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.

After postponing games against Oregon State and Colorado because of COVID-19 concerns, the Ducks appear back in full force. Oregon will look to extend its winning streak to six games when it faces Washington State at 6:30 p.m. PST Thursday.