EUGENE, Ore.Β β Once Arizona started amassing the statistics that led to the most lopsided of seven Tommy Lloyd-era losses, the Wildcats might have made one mistake that didnβt go in the box score.
They made the Ducks mad.
Just 55 seconds into Oregonβs 87-68 win over Arizona on Saturday, Ducks center NβFaly Dante captured a heave from UA guard Kerr Kriisa at midcourt, then raced to the basket and bowled over UAβs chatty point guard in the process.
βHeβs been talking crap, calling you names and stuff,β Dante said of Kriisa.
The contact sent Kriisa to the floor with so much momentum that Kriisa skidded head first on his back and straight into the cushion of the basketβs foundation. And because Kriisa was deemed not in a legal guarding position, he drew a whistle, too.
βKerr KriisaΒ β send him home to the Baltics,β ESPN analyst Bill Walton said.
Known for his upbeat, affable personality as well as five-star talent, Dante celebrated before hitting the ensuing and-one free throw. Then he grinned when asked about it in his postgame interview, partly because of who was in the way.
βWell, I donβt want to beβ¦β Dante said.
He was then encouraged to go on, with laughter erupting in the interview room.
βWell, the guy in front of me, well, he piss me off, soβ¦β Dante said. βSo I was thinking Iβm gonna just go for it.β
βFelt great. Itβs somebody you donβt like, so itβs all right. Just make him look embarrassed.β
While Oregon coach Dana Altman said Danteβs steal and dunk brought βthe most electricity weβve had in our building,β Ducks guard Jermaine Couisnard found it a turning point for a team that suffered a dreary 90-73 loss to ASU two days earlier.
βThat was crazy. That just got us going,β Couisnard said. βWe were pressing early so we (were) seeing that they were loose with the ball. That gave us a lot of confidence.β
The Wildcats may have also dished Couisnard his own personal motivation. A transfer from South Carolina, Couisnard was playing in only his fourth game for the Ducks after missing the first 14 because of a knee injury. He made only three 3-pointers in his first three games.
But he had another three 3s before halftime even arrived Saturday and went on to hit 6 of 9 long-range shots and finish with a game-high 27 points. As he went off, Couisnard began "communicating" that information back to the Wildcats in a series of notable verbal exchanges.
Tit for tat. And some.
βThey were just chippy. They were playing dirty,β Couisnard said. βThey were hitting me on cuts when I wasnβt in the play, just trying to get me to start talking.
βI guess they got something.β
As the Ducksβ confidence grew, the Wildcatsβ appeared to fade. With Dante shooting 9 of 11 inside and Cousinard hitting 9 of 14 from the field, the Ducks shot 53.1% overall. But for Arizona, Kriisa went 2 for 10, guard Courtney Ramey was 4 for 12, and even normally trusty forward Azuolas Tubelis was 5 for 13 inside.
βI think they did a good job of playing the hearts out and just bringing it to us,β Ramey said. βI just don't think we responded in the way we needed to throughout the game.β
The hard evidence was obvious: UA wound up getting outshot 53.1% to 37.5%, was outrebounded 42-32, scored eight fewer points off turnovers despite both teams having 16 turnovers, and, perhaps most notably, the Wildcats were outscored in the paint for only the fourth time all season (Utah, Tennessee and ASU have also out-rebounded the Wildcats).
βBeat them in every category,β Oregon coach Dana Altman said. βWe were bad Thursday, and I donβt want to take anything away from Arizona State, but we were different tonight.β
Maybe the Wildcats had something to do with that.
Whatever the case, Oregon managed to look like the sort of Oregon team that annually figures it out by midseason and competes for the conference title. This team that was picked to finish third in the Pac-12, behind only UCLA and Arizona.
βCβmon, I mean, player-for-player in this conference, they're probably as talented or more talented than anybody,β Lloyd said. βAnd when they play that hard and that spirited, it's tough to deal with.
βI know what happens on Thursday doesn't impact what happens on Saturday. And the more desperate team played harder, which is a lot of times the case especially at home.β
