Jared Sullinger names most impressive win of college basketball weekend

This past weekend included plenty of college basketball action and exciting games – including multiple upsets. While Oklahoma State upset No. 1 Baylor, Oregon beat No. 5 USC, Northwestern beat No. 10 Michigan State and Arkansas beat No. 12 LSU, meaning Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 poll is going to be shifted around.

Looking specifically at Oregon, the Ducks’ 79-69 win over No. 5 USC came just two days after they beat No. 3 UCLA 84-81 in overtime. After its impressive week of upset victories, Oregon is starting to get plenty of recognition and should be ranked in the Top 25 on Monday.

Jared Sullinger – a former standout player at Ohio State who was selected No. 21 overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2012 NBA Draft – took to Twitter to name his most impressive win of the weekend.

“Oregon without a doubt,” Sullinger said. “They got the win after coming off a top 5 win to go back to back.”

Following their wins over UCLA and USC, the Ducks – now 11-6 overall with a 4-2 mark in Pac-12 play – return to action Thursday at home against Washington State.

Oregon sets Pac-12 history with upsets of USC, UCLA

With its upset of USC late Saturday night, Oregon basketball became a part of Pac-12 history. The Ducks are the first team ever from the conference to record a road sweep of AP top 5 opponents.

Oregon defeated the Trojans by a score of 79-69 behind 28 points from guard Will Richardson. It wasted no time taking control, jumping out to a 45-29 lead by halftime. Prior to beating USC, the Ducks shocked UCLA with an 84-81 victory in overtime this past Thursday.

Oregon is in the midst of a five-game winning streak and currently sits at 11-6. It is in a four-way tie for second place in the Pac-12, one game behind first place Arizona. Richardson leads the team in scoring with 14.4 points per game.

There were signs that this Ducks team could be better than their early-season record indicated. Their two conference losses to Stanford and Arizona State each came by three points or less. They also lost to No. 1 Baylor by a score of 78-70.

Oregon has enjoyed much success under longtime coach Dana Altman. Most recently, it made an appearance in the Final Four during the 2017 season. He helped lead the Ducks to the Sweet Sixteen this past season after an upset of No. 2 seed Iowa in the second round. The Thursday victory against UCLA marked his 700th career win, putting him in an elite group of coaches.

The Ducks were not included in Joe Lunardi’s most recent edition of bracketology, released Friday. However, given the entrance of Oregon into Pac-12 history over the weekend, one would imagine it has at least earned a spot on the bubble.

On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this report.