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University of Oregon Athletics

Sunday, March 24
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University of Oregon

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UC Irvine

Amin Jube
Photo by: Samuel Marshall

Amin's Energy Off The Bench Helps Ducks Reach Sweet 16

03/24/19 | Men's Basketball

Ehab Amin played a limited role Friday but it was a different story Sunday, when he sparked Oregon to a second-round NCAA Tournament win over UC Irvine.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — As stats go, plus/minus is an imperfect measure of impact on a basketball game. But it sure does a fine job of illuminating the weekend Ehab Amin experienced in the opening rounds of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

On Friday, in Oregon's first-round win over Wisconsin, Amin was statistically the Ducks' worst player; when he was on the court, the UO men were outscored by seven points. He played less than five minutes in the second half, as the Ducks rallied to break a halftime tie and advance to Sunday.

That second-round game Sunday, against UC Irvine, was a different story for Amin. And that might be the biggest reason Oregon is now headed to the Sweet Sixteen, for the third time in four years. Against the Anteaters, Amin was statistically the Ducks' best player, a plus-27 for the game as the UO men again dominated down the stretch for a 73-54 victory in SAP Pavilion.

Two days after barely getting off the bench, Amin had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals Sunday night. More impressively to the UO staff, he had 16 deflections, the Ducks' primary internal measure of activity and energy. Eight deflected passes and shots and such is an average number to lead the team in a game; Amin had eight in each half Sunday, two days after hardly making an impact.

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"I think that's the key to our run of success lately, just everybody knowing their role and knowing they gotta stay ready and be ready once their name is called," Amin said. "And even if it's not, you just stay positive and cheering for your teammates, and they deliver.

"I can't emphasize enough how fun it is to play with my teammates and brothers right now. And this run has been incredible, and I'm grateful for each one of them, and it's so much fun getting to do it with them."

The Ducks sure were appreciate of Amin on Sunday, and particularly in the second half. His energy had already been a factor by halftime; Amin dove to keep an offensive rebound alive shortly after taking the court for the first time, keeping alive a possession that ended with Payton Pritchard scoring to cap a 12-2 run that put Oregon up 17-8.

After UC Irvine recovered, Amin made a three-pointer to put the Ducks up 23-15, and he had another offensive rebound on the next possession, which ended on a Paul White bucket for a 27-16 lead. Amin would add another three-pointer later in the half, as the Ducks went into the break up 35-23.

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But after the halftime break — an exceptionally long halftime break, owing to the NCAA Tournament television schedule — Oregon went cold. With Amin again on the bench, watching the starters open the second half, UC Irvine scored the first 14 points of the half. Up 35-23 at the break, Oregon trailed 37-35 after a few minutes.

Among all that was going wrong in those few minutes, White and Francis Okoro each picked up his third foul. Amin was again pressed into action. It was his three-pointer that finally got the Ducks on the scoreboard in the second half. At the other end he drew a charge, and on UC Irvine's next possession, Amin hounded the Anteaters into a 10-second violation.

Moments after trailing 37-35, the Ducks led 43-37. And they never looked back.

"We were a little stuck in the mud," UO coach Dana Altman said. "Our energy level wasn't very good. 'E' came in, and we finally scored a basket. Our energy got back to where it was in the first half. And from there the guys really played hard and really played well."

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To be sure, it was a team effort. Kenny Wooten blocked seven shots, one off the UO tournament record set two years earlier by Jordan Bell, to go with 11 points. Pritchard scored 18 points, including a couple of big-time three-pointers as the Ducks built their lead following Amin's burst of energy in the second half. Louis King added 16 points.

Even Miles Norris and Victor Bailey Jr., who combined to play just four minutes, contributed to the win, Altman said, with the way they stayed positive on the bench despite seeing limited action.

"That's when you know you've got a team that's really about one thing," Altman said. "And that's being the best, and finding a way to win a game."

Through the 10-game winning streak that the Ducks will take into a Sweet Sixteen matchup Thursday with Virginia (7 p.m., TBS), that's been the magic formula. Sunday, it was Amin's day. Thursday, it might be someone else. That the Ducks don't mind who it might be is the reason they're crashing the NCAA Tournament dance card in emphatic fashion.