Instant Recap: Oregon extends winning streak against Iowa 80-78

Iowa will be without Freshman Cooper Koch, who hasn’t played since January 3rd and Owen Freeman, one of the team’s best players. Oregon has no new injuries. The Ducks must be focused defensively against the Hawkeyes tonight.

Oregon comes in at No. 33 in NET, No. 35 on KenPom, and No. 41 on EvanMiya. The Hawkeyes No. 63 in NET, No. 66 on KenPom, and No. 77 on EvanMiya. This is a Quad 1 opportunity for Oregon on the road, an opportunity the Ducks must take advantage of.

Starting Lineups:

Ducks start Shelstad, Bamba, Barthelemy, Angel, and Bittle. The Hawkeyes start Drew Thelwell, Josh Dix, Seydou Traore, Payton Sandfort, and Ladji Dembele.

First Half:

Brandon Angel airballs a 3-pointer on the first possession and then picks up a foul, not a good start for him. TJ Bamba hits a step-back three, and the Ducks lead 9-3 early. Now, Oregon leads 9-5 at the first media timeout, 15:43 left in the first half.

Jadrian Tracey gets a 3-pt shot to fall and he is up to 5 points early. Iowa has made their last 6 however and it’s a 16-13 game. Neither team has been missing over the past few possessions, and Oregon leads 22-20 at the second media timeout. 10:20 now remains in the first.

Ducks are winning in the paint, 20-6 at the moment, need to continue feeding Nate Bittle. Oregon is on an 8-2 run and leads 28-22 with 7:51 remaining in the first.

Kwame Evans gets a tough layup to fall, drawing the foul as well, nice pass from Bittle on the feed. Evans converts the and-one, putting the Ducks up 8. Iowa gets a bucket to fall that should’ve been illegal because the ball was still on the rim, should’ve been offensive goaltending.

Payton Sandfort is called for a technical foul after a tough bucket, it’s his second foul of the game. Oregon is in the bonus for the rest of the half.

Chris Tadjo has picked up his second foul as well for the Hawkeyes. Ducks leading 42-35, with Shelstad not playing well at all. Kwame Evans Jr knocks down a 3-point shot, making 4 of his last 6 from deep, but is still only 27% on the year. Oregon heads into the half leading 45-37, needs to play better defensively. It’s the same story as earlier in the season right now with Shelstad, not being aggressive at all.

First Half Stats:

Oregon shot 18/34 (52.9%) from the floor, 4/12 (33.3%) from deep, and 5/7 (71.4%) from the line. They’ve gotten fantastic looks in the paint and need to continue getting to the paint instead of settling for 3-pointers. Defensively, the Ducks need to be more focused, they’ve allowed some shooters to get open looks and have had some basic communication errors.

Nate Bittle leads Oregon with 14 points, Keeshawn has 7, and Kwame Evans has 6 off the bench. Josh Dix already has 15 points for the Hawkeyes, and Payton Sandfort has another 10. If Oregon can key in on stopping those two, they should be able to run away with this one in the second half.

Second Half:

Disgusting start to the second half, and Iowa has tied the game at 49. Defense looks far worse than the second half, and the Hawkeyes are on a 14-4 run. Jackson Shelstad is 0/6 in the game, and Nate Bittle starts the 2nd half 0/3, Bamba is 2/7, and Angel is 3/8.

Iowa has taken the lead for the first time since it was 0-1. Keeshawn Barthelemy is able to answer with a 3-pointer to give the Ducks the lead back, and on the ensuing possession TJ Bamba hits his second three of the game. Oregon leads 59-54 with 12:34 left in the game, Iowa timeout.

Ra’Heim Moss knocks down his second 3 of the season, putting the Ducks back up 4 points. Jadrian Tracey now buries a 3 and he’s got two in the game, up to 8 points.

Iowa gets blessed with another extremely questionable foul call. Moss didn’t hinder that shot in any way. Oregon up 67-62, with a FT coming for Even Brauns after the break. 8 minutes left. Brauns converts the and-1.

The defense is disgusting, another 3 for Iowa and it’s a 1 point game.

Sandfort hits a 3-pointer and another awful call on Angel, fighting for a rebound. Angel then jumps for the pump fake and Sandfort hits yet another 3-pointer. This team’s defensive IQ is non-existent. Nate Bittle is able to bail out Oregon with a fadeaway 3-pointer, his first bucket in the second half. Ducks lead 74-73 with 2:59 left. If Oregon doesn’t guard up they will lose this one. Even Brauns gives the Hawkeyes the lead with 2 FTs, and then Oregon doesn’t get the ball across halfcourt, unbelievable.

Nate Bittle yet again gives Oregon the lead again, 76-75. Bittle then blocks the shot on the other end, and Jackson Shelstad is fouled in transition.

Brandon Angel gets both FTs to fall, and the Ducks lead by 3. Even Brauns draws another foul, and will head back to the line. Jackson Shelstad had a logo three to beat the buzzer, and it was originally counted. It is reviewed, and admittedly was extremely close but the refs somehow oveturn the shot. Absolutely horrific call.

Shelstad is fouled and will head to the free throw line to make it a two-possession game. Shelstad connects on both FTs to give the Ducks the 4-point lead. Even Brauns gets a quick bucket to make it a 2-point game, Iowa calls timeout. Jackson Shelstad turns it over off the inbounds pass, unreal.

Iowa misses a layup and there is another review to see who’s hand it was off of. Looks like it was off of Keeshawn Barthelemy, and would be Iowa ball with 4 seconds left. It is confirmed.

Josh Dix’s stepback 3-pointer is blocked by Bittle and Oregon survives at Iowa, 80-78.