Tyger Campbell lifts No. 2 UCLA past Oregon in Pac-12 semis

Associated PressMar 11, 2023, 12:11 AM EST

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS – Tyger Campbell scored a career-high 28 points, including all seven during a key second-half run, and No. 2 UCLA beat Oregon 75-56 on Friday night in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament semifinals.

The Bruins (29-4) will play No. 8 Arizona or Arizona State in Saturday’s title game. UCLA has won 12 straight and 26 of 28, and one more victory likely would secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Oregon (19-14) had won four in a row. The Ducks are on the NCAA bubble.

Campbell’s personal seven-point run gave UCLA a 57-46 lead. The 5-foot-11 point guard capped the spurt by dribbling near the key, backing up, looking at the shot clock and then charging ahead for a pull-up 16-footer over Oregon 7-footer Kel’el Ware.

Campbell’s previous best was a 27-point performance Feb. 12, 2022 against Southern California.

UCLA lost a big defensive presence inside when Adem Bona injured his left arm while diving for a loose ball. He grabbed his arm and shortly afterward was taken to the locker room with 16:14 left in the game. Bona had done a little bit of everything with four points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.

Bona returned to the bench but didn’t re-enter the game. Mac Etienne and Kenneth Nwuba played in his place.

UCLA was already playing the tournament without Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Jaylen Clark.

Campbell helped the Bruins overcome those losses. Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 18 points and David Singleton had 12.

Quincy Guerrier and Will Richardson each scored 10 points for Oregon.

BIG PICTURE

Oregon: The Ducks ran into one of the nation’s top defenses, and they especially struggled from outside, shooting 3 of 19 from 3-point range. Oregon managed to hang around thanks to a bench that outscored UCLA 26-4.

UCLA: The Bruins have managed to win both games in the tournament without Clark and got by without Bona in the second half against the Ducks. They likely will need to get healthier to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

Oregon: The Ducks will find out Sunday if they are headed to the NCAA Tournament or NIT.

UCLA: The Bruins want the No. 1 seed in the West, which could put them back in Las Vegas in two weeks for the regional. They must win Saturday to ensure that.

UCLA’s Jaquez Jr., Cronin highlight AP All-Pac-12 team

Associated PressMar 7, 2023, 5:46 PM EST

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s decision to return for his senior season worked out quite well for No. 2 UCLA.

Jaquez was named The Associated Press player of the year in the Pac-12 and Bruins coach Mick Cronin is the conference coach of the year. Washington forward Keion Brooks was named Pac-12 newcomer of the year by an eight-person panel of journalists who cover the conference.

Jaquez considered leaving Westwood for the NBA after three productive seasons that included a trip the Final Four and the Sweet 16 in consecutive years. The crafty 6-foot-7 swing man had another boxscore-stuffing season in his return, averaging 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while helping lead the Bruins to their first Pac-12 regular-season title in a decade.

Cronin has returned UCLA to prominence in four seasons since leaving Cincinnati. The Bruins had deep NCAA Tournament runs the past two seasons and were the class of the Pac-12 this year.

UCLA went 27-4 overall during the regular season, 18-2 in Pac-12 play and had its first undefeated home season (17-0) since 2006-07. The Bruins have the nation’s longest active home winning streak at 25 games and are the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament this week in Las Vegas.

Brooks had an immediate impact at Washington after transferring from Kentucky. The 6-foot-7 forward was third in Pac-12 scoring at 17.8 points per game while grabbing 6.9 rebounds.

FIRST TEAM

u-Guard – Tyger Campbell, UCLA, Sr., 5-11, 180, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Guard – Boogie Ellis, USC, Sr., 6-3, 185, San Diego.

u-Forward – Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA, Sr., 6-7, 225, Camarillo, California.

u-Forward – Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona, Jr., 6-11, 245, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Center – Branden Carlson, Utah, Sr., 7-0, 228, South Jordan, Utah.

-“u” denotes unanimous selection.

SECOND TEAM

Guard – Drew Peterson, USC, Sr., 6-9, 205, Libertyville, Illinois.

Guard – Keion Brooks Jr., Washington, Sr., 6-7, 210, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Forward – Mouhamed Gueye, Washington St., So., 6-11, 210, Dakar, Senegal.

Forward – N’Faly Dante, Oregon, Sr., 6-11, 230, Bamako, Mali.

Center – Oumar Ballo, Arizona, Jr., 7-0, 260, Koulikoro, Mali.

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Player of the year – Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA.

Coach of the year – Mick Cronin, UCLA.

Newcomer of the year – Keion Brooks, Washington.

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All-Pac-12 voting panel: Bruce Pascoe, Arizona Daily Star; Michelle Gardner, Arizona Republic; Paul Klee, Colorado Springs Gazette; Adam Grosbard, Orange County Register; Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News; James Crepea, The Oregonian; Pat Rooney, BuffZone.com; Jesse Sowa, Corvallis Gazette-Times.

