Oregon defeated Oregon State 80-67 Sunday night at Gill Coliseum to be crowned PAC-12 regular-season champions. Oregon ended the season winning 10 of 11 and it was never in doubt tonight as Oregon had the lead for every second after Will Richardson’s opening bucket. Richardson was blistering hot through the first 20 minutes going 5-5 from three with 17 points, eventually hitting a new career-high with 22. With the Ducks shooting 57% from the field and 65% from three it was natural that five Ducks scored in double digits: Richardson-22, Omoruyi-18, Williams-14, Figueroa-10, Duarte-10. Oregon was full of energy tonight and in an empty Gill Coliseum, Oregon felt like the home team from the tip.

The second half almost felt like a formality, Oregon State would pull it within single digits several times but almost on cue, Oregon would drill a three to make it a double-digit affair. The 15 threes marked a season-high for the Ducks and their most since 2017. After being picked to finish third in the PAC-12 at the start of the year, Oregon persevered down the stretch and won the conference regular-season title for back-to-back years, making it four total under Head Coach Dana Altman. The PAC-12 crown can lead to individual accolades as well with PAC-12 player of the year hopeful Chris Duarte capturing the title under his belt to potentially grant him the award above USC’s Big-Man Evan Mobley.

Oregon will fly to Las Vegas this week for the conference tournament with a first-round bye being awarded due to the one-seed and the first hard-court action coming Thursday, March 11th.

Audio Story: By Adam Susman

Dana Altman: