Tag: Will Richardson

See what odds Ken Pomeroy gives Oregon of winning Pac-12 title

The Oregon Ducks are in an unfavorable position heading into the Pac-12 tournament and four straight must win games ahead of them.

Wednesday, March 9 marks the beginning of the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament, taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas all week long.

For Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks, bringing home the trophy is quite likely the only way they will hear their name called on Selection Sunday for the opportunity to participate in the NCAA Tournament this year, following a pair of disastrous losses this past week to Washington and Washington State.

Winning the Pac-12 tournament was always going to be a tough task for this streaky Oregon team, but now it looks like they might have to do it without a fully healthy Will Richardson, as the senior guard is battling concussion-like symptoms, which kept him out of the game against the Cougars.

While this Oregon team has the talent to compete with the best of the Pac-12, they are not given particularly favorable odds at winning the whole thing – at least not from renowned college basketball analytics expert Ken Pomeroy.

Pomeroy’s statistical model gives Oregon a solid 41.2% chance of making the semifinals, and a 7.2% chance of playing in the title game, but just a 2.1% chance of winning it all – which is what they need to feel secure heading into Selection Sunday.

An appearance in the Pac-12 title game would likely mean a win over Arizona – which is a nice boost to Oregon’s floundering resume – and if they can do that and keep things close against either UCLA or USC in the title game, there is a small chance they could get a play-in game opportunity, depending how other bubble teams do this week.

However, Altman and co won’t want to be sweating on Sunday afternoon, so you can bet the goal will be to leave no doubt and secure the Pac-12’s automatic bid with a four-game winning streak, starting Wednesday afternoon against Oregon State.

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How it happened: Oregon falls to Washington Huskies in deflating 78-67 loss

That’s not the result Oregon was looking for. It’s now all about the Pac-12 tournament if the Ducks want to get into the NCAA tourney.

The Oregon Ducks’ hopes to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament were on life support coming into this game against the Washington Huskies, but they have surely been buried six-feet under after that result.

In a contest where the Ducks once again didn’t look that had much desire to win, the Huskies dominated the paint and built a massive lead on Oregon early in the second half, cruising to a 78-67 win at home. With the loss, the Ducks solidified the fact that they will have to win the Pac-12 tournament in order to get into the NCAA tournament.

It was another strange game for Will Richardson, Oregon’s leading scorer on the season. Richardson didn’t record a field goal for the second-straight game, and didn’t have any points on the night. Last week against USC, he did the same thing, getting just 2 free throws to drop in the game. When Oregon’s season was on the line, it has been tough to watch Richardson be unable to step up and lead his team to victory.

Here’s how the loss happened on Thursday night:

See where Will Richardson shows up on latest For the Win big board

See where USA TODAY writer Bryan Kalbrosky has Oregon Ducks guard Will Richardson ranked in his latest 2022 NBA draft big board.

The sports world is about to fully descend into the madness that is March college basketball, and that means a lot of people will get their first exposures to this year’s talented NBA draft class.

Folks who have been tuned in to the prospect landscape for a while now are taking the opportunity to highlight their favorite players in this class by releasing early mock drafts and big boards. That includes Bryan Kalbrosky of USA TODAY’s For the Win, who released a ranking of the top 101 draft prospects in his third big board of the season.

Kalbrosky separated his list into six unique tiers, and Ducks senior guard Will Richardson was in the final tier – labeled undrafted free agency gambles – at No. 89 overall.

Richardson was a popular second round mock draft selection last year, before he opted to return to Eugene for another season. While he’s been good for the Ducks in conference play, his advanced age and struggles earlier in the year – combined with a relatively deep crop of guards – pushed him out of the second round on most mock draft projections.

Of course, it’s still a few months until the draft occurs, and a few really good workouts could definitely move him back into that conversation, especially if a few players unexpectedly return to school, like Richardson did last year.

A chance to shine in the NCAA Tournament would also be a huge boost for Richardson, and Oregon can help make that a reality with a win over Washington on Thursday evening.

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How it happened: Oregon’s game-winner rims out vs. USC, Ducks lose 70-69

It was almost a magical senior night for the Ducks, but a last-second shot from Will Richardson rimmed out, leaving Oregon with a loss to USC.

It was a game that would have been massive for the Oregon Ducks’ at-large NCAA Tournament hopes, but in the end, they couldn’t quite pull it out.

It wasn’t for a lack of chances, The Ducks had numerous opportunities to win, and they led by 2 late in the game. However, a USC 3 with 11 seconds left but the Trojans up by one, and a game-winner attempt from Will Richardson rimmed out at the buzzer.

Oregon struggled mightily from the floor, going just 6-for-23 from deep, and 15-for-21 at the free throw line.

Oregon isn’t out of the NCAA tournament discussion just yet, as they can boost their resume with a trip to the Washington schools next week. However, it will now take a deep run in the Pac-12 tournament at the very least to make a case.

Here’s how everything went down on Saturday:

How it happened: Ducks upset No. 12 UCLA 68-63, keep tournament hopes alive

Two meetings, two upset victories over the UCLA Bruins. Not a bad night for the Oregon Ducks.

It’s pretty hard to argue against the notion that Oregon gets up for big games now, isn’t it?

