N’Faly Dante shot 12 of 12 from the floor en route to a game-high 25 points, and the fourth-seeded Oregon Ducks outlasted the third-seeded Colorado Buffaloes to win the final Pac-12 tournament championship, 75-68, on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Oregon (23-11) came to Las Vegas with seemingly slim odds of landing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks removed all doubt, earning the Pac-12’s automatic berth with their second win in as many nights against an opponent that beat them twice in the regular season.
“We trust each other, that’s the No. 1 thing, ” said Dante, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. “Everybody trusts me, and I trust every single one of them. If we trust each other, then it’s going to work out for us.”
Oregon toppled top-seed Arizona on Friday behind the 3-point shooting of guards Jermaine Couisnard and Jackson Shelstad. The duo struggled from long range on Saturday, with Shelstad shooting 1 of 4 from beyond the arc and Couisnard going 0-of-5.
Dante’s perfect shooting picked up the slack, however, including two key buckets down the stretch. His rim-rattling dunk with 2:11 remaining and a tip-in of a missed Couisnard jumper extended Oregon’s lead from two points to four, and four points to six.
Dante then sealed the win with 31 seconds remaining when he made a spectacular block of KJ Simpson’s 3-point attempt, then chased down and saved the ensuing loose ball.
Dante’s spectacular performance came one day after he took a scary fall early against Arizona that took him out for a long stretch of the first half.
Simpson had 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Colorado (24-10). Luke O’Brien was the only other Buffalo to score in double figures, posting 11 points.
Oregon’s defense, keyed by Dante’s three steals along with two swipes from Couisnard and two from Jadrian Tracey, forced 13 Colorado turnovers. The Ducks committed just three turnovers.
“It’s not over yet,” Dante said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do so we’re going to go back and get ready for (the tournament).”
Oregon also held Colorado to 20-of-48 shooting from the floor. The Ducks went 28-of-62 from the floor.
Shelstad finished with 17 points and Couisnard added 14 points.
–Field Level Media