Rice leads No. 10 UCLA to 82-74 win over No. 17 Oregon

Associated PressDec 31, 2022, 12:13 AM EST

Chris Pietsch/USA TODAY NETWORK

EUGENE, Ore. — Freshman Kiki Rice had 21 points and seven assists to lead No. 10 UCLA to an 82-74 victory over 17th-ranked Oregon on Friday night.

UCLA (13-1, 2-0 Pac-12) senior guard Charisma Osborne added 17 points before leaving the game in the fourth quarter due to an injury.

Senior guard Endyia Rogers had 18 points and five assists to lead the Ducks (10-3, 1-1). Freshman Grace VanSlooten and junior guard Te-Hina Paopao each had 17 points.

UCLA led 54-48 after three quarters and pulled away with a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

Rice converted a three-point play to open the quarter before Gabriela Jaquez added a basket. Gina Conti converted back-to-back buckets to put UCLA ahead 63-48. Emily Bessoir made a 3-pointer that pushed the Bruins to a 68-50 lead before Oregon scored 11 points in a row.

Oregon closed within 70-64 on a 3-pointer by Paopao before UCLA’s Camryn Brown made a three-point play with 3:27 left.

Oregon rallied from a 38-32 halftime deficit and took a 43-42 lead on a basket by Phillipina Kyei early in the third quarter. UCLA responded with eight straight points, including four straight by Osborne for a 50-43 advantage. Brown capped off the quarter with a bucket to put UCLA ahead 54-48.

Rice scored 15 points in the opening half and Osborne added 11 as the pair combined to make 4 of 8 3-pointers. Rogers scored 12 to pace the Ducks in the half.

BIG PICTURE:

UCLA: The Bruins are tied for first place in the conference and validated their top-10 ranking with a road win over the Ducks.

UCLA’s only loss was 73-64 at No. 1 South Carolina, and the Bruins also have a 80-63 win over Tennessee, which was ranked No. 11 at the time. The Bruins have a showdown at home looming against No. 2 Stanford in two weeks.

Oregon: All three of Oregon’s losses have come against ranked teams as UCLA joined No. 3 Ohio State and No. 13 North Carolina as teams that have beaten the Ducks. Oregon has a win over No. 24 Arkansas as it looks to build its postseason resume.

UP NEXT:

UCLA: The Bruins visit Oregon State on Sunday.

Oregon: The Ducks host USC on Sunday.

Davis helps UC Irvine shock No. 21 Oregon

Associated PressNov 12, 2022, 2:43 PM EST

Chris Pietsch/USA TODAY

EUGENE, Ore. — DJ Davis scored 24 points, hitting six 3-pointers, as UC Irvine stunned No. 21 Oregon 69-56 on Friday night.

Dawson Baker added 11 points for UC Irvine (2-0), which is picked to finish fourth in the Big West Conference this season. The Anteaters made 12-of-28 3-pointers.

“Credit the guys in our locker room, they believed they could come in and compete and it is hard to generate that all the time, but we have a winning tradition,” UC Irvine coach Russell Turner said. “They had some guys out and it is not easy to play us early in the year, I know that. Give them credit for taking this game, it was a big deal for us to get an opportunity to come in here and play. This was a hell of an opportunity for us to play a team of their quality. We don’t take this for granted.”

The Ducks were led by N’Faly Dante with 20 points while Nate Bittle added 10. Oregon shot 32.7% from the field, including 4-for-21 on 3-pointers.

“We got beat in every facet of the game,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “Hustle, toughness, a number of our practices resembled that and I was fearful that at some point in time that might come. They were the aggressor from the start.”

It was UC Irvine’s first win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 18 Kansas State 70-64 in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The last time the Anteaters beat a ranked team in the regular season was over No. 20 Stanford in 2003.

“It is meaningful, unquestionably, to beat a program of this quality and players of this quality in an arena where they have such an unbelievable record in nonconference play,” Turner said. “It is special for us and I am grateful.”

Oregon played without transfer guards Brennan Rigsby and Jermaine Couisnard, who are out indefinitely due to injury. It matched the largest margin of defeat in a nonconference home game for the Ducks since a 67-54 loss to Virginia on Dec. 18, 2011.

“A poor mental effort,” Altman said. “We didn’t compete. I wish I had something positive to say, but really disappointed. The guys are disappointed. I’m disappointed. Got punched right from the start.”

UC Irvine built a 35-22 lead at halftime and stretched the margin when Bent Leuchten scored to open the second half and Devin Tillis added a three-point play to push the lead to 40-22.

Dante made a free throw to cut the lead to 42-26 with 18:03 left to play, but the Ducks couldn’t get much closer the rest of the game.

UC Irvine built an early 12-4 lead before Oregon took an 18-17 lead on two free throws by Kel’el Ware with 6:11 left in the first half.

The Anteaters closed out the half with a 18-5 run to take a 35-22 lead at the half.

