Ducks Set For Top-20 Tilt in Tucson
EUGENE, Ore. - Oregon will look to continue its recent hot streak when it opens a road trip to the desert with a top-20 showdown at No. 8 Arizona on Friday at 7 p.m. The No. 19 Ducks are currently second in the Pac-12 and tied with first-place Stanford in the win column at 7-1 in conference play after winning eight in a row (includes UCLA forfeit).
Oregon won the first meeting between the two teams in a 68-66 overtime thriller as Endyia Rogers hit a jumper with less than a second remaining to complete a 17-point comeback in Matthew Knight Arena.
GAME INFO
When: Friday, Feb. 4
Where: McKale Center
Time: 7 p.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Play-By-Play: Cindy Brunson | Analyst: Mary Murphy
Stream Link: https://pac-12.com/womens-basketball/event/2022/02/04/oregon-arizona
Radio: KUGN 590 AM (Eugene); KPAM 860 AM (Portland)
Play-By-Play: Terry Jonz
NUMBERS TO KNOW
3 - Oregon is one of three teams nationally that have beaten a top-10 team in back-to-back games (South Carolina, South Florida).
4-0 - Oregon is 4-0 on the season in games decided by five points or fewer, with two of those wins coming vs. currently ranked teams.
5.9 - Oregon is outscoring teams 365-264 in the fourth quarter this year, winning the fourth by an average of 5.9 PPG (19.2-13.3).
46.3 - Oregon leads the Pac-12 shooting 46.3 percent from the field while also sitting in 13th place nationally.
64.3 - Nyara Sabally, Te-Hina Paopao and Endyia Rogers have scored 64.3 percent of Oregon's points since Jan. 7.
CRAZY 8
Finally playing with a full roster, Oregon has put itself back in the national conversation with eight straight wins, two of which came against top-10 teams. The Ducks knocked off No. 7 Arizona and No. 9 UConn in a span of three days at Matthew Knight Arena on Jan. 15 and 17, beating back-to-back top-10 teams while unranked for the first time since the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Also included in the recent streak are road Pac-12 wins over California and Washington in addition to home wins over Utah, USC and Arizona State. The Ducks also picked up a win in the conference standings following a forfeit by UCLA in a game scheduled for Jan. 28. Oregon is outscoring teams by an average of 74.0-58.7 per game during the streak.
BIG 3 2.0
Since returning to the lineup in early January, Oregon's trio of 2021 All-Pac-12 performers have made a huge impact. Te-Hina Paopao, Endyia Rogers and Nyara Sabally are combining to average 44.6 PPG on the season, including 47.1 per contest in the eight games since all three rejoined the lineup. They are the only trio of teammates in the Pac-12 averaging at least 14.0 PPG in conference play, as Sabally ranks second in the league with 18.6 PPG while Paopao is 10th at 15.3 per contest and Rogers is 12th putting up 14.9 a game. One of those three have led the team in scoring in each of the last nine games while all three have turned in multiple 20-point games since the start of January.
BUILDING A RESUME
Oregon has picked up a number of quality wins through the first three months of the season while playing a tough schedule. The Ducks are one of six teams nationally with multiple wins over teams currently in the top 10 of the AP poll. Oregon knocked off top 10 teams in back-to-back games with wins over then-No. 7 Arizona and then-No. 9 UConn while also beating Oklahoma - which is now ranked No. 18 - on Nov. 20 in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Additionally, the Ducks have played each of last year's Final Four teams in South Carolina, Stanford, Arizona and UConn, going 2-2 in those games.
Teams with Multiple Wins Over Current Top 10 Teams
South Carolina (3)
Stanford (3)
Oregon (2)
NC State (2)
Louisville (2)
Michigan (2)
FINISHING STRONG
Over the first 19 games, Oregon has finished games strong owning a 365-264 (19.2-13.9 PPG) scoring advantage in the fourth quarter. The Ducks have won the final period 13 times, and are outscoring teams by an average of 5.3 points per game in the fourth. Oregon is holding teams to 31.7 percent shooting from the field in the final quarter and is also forcing 4.4 turnovers and out-rebounding teams by 2.6 per game in the final 10 minutes.
ALL THE WAY BACK
Trailing by as many as 17 points in the second half, Oregon came all the way back to beat No. 7 Arizona on Jan. 15, 68-66, in overtime behind Endyia Rogers' game-winning put-back jumper with less than half a second remaining. The Ducks, who trailed 54-41 heading into the fourth, outscored the Wildcats 18-5 in the fourth quarter to force overtime after holding them to 20 percent shooting in the final frame. Te-Hina Paopao scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting while Nyara Sabally turned in a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Sedona Prince scored 16 points and sparked the Oregon rally with a monster fourth quarter, scoring 10 points and blocking a pair of shots to help the Ducks force overtime. The comeback was Oregon's largest in a win since March 2016 against UTEP when the Ducks erased a 18-point deficit in the WNIT.
POWER PRESENCE INSIDE
Nyara Sabally has started to assert herself as one of the more dominant players in the conference. She's averaging 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds over 12 games while shooting 59.2 percent from the field. An All-Pac-12 selection a year ago, Sabally has scored at least 15 points in six of the seven conference games and leads the team with five 20-point games on the season. She is also fourth in the conference averaging 1.9 steals per game, including 2.1 per contest in Pac-12 play. Sabally has played in each of the last 10 games after missing the previous six due to injury.
» Second in the league in scoring in Pac-12 play at 18.6 PPG.
» Third in the conference in scoring on the season with 16.8 per game and second shooting 59.2 percent on FGs.
» Averaging 20.0 PPG over the last four games, shooting 71.1 percent from the field over that stretch.
» Scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in an overtime win against Arizona on Jan. 15, making the game-tying layup at the end of regulation.