Oregon Basketball: Takeaways from a dominant win over Utah

Behind a deluge of three-pointers in the first half and excellent play from Payton Pritchard, the No. 17 Oregon Basketball (20-6, 9-4 Pac-12) defeated the Utah Utes (14-11, 5-8 Pac-12) Sunday night. Here are takeaways from the Oregon Basketball’s win as they move towards tournament season.

The Oregon offense was lethal in the first half, allowing them to gain a lead they would never look back from. Behind Payton Pritchard and Will Richardson, Oregon shot 1the 0-15 from three-point range in the half. The starting back-court seemingly could not miss as Pritchard hit four threes in the period while Richardson added three of his own. Anthony Mathis added his own pair of three-pointers to help an Oregon Basketball run that increased the lead from seven to sixteen with 5 minutes to go until halftime. Pritchard and Richardson combined for 30 points as the Ducks entered the break with a 44-30 lead.

Not much changed in the second half. Utah fought hard and put together a small run that brought them within single-digits with 12 minutes to go, but had the door slammed in their face as the Ducks extended their lead back to fifteen over the next few minutes. Dana Altman’s team went on to defeat Utah 80-62. Pritchard led Oregon, finishing with 25 points on 8-13 shooting. Richardson added 18 on a very efficient 7-8 performance. The Utes were paced by freshman guard Rylan Jones, who finished with 18 points.

For Oregon Basketball, this win continued their unblemished 14-0 home record, moving them into a tie for the Pac-12 lead with Colorado at 9-4 in conference play. Utah fell to 5-8 in the conference and an abysmal 1-8 in road games this season. The Ducks’ win, while not against a premier opponent, certainly has applications moving towards March.