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Oregon Basketball: 3 keys to success against UC Irvine

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 07: Payton Pritchard (L)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 07: Payton Pritchard (L) /
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: The Oregon Ducks mascot in the first half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 22, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: The Oregon Ducks mascot in the first half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 22, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /

2. Defend the 3-point line.

Irvine scored in bunches against Big West opponents — 92, for instance, in the Big West Final against Cal-State Fullerton. But it was uncertain if it could maintain that level of offensive efficiency against Kansas State’s elite defense.

The Anteaters responded to skeptics especially from behind the arc against Kansas State. Two key figures are Evan Leonard and Max Hazzard. Both rank in the nation’s top-300 in 3-point efficiency. Hazzard is hot, going 10-for-17 from three in his past two games combined. Leonard has made two threes in each of his past three games. Both showed the ability to knock down well-contested and timely threes on a national stage in the Round of 64.

As a team, Irvine converted 39% of its threes against K-State and 71% against Fullerton. Oregon will be in trouble if the Anteaters maintain this shooting form. The Ducks are great at swarming to players in the post. They allow the 302nd-highest point distribution from inside the arc. But for all the attention that they pay inside, they tend to allow a lot of open threes. Only 16 teams allow a higher rate of 3-point attempts. The Ducks will need to use their long arms and quickness to the ball to close out well on opposing shooters.