Oregon, coming off a Pac-12 championship as one of the hottest teams in the country,  was one of the trendy upset picks leading up to Thursday’s matchup against 5th seeded Oklahoma State. The 12th seeded Ducks came out strong, getting a couple of quick turnovers and striking first.

 

Oregon would never really look bad and held on to win 68-55.

While the game remained close for the early part of the first half, Oregon would being pulling away, and, with a little more than 8 minutes left, the score was 19-12. The Ducks would extend that lead to 37-26 by halftime with a clutch rebound and put back by Senior forward Arsalan Kazemi who finished the game with 11 points and 17 rebounds.

Kazemi was a major reason for the Ducks’ success as his steady leadership and hustle set the tone for the Ducks.

The leading scorer for the Ducks was Damyean Dotson who led the way with 17 points. E.J. Singler, the season’s leader with 11.6 ppg, added 8 points and the Ducks distribute the ball well.

Marcus Smart, the freshman sensation for the Cowboys put up solid numbers and had 14 points, but he had little impact on the game.

While many saw this upset coming, the win for Oregon provides the first significant upheaval in the tournament. Wichita State’s victory over Pittsburgh is thus far the only win for the lower seed.

The Ducks should provide quite a challenge for the Saint Louis Billikins whom they will face on Saturday. Having watched both games today, Oregon looked to be the better basketball team and is certainly better than their 12 seed would indicate.