Oregon’s Boucher out with ACL injury

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Oregon senior forward Chris Boucher is out for the season with a torn ACL suffered in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, leaving the fifth-ranked Ducks without a key cog just before the NCAA Tournament.

Boucher was injured late in the first half of Oregon’s 73-65 win over California on Friday when he was battling for a rebound and fell awkwardly.

Boucher continued playing, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots in 24 minutes, but an MRI on Saturday revealed the tear. He is expected to have surgery at a later date, the school said in a news release.

“This man right here is a tough son of gun love you like a brother,” teammate Dillon Brooks posted on Instagram with a photo of him and Boucher.

Boucher has been a key cog during Oregon’s rise to prominence, helping lead the Ducks to Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season by setting a school record with 110 blocked shots.

The versatile 6-foot-10 senior from Montreal was Oregon’s third-leading scorer at 11.1 points per game, second in rebounding at 6.1 and his 2.6 blocked shots led the Pac-12. He finishes his career second on Oregon’s all-time blocked shots list with 189 and his .532 field goal percentage is fourth-best.

A two-time All-Pac-12 all-defensive team member, Boucher helped Oregon average 6.8 blocks during the regular season, second nationally. The Ducks also earned a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title with No. 7 Arizona, their opponent in Saturday night’s Pac-12 Tournament championship game.

The Ducks will have to rely more on junior Kavell Bigby-Williams in Boucher’s place.

“We gonna do this one for you..,” teammate Dylan Ennis posted on Twitter.

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AP Sports Writer Anne Peterson in Portland contributed to this report.