After getting whooped in last year’s Pac-12 Tournament final, Oregon decided it would prefer to do the whooping itself. The Ducks added a tournament victory to a regular season title, running second-seeded Utah out of the MGM Grand with an 88-57 beatdown.
Oregon destroys Utah to win 2016 Pac-12 tournament
Oregon blasted Utah out of a cannon into the sun to earn the Pac-12 championship. They’re a Final Four contender, in case you didn’t notice.
The game was kinda close at first -- it was 15-13 at one point! -- but the Ducks pulled away with a 15-1 run and never looked back. They led by 17 at the half and 34 before a garbage time three by Utah. The Ducks were led by team MVP Tyler Dorsey, who had 23 points. On Utah, only Jacob Poeltl managed double digits.
Elgin Cook was named Pac-12 Tournament MVP. It’s a testament to the depth of the Ducks that Cook was fourth in scoring, behind Dorsey, Dillon Brooks, and Chris Boucher.
At 29-6 with no losses in over a month, the Ducks are a legit Final Four contender. Some bracketologists are even considering the Ducks as a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Although the selection committee doesn’t factor in margin of victory, so the win is just a win in their eyes. By the same token, Oregon’s near-collapse against Arizona Friday only counts as a win and not a horrific collapse.
This is the biggest championship in Pac-12 Tournament or Pac-10 Tournament final history. The previous record went to Arizona in last year’s title game, when they whooped the Ducks 80-52.
Oregon has now officially booked its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. They’d never gone three straight before this stretch.
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