Ducks Foul Out but Cats Out Fowled

MANHATTAN, Nov. 29 – The storyline Thursday night was talented youth versus veteran guile, as Oregon and Kansas State – two one-loss teams – squared off. Despite the month (November), both teams were looking to enhance their tournament resume with a quality win. A raucous crowd and numerous pro-prospects made the game destined to go the distance, even though the outcome was decided long before the blaring of the final overtime buzzer.

Oregon’s strategy of alternating man and zone schemes kept the deficit at around one possession for the majority of regulation time, despite strong Wildcat fan support. Then the Ducks took over. The catalyst came in the form of an intentional foul, as the Cats’ expectation of dominance came to light. From that point on, the Ducks were dominant, even though the game went to overtime. In overtime, it took the Ducks one possession to establish control. They never looked back.

The Wildcats had knock-out opportunities, but they couldn’t capitalize. They opened up a three-possession lead early in the game, but then lost it, and then later extended it to three possessions. This trend of building a three-possession lead continued in the second half: For thirty minutes, the Wildcats controlled nearly every facet