From beginning to finish, Oregon essentially controlled a surprisingly thorough 74-60 victory over the Big 12's regular season champion, Kansas. The Ducks never squandered the lead in the first half and ended it with a 6-0 run to make it an 11-point lead at the halftime break. That lead would blossom and stay as high as 15 points in some cases as the second half wore on. The Jayhawks were able to finally cut the deficit down to six points with less than two minutes remaining, but they would miss clutch shots down the stretch to ultimately lose the contest.
Kansas' offense finally hit a rough patch
The Jayhawks were scoring at 92 points on average in their last five games, but that scoring output was significantly dented when they fired at just a 35 percent clip on Saturday night. They also lost a 33-25 rebounding battle and went 5-for-25 from 3-point range. Frank Mason (20.9 ppg, 5.2 apg) eclipsed the 20-point mark, but went 8-for-20 from the field and missed 6-of-8 3-point attempts.
The other Kansas players all scored 10 points or less in the contest. Josh Jackson (16.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg) had a notable 12 rebounds and 10 points, but had an equal passing ratio of five assists to five turnovers. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (9.8 ppg) was the most efficient, hitting 4-of-7 field goals.
Oregon dethrones top seed in adverse conditions
Not many expected the Ducks to represent the Midwest region in this year's Final Four, and there's good reason for that. The regional final was played in Kansas City, Missouri, at the Sprint Center, where the Jayhawks generally play multiple times in a year, including the Big 12 tournament.
The attendance was an 18-6 advantage for the men in blue and Oregon was able to overcome that -- still without their center, Chris Boucher.
They shot 50.9 percent from the field and made 11-of-25 3-point attempts. Tyler Dorsey (14.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg) was the player of the game, going 6-for-10 from downtown, and finishing with 27 points.
He continues to step up for their fallen player on offense as he's now averaging 23.6 points in his last seven games. Oregon now advances to the Final Four, where they'll face Kentucky or North Carolina in Phoenix, Arizona.
