It would have been hard for Oregon to script a better start than what it had in its first-round game, an 81-52 victory over Liberty in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The No. 5-seeded Ducks began the game on an 18-2 run, and the outcome was never in doubt after that as the Ducks defeated the 12th-seeded Flames with ease Friday night in the last of four games at Climate Pledge Arena.
Oregon (25-9) figures to get a much tougher challenge Sunday against No. 4 seed Arizona (23-12), its former Pac-12 rival, which rolled to a 93-65 victory over Akron.
Advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament has been a sure thing for Oregon under coach Dana Altman, doing it nine consecutive times during his tenure.
This one didn’t have much suspense in the second half after the Ducks led by 24 at halftime.
“I thought the fellows came out with a lot of energy,” Altman said. “The early threes kind of got us going. but I thought our defensive activity was, was really, really good.”
The Ducks took a 13-2 lead less than four minutes into the game, making five of their first seven shots, with three players making three-pointers in the early flurry.
The first media timeout didn’t stop the Ducks’ momentum as they scored the next five points. That caused Liberty coach Ritchie McKay, who played collegiately at Seattle Pacific and served as an assistant coach at SPU and Washington, to call a timeout.
That stalled the Ducks’ momentum for a bit but the damage was done.
Liberty (28-7) closed to 27-14 with 7:22 left in the first half. Oregon then dominated the final minutes of the half, taking a 44-20 lead on a three-pointer in the final seconds from Jackson Shelstad, who had 15 first-half points.
Shelstad’s three-pointer came after he made a two-pointer, then dove on a loose ball after Liberty rolled it inbounds.
“I sure got excited to see him lay out like that, go after that ball,” Altman said. “It’s the kind of play coaches like, and I’m glad he hit the three then, because now he’ll do it again.”
Liberty was ranked No. 6 in the nation in field-goal percentage (49.4%) and No. 7 in three-pointer percentage (39%) but the Flames struggled mightily in the first half. They shot 25% (7 of 28) and made just 2 of 15 three-point attempts (13.3%).
“We felt like if we could get some hands on some balls and disrupt their rhythm, that we could really take away some of the really good looks they’ve been getting,” Altman said. “I think the first five, six minutes, we had seven deflections, and that’s where we turned out to that 18-2 lead.”
Oregon made 16 of 29 shots (55.2%) in the first half and was 6 of 11 (54.5%) from three-point range.
Liberty scored the first two baskets of the second half to pull to 44-24, but that was as close as the Flames got as their shooting woes continued.
Oregon led by 32 points when it took out its starters with almost four minutes left.
Shelstad finished with 17 points to lead Oregon and Nate Bittle had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Zach Cleveland scored 10 to lead Liberty.
Bittle said defense will be the key in the matchup Sunday against Arizona.
“We know what we have to do to beat them,” Bittle said. “It starts with the defense and rebounding. You know, we’ve got to fight through screens like we did tonight, have active hands, contest shots, deflections and everything like that. I think if we play defense, everything will fall into place.”
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