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

The yearly NCAA Basketball matchup between Oregon and Washington became one of the year’s best; let’s remember what went down.

The Pac-12 gave us a fair share of exciting games, even if most of its conference tournament was eliminated by the national pandemic. Our look at the top 40 games from the 2019-20 NCAA Basketball season focuses on another one of those Pac-12 conference games, having just focused on one involving one of these teams yesterday.

29. #8 Oregon 64, Washington 61, OT

January 18, 2020, Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, WA

As we’ve already touched upon, the Pac-12 has struggled as a whole in recent years. Programs like Arizona and UCLA have failed to make an impact on a national scale, while others struggle to field competitive rosters in major conference play. Regardless, the teams in this conference gave us some fantastic games this past season and we’re going to take a look at another one of those affairs.

Oregon continued their road trip desperately needing a bounce-back effort. With early-season wins over Memphis and Michigan, Oregon had risen as high as #4 in the rankings. A loss a few weeks earlier to Colorado had been a reality check, but an 11-point loss at Washington State was a real kick in the pants. That loss to the Cougars had come just two days earlier, with Payton Pritchard and this Ducks team needing a better performance across the state.

Washington had been getting some fine performances from freshman Isaiah Stewart but had been scuffling in recent weeks. After a 10-2 start that found them ranked as high as #21, the Huskies had lost four of their last six games. They had taken care of Oregon State a few days earlier, but a home date with a top 10 team loomed as the perfect antidote to get their season back on track.

As often was the case, Pritchard started the game hot, giving the Ducks the early lead. The Huskies offense mightily struggled in the opening minutes, but eventually caught fire. A 3-pointer from RaeQuan Battle seven minutes into the game gave Washington the lead; a lead that would only grow as the half progressed. The Ducks offense started struggling, while a 7-point spurt from Marcus Tsohonis ignited this Washington team.

Nahzian Carter’s layup and free throw with just over four minutes left gave the Huskies a 13-point lead. Pritchard’s well-timed 3-pointer helped cease the Washington run, but the Ducks went into the half down 12 points. They were in a bit of a hole, but as was so often the case this season, this Ducks team didn’t panic.

The second half began poorly for the Ducks, who saw Washington’s lead grow to 14 points on multiple occasions. When RaeQuan Battle was fouled and made all three free throws, the Huskies suddenly held a 44-28 advantage with just under 14 minutes left in the game. Fast forward three minutes later and the lead was still 16 points, but it was time for the Ducks to awaken.

Oregon got back into the game by making their free throws until their shots started falling again. An 8-0 spurt pulled them back into the game, while another 3-pointer from Pritchard cut the lead all the way down to five. The Ducks got to within three, but Stewart’s 4 straight points padded that lead once more.

As Oregon battled back, it was yet another long range shot from Pritchard that finally tied the game with one minute remaining. On the ensuing possession, Stewart was fouled and hit both free throws with just over half a minute left. Shakur Juiston’s layup tied the game and Washington’s empty possession forced overtime, with the Huskies scoring just 19 points in the second half.

The Huskies struck first in overtime, but neither team had a significant advantage. Pritchard and Stewart traded points in the final minute, but then it was time for Oregon’s brightest start to shine again. Pritchard’s sixth and final 3-pointer of the game gave the Ducks the lead with 3.4 seconds left; giving the Ducks a hard fought come from behind win in overtime.

Even in the loss, Stewart was dynamic with 25 points and 19 rebounds, but Pritchard one-upped him in the end, adding 22 points. Off the bench, Chandler Lawson’s 16-point, 12-rebound game helped pull the Ducks back into the game in the second half. Washington blocked 11 shots, including 5 from Stewart himself, but the Ducks got just enough offense and plenty of defense in the final minutes to pull off another win.

Unfortunately for the Huskies, not only did they blow their chance at a statement win in blowing that 16-point second half lead, but the season came undone in the following weeks. Washington would lose their next 8 games, eventually finishing in last place in the Pac-12 one season after winning the regular season title. While Washington was playing slightly better ball by the time March rolled around, this was a lost season despite some fantastic play from their freshmen.

For the Ducks, they got the bounce-back effort they desperately needed, especially when this game looked dire in the second half. Pritchard would go on to make big plays down the stretch for a Ducks team that won the Pac-12 regular-season crown. There’s no telling what would have happened had the national pandemic not happened, but this Oregon team was certainly trending in a great direction by March. Heck, their resilience was certainly on display this day in Seattle.