halftime with a 46-38 lead.

The Rams still were leading 60-52 with 10:53 remaining after Kuran Iverson hit a jumper. Oregon then started to chip into the lead as Brooks made a three-pointer to cut the lead to 64-60. Then following a fast-break lay-in by Jordan Bell, Brooks hit another three to give the Ducks a 68-66 lead with 4:50 left. Rhode Island then scored the next six points, the last basket coming on a tip-in of a missed shot by Robinson that gave the Rams a 72-68 lead with 2:15 remaining. Dylan Ennis than made one of two free throws but Bell came up with two key offensive rebounds on the possession, the second on a missed three-pointer by Brooks. He tossed the ball out to Dorsey who made a three-pointer to tie the game at 72 with 1:47 left, setting the stage for Dorseys winning three-pointer.

In taking their eight-point halftime lead Rhode Island shot 59.4 percent from the field. They tailed off and shot 40.7 percent in the second half. Oregon shot 5-of-11 on three-pointers in the second half, with four of them very important in the outcome of the game. The Ducks out-rebounded the Rams 35-28 and 15-9 on the offensive boards. Bell grabbed 12 rebounds, six of them off the offensive glass. Oregon, helped by their aggressive penetration enjoyed a 27-8 edge in free throw attempts and were called for seven fewer fouls. Rhode Islands defense forced Oregon into 14 turnovers, ten in the first half. According to Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman that defense we faced is as good as any defense weve faced all year. Their activity, their toughness, thats a well coached defensive team.

6-2 junior guard Jared Terrell had an impressive game for the Rams with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, six assists, four steals and played excellent defense. Brooks scored 19 points for the Ducks but it wasnt one of his better games. He shot an inefficient 7-of-20 and missed five shots at the rim. Brooks was also called for a technical foul in the first half after both teams were warned for excessive talking on the court. It was Brooks second personal foul and resulted in his missing some first half action.

It was an intense well-played game and a game where it was a shame that there had to be a loser. As Altman noted We feel very fortunate to be moving on. Oregon (31-5) will head to Kansas City while the Rams (25-10) can head home to Kingston, Rhode Island with their heads held high.

In the nightcap UCLA (31-4) overcame a three-point halftime deficit to storm back behind Lonzo Ball to top Cincinnati 79-67 before a crowd of 16,774 at the Golden 1 Center. Ball hit two key three-pointers in the middle of the second half to give the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish. He finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and shot 4-of-7 from long-distance.

Bryce Alford (16 points) also made four three-pointers as UCLA hit 11-of-28 from deep. Freshman Jarron Cumberland led Cincinnati (30-6) with 15 points. The Bruins now head to Memphis to face No. 2-seed Kentucky in the South regional. The South is the only regional where the top four seeded teams advanced to the sweet sixteen.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball .