Oregon Ducks deliver dominant showing in blowout win over Washington

If there were any doubts as to whether Oregon could carry the momentum from its historic sweep in Los Angeles last weekend, the Ducks put them to rest immediately Sunday.

Oregon boat raced Washington at Matthew Knight Arena, topping the Huskies 84-56 to improve to 12-6 on the season and 5-2 in Pac-12 play.

It was the Ducks’ widest margin of victory ever over the Huskies, and yet, the final score does not come close to illustrating how well Oregon played in the first half.

The Ducks took a 48-13 lead into halftime. During the opening half alone, they went on separate scoring runs of 16 and 11 points, thanks in large part to their effort and energy on the defensive end of the floor.

The Huskies entered the evening on a three-game winning streak and were level with the Ducks in the conference standings. But they were outmatched in every facet of play and shot just 17-of-55 from the field and 4-of-20 from three.

All told, it was Oregon’s brightest defensive performance of the season and another step in the right direction for a team that is hitting its stride at the right time.

“It’s really communicating; we’ve just got to be active,” Oregon forward Quincy Guerrier said when asked what led to the Ducks’ success on the defensive end of the floor. “That’s the main thing. Communicating is really helping us. If everyone wants to play defense, I think we’re gonna be in good shape.

“When everyone is locked in and connected, you’ll see the result.”

Washington guard Terrell Brown Jr., the Pac-12’s leading scorer, averages 21.4 points per game. The Ducks held him to 14 on 3-of-16 shooting and limited him to just two assists.

“I thought our awareness was really good on him,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “I didn’t think we gave him a lot of easy looks. … We made him take a lot of contested shots.”

Will Richardson finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting for the Ducks, including 3-of-5 from three. Guerrier and Jacob Young each added 12 points, and De’Vion Harmon had nine points and five assists.

Oregon registered assists on 16 of its 32 made field goals, and it shot 9-of-18 from three as a team.

Washington has been highly successful in forcing turnovers this season; only 14 teams in the nation generate takeaways at a higher rate.

But Oregon shredded Washington coach Mike Hopkins’ vaunted 2-3 zone and punished the Huskies time and time again.

Oregon knocked down 8-of-12 three-point attempts in the first half, and big men N’Faly Dante and Franck Kepnang took advantage of easy opportunities inside once Washington shifted its attention to Oregon’s shooters.

“We were shooting the ball — I think that was the major key for us to be successful in the zone,” Guerrier said. “Some guys were cutting on the high post and just sharing the ball. We were all ready to shoot.

“I think that’s why we were successful tonight.”

At the time of publication, the Ducks are fourth in the Pac-12 standings. They trail only No. 3 Arizona (16-1, 6-0), No. 9 UCLA (13-2, 5-1), and No. 16 USC (16-2, 6-2).

Oregon will now shift its attention toward Tuesday’s matchup with Colorado (12-6, 4-4). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.