Not rusty: Oregon soars past Iowa 95-80 into Sweet 16
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chris Duarte scored 23 points and Oregon showed no signs of rust Monday in beating No. 2 seed Iowa 95-80 to reach the Sweet 16.
The seventh-seed Ducks were put in an unprecedented spot by advancing to the West Region’s second round without playing a game. Virginia Commonwealth’s multiple positive COVID-19 tests took care of that and left the Ducks with a nine-day gap since losing in the Pac-12 Tournament title game.
Oregon’s offense hummed like it was fresh off the line once the ball went up. It kicked off the NCAA Tournament’s first Monday of second-round games with a masterpiece.
The Ducks flowed on the floor and glowed on the scoresheet, shooting 56% and hitting 11 3-pointers. LJ Figueroa hit five 3s while scoring 21 points and Will Richardson added 19 points in an offensive domination.
Their sweet offensive movements left the Hawkeyes (22-9) flailing, one game short of the Sweet 16 for the fourth time under Fran McCaffrey.
Luka Garza played like a two-time All-American, bulling in for three-point plays, hitting mid-range jumpers and dropping in the occasional 3. He capped his stellar college career with 36 points and nine rebounds before receiving a nice ovation from the limited crowd allowed in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Joe Wieskamp added 17 points, but the rest of the Hawkeyes weren’t of much help to the big fella, sending them out of the bracket early with other top seeds Illinois, Ohio State and Texas.
Oregon moves on to face either Kansas or Southern Cal in the Sweet 16.