BIG PICTURE:

UC Irvine: The Anteaters improved to 2-0 with a couple West Coast Conference teams ahead in Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine before hosting Life Pacific. There is not likely another ranked opponent on UC Irvine’s schedule this year.

Oregon: The Ducks opened the season with a win over Florida A&M and looked likely to start 3-0 with wins expected over UC Irvine and Montana State before the schedule gets tougher. Oregon’s nonconference schedule is loaded in the middle with a home game against third-ranked Houston on Sunday followed by a trip to the Phil Knight Invitational where they could face No. 1 North Carolina, No. 16 Villanova, or No. 20 Alabama. After that, Oregon opens Pac-12 play against Washington State and No. 8 UCLA before wrapping up nonconference games against four non-power conference programs.

UP NEXT

UC Irvine: The Anteaters host Loyola Marymount on Tuesday.

Oregon: The Ducks stay home to face Montana State on Tuesday.

No. 8 UCLA picked to win Pac-12 in preseason poll

Associated PressOct 26, 2022, 6:47 PM EDT

Mitchell Leff-USA TODAY Sports

No. 8 UCLA has been picked to win the Pac-12.

The Bruins received 26 first-place votes from a 33-person media panel in the poll. No. 17 Arizona, No. 21 Oregon, Southern California and Stanford rounded out the top five. The Wildcats and Ducks each received three first-place votes and the Cardinal one.

UCLA has four of its top seven scorers back from a team that finished runner-up in the Pac-12 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season. The Bruins also added a stellar freshman class, headed by Amari Bailey and Adem Bona, both top-20 recruits.

Arizona won the Pac-12 last season, its first under coach Tommy Lloyd, and also reached the Sweet 16. The Wildcats lost three players to the NBA for the second straight season, but have a strong core returning and added several veterans who should contribute right away.

Oregon is looking to return to the NCAA Tournament after struggling defensively last season. The Ducks added several transfers and 7-foot freshman Kel’el Ware, one of the top recruits in the 2022 recruiting class.

Belmont women knock off Oregon 73-70 in double OT in NCAAs

Associated PressMar 19, 2022, 9:14 PM EDT

Getty Images

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Destinee Wells knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:02 left in double overtime, and the Belmont Bruins knocked off No. 5 seed Oregon 73-70 Saturday for their second straight win as a 12 seed to open an NCAA Tournament.

Belmont (23-7) upset 14th-ranked Gonzaga in the Texas bubble last year in the women’s NCAA Tournament. With plenty of Lady Vols’ fans hanging around to cheer a fellow Tennessee school, the Bruins won their 13th straight and 19th in their last 21 games overall.

They will play fourth-seeded Tennessee, an 80-67 winner over Buffalo, on Monday in the second round.

This was the first double-overtime game in the NCAA Tournament since Dayton and St John’s in the first round in 2013. This was a thriller from start to finish with 10 ties and Wells’ go-ahead free throws was the seventh lead change and the only time Belmont led in the second overtime.

After Wells split two free throws with 4.5 seconds left, Oregon had a final chance. But Sedona Prince’s long 3 bounced off the rim as the Bruins rushed the court to hug each other and Prince hung her head in dejection.

Oregon had the ball for much of the final minute in the second overtime and couldn’t get a shot to fall.

The Ducks won a jump ball situation with 29.8 seconds remaining. They kicked the ball out to Endiya Rogers whose 3 hit off the far rim, and Madison Bartley got the rebound with 6.5 seconds left to start the Belmont celebration.

The Bruins led 50-44 lead with 5:02 left in the fourth before Oregon rallied with a 9-3 run capped by Te-Hina Paopao’s 3 from the left corner with 7.9 seconds left tying it up at 53. All Pac-12 forward Nyara Sabally blocked Nikki Baird’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer to force overtime.

Both teams had a chance to win at the end of the first overtime tied at 64. Sabally missed a layup in the final seconds before the All-Pac-12 forward blocked a couple inside chances by Bartley before the buzzer.

Tuti Jones led Belmont with 22 points, making all four of her 3-pointers. Wells finished with 16, and Conley Chinn added 10. The Bruins came in 20th in the nation knocking down an average of 8.4 3s per game. This time, they set a program record making 12.

Oregon (20-12) snapped a streak of five straight wins in the first round of the tournament under coach Kelly Graves. The Duck also snapped a streak of four straight Sweet 16 berths after being one of only six teams to make the regional semifinals each of the last four tournaments.

Sabally finished with a career-high 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Te-hina Paopao added 18.

Belmont set the tone early taking a 9-2 lead with three 3s and led 13-8 after the first quarter. Oregon led 28-26 at halftime and 40-36 after the third.

BIG PICTURE

Belmont: The Bruins came into the tournament with a NET ranking of 50 and had the sixth-most difficult non-conference schedule in the country. They beat Mississippi early in the season and and also played Georgia Tech, Louisville, Auburn and Arkansas.

Oregon: The Ducks had been very strong in the fourth quarter this season, outscoring teams by an average of 19 to 14.5 points a game.