NCAA Basketball: Best games from 2019-20 season – Oregon vs. Arizona

An NCAA Basketball matchup between Arizona and Oregon gave us another great overtime thriller; let’s see what happened.

Despite most of postseason play being eliminated by the national pandemic, there was still an incredible number of exciting games this past season. We continue to look at the top 40 games from the 2019-20 NCAA Basketball season by turning our attention towards the Pac-12. Even if the league hasn’t exactly produced national title threats in recent years, they sure gave us some on-court excitement.

30. #14 Oregon 73, #24 Arizona 72, OT

February 22, 2020, McKale Center in Tucson, AZ

In recent years, the performance of the Pac-12 has been the source of many jokes, as the conference has struggled to produce title contenders in recent years. All things considered, Arizona and Oregon are quite likely the two best programs in the conference today, meaning their matchups quickly become must-watch television. In 2020, both games delivered in a major way.

With top recruits Nico Mannion and Josh Green, there were big expectations for this Arizona team. After a 9-0 start, the Wildcats’ success fizzled out, including an overtime loss to Oregon in early January. By the time of this rematch, they had been playing much better basketball, returning again to the top 25, having won eight of their last ten games.

This Oregon team had a lot of moving pieces, but the play of Payton Pritchard was not a question mark. He helped lead this Ducks team as high as #4 in the Top 25 poll, though they had recently struggled in conference road games. They headed to Tucson having lost three straight road games and really needed a great effort to get things back on track.

The stars were out early as Pritchard and Mannion hit 3-pointers in the opening minute. The game actually started out rough offensively, but then both teams got going. The first half was largely a back and forth affair, with both teams shooting well from outside the arc. Oregon twice grabbed 4-point leads late in the half, but both times they were immediately slashed by long-distance shots from the Wildcats.

Pritchard’s fourth three-pointer gave Oregon a 36-33 lead at the half, but this game was far from over. Arizona came out hot in the second half. Green had four points in a long run that put the Wildcats up by 7, punctuated by a Dylan Smith 3-pointer. Once again, Pritchard responded, and Oregon tied the game up a few minutes later. Arizona ran the lead back up to seven with seven minutes remaining, but Pritchard would not be stopped.

Pritchard scored Oregon’s final 11 points of the second half and the defense did enough to keep them right there in the game. After a late foul, Green missed a pair of free throws in the final seconds, sending the game to overtime. Arizona did not score in the final three and a half minutes of the game, wasting many opportunities to put this game away. Instead, Pritchard willed his team into the extra period.

Overtime was a different story, and this time it was Shakur Juiston’s time to shine for the Ducks. He scored all nine points for the Ducks including the game-winning layup in the final seconds. This game went back and forth in the final minutes and every time Juiston had an answer. His shot came after a Dylan Smith jumper put Arizona up with half a minute left, though Oregon of course got the last laugh.

Pritchard’s performance was legendary, including a career-high 38 points, hitting all his free throws, and doing just enough for this team. Juiston was the clear hero in overtime, with more than half of his 14 points coming in the extra period. Arizona lost despite making 43% of their 3-pointers, largely due to making just 10 of 21 free throw attempts. Smith led the way for the Wildcats with 18 points, while Mannion had 13 points and eight assists in the effort.

The Ducks won their last three games of the season after this performance, getting things back on track. They finished atop the Pac-12 standings and were in a great position to win another conference tournament. Pritchard proved he was the best player in the conference in a hostile road environment and on a night when his team needed every point he put up.

Arizona continued underachieving, losing three of their final four regular-season games. Their elite recruits played well but this unit didn’t quite gel over the course of the season. The Wildcats received the 5-seed in the Pac-12 Tournament and actually won their opening-round game over Washington before the pandemic canceled the rest of the postseason.

While we didn’t touch on this game, Arizona and Oregon had already played a thrilling overtime affair, and Oregon managed to find a way to get the job done both times. Though Arizona has struggled in recent seasons, these do remain the top programs in the Pac-12. While other teams may beg to differ in the years to come, there’s always excitement expected in a matchup between the Wildcats and the Ducks.