Oregon again proves too much for Utah as Ducks build momentum

Oregon was relieved to get its big man N’Faly Dante back in the lineup as it held the third-place Utah Utes to just 28.1-percent shooting and 15 points below their season average as the Ducks closed out a 68-56 win Saturday night at Matthew Knight Arena.

Jermaine Couisnard scored 18 points (7-of-14 shooting) and led the charge for the Ducks in this contest with five rebounds and four assists in what was a superb all-around performance.

Oregon (13-9) completed what it hasn't done all season long: two straight solid offensive and defensive games with the wins against Colorado on Thursday and the Utes tonight.

Sophomore center Nate Bittle got his fifth straight start after coming off his best game as a Duck (13 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks), and picked up where he left off by scoring 7 early points and stood tall in the paint along with Dante. Bittle put together a great showing for the second game in a row as he continued to protect the rim (3 blocks) and dropped 9 points (4-6 FG) with 6 rebounds as well.

Though he didn’t start the game, Dante showed why his presence had been missed after tallying 9 points, 10 rebounds and a block coming off of the bench.

The Utes (15-8) were looking forward to getting back at the Ducks ever since they were beaten at home, 70-60, on Jan. 7. But an 11-point run by the Ducks with 5 minutes left in the first half signaled that this would be a hard one for the Utes to get back into.

Oregon opened with what was likely its best first half of basketball at any point this season and shot 15-30 from the field and led the Utes at the break, 36-25.

Utah lost its top 3-point shooter Gabe Madsen just a couple of minutes into the game after he took a hard fall and appeared to injure his ankle or knee. That proved to be a major loss for the Utes throughout the game.

In the second half, they cut Oregon’s lead to 7 but were never able to string together enough makes on offense or the key stops that were needed to get back into this one. It became clear as Oregon went on an 11-2 run with 6 minutes left in the game that Utah didn’t have enough to get this game in reach.

Will Richardson (12 points, 7 assists) and Cousinard made timely buckets down the stretch to solidify the home win for the Ducks.

Oregon now goes on the road to take on the Arizona schools starting with the Wildcats on Thursday and Arizona State on Saturday -- two games that are essential to win for improving their hopes of an NCAA tournament bid.