Yet again, faced against tougher competition with No. 12 UCLA in town, the Ducks pulled off the upset and left Matthew Knight Arena with a 68-63 win. It was a victory that was much-needed for Oregon’s waning NCAA tournament chances, but kept them alive with three games left on the schedule.

It was a pair of transfers who got the job done for the Ducks, with De’Vion Harmon and Jacob Young leading the way down the stretch. Both came up clutch at the end of the game and were able to hit their free throws to close it out.

Here’s how all of the action played out:

Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Power Rankings

The tournament is near, and with it comes the naming of the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Here’s @andypattonPNW power rankings of the top-10 candidates.

The Pac-12 basketball regular season is coming to an end, with just a few weeks remaining until the conference tournament in Las Vegas in mid-March.

On the whole it has been a disappointing season in the Pac-12, with only three teams establishing themselves as clear NCAA Tournament teams – Arizona, UCLA, and USC – while a handful of other teams, including Oregon and Washington State, are now on the outside looking in for spots on the bubble.

Still, that does not mean there haven’t been outstanding individual performances from some of the nation’s best college basketball players, many who reside right here on the west coast.

With only a few weeks to go until the end of the year awards are announced, we at Ducks Wire decided to put together a power ranking of the 10 players most likely to earn the conference’s most coveted award: the Player of the Year.

Factoring in statistical performance, individual impact on team success, and year-to-year growth, here is our rankings of the ten most likely candidates for the Player of the Year crown:

How it happened: Oregon’s tourney hopes put in jeopardy with home loss to Cal

Oregon was dominated in nearly every facet of the game and couldn’t buy a three-pointer as Cal beat the Ducks 78-64.

To put it bluntly, this was a nightmare.

After a nice victory over Stanford two nights ago, the Oregon Ducks came out this afternoon and turned in their worst performance since the BYU loss with a 78-64 loss to California.

The Bears took complete control of the game in the middle of the first half with a 22-0 run and they never looked back. Oregon was offensively deficient as the Ducks shot just 38 percent from the floor. They couldn’t buy a three-pointer, shooting a paltry 18.5 percent from long range.

Will Richardson was the only Duck to find any semblance of his shot. The senior point guard scored 20 of Oregon’s 42 second-half points. He wound up with 22 for the game.

Oregon doesn’t have much time for adjustments. The Ducks have to forget about this clunker with the Washington State Cougars coming to town on Valentine’s Day.

How it happened: The Ducks get defensive in 68-60 win over Stanford

De’Vion Harmon’s hot outside shooting and 21 points led the Ducks to a 68-60 win over Stanford Thursday night.

Oregon, and the rest of the Pac-12 for that matter, learned an important lesson Thursday night. The Ducks don’t need point guard Will Richardson to play at an all-conference level in order to win.

The senior point guard was held scoreless for the first three-quarters of the game and missed his first eight shots. But Richardson ended the game with 12 points and six assists as Oregon managed to outlast the Stanford Cardinal 68-60 to win its 10th game in 11 tries.

While it took Richardson to find his offensive game, De’Vion Harmon and N’Faly Dante held down the fort. Harmon led the way with 21 points and Dante added 12 points and seven rebounds.

It was a bit of revenge for the Ducks as they suffered a loss at the buzzer down on the Farm to these same Cardinal. But this time, it was Oregon who was able to come out on top. The Ducks are now tied for second in the Pac-12 with UCLA with a 9-3 record and 16-7 overall.

How it happened: Oregon Ducks escape Utah with thrilling 80-77 win over Utes

The Ducks led by double-digits for much of the second half, but nearly threw it away late against Utah. Here’s how the win played out.

For much of the game, it appeared that the Oregon Ducks were going to leave Salt Lake City and head home from their mountain road trip with a 2-0 record and reason to feel extremely confident going forward, coming off of back-to-back blowout wins over Utah and Colorado.

Then things got interesting.

The Utes were able to mount a comeback in the second half against Oregon and eventually make it a one-point game with under a minute to go. The Ducks ultimately won after hitting their free throws down the stretch and avoided a prayer three-pointer at the buzzer, but I’m not sure the victory feels as good as it looks on the standings.

Oregon was up by double-digits for a good amount of time in the second half and even led by 10 points with 2 minutes left. Their inability to close the game out didn’t prove fatal on Saturday night, but it could in the future.

How it happened: Colorado’s second half rally erases Oregon’s 6-game winning streak

Oregon saw a 13-0 lead over Colorado evaporate over the course of the game along with its six-game winning streak after an 82-78 loss to the Buffs.

For the second straight game, the Oregon Ducks had a double-digit lead before the fans could settle in their seat with their popcorn.

But unlike Washington two days ago, Colorado was good enough and disciplined enough to get itself back in the game. The Buffaloes erased an early 13-0 deficit to eventually take a lead of their own in the second half.

Unfortunately for the Ducks, they were not able to recover and saw their six-game winning streak go away as Colorado came out of Matthew Knight Arena for the first time since 2013 with a win, 82-78. Oregon also wasted Quincy Guerrier’s best game as a Duck with his 22 points and six rebounds.

These two teams do it all over again in nine days, but the Ducks have never won in Boulder. Oregon falls to 12-7 overall and 5-3 in Pac-12 play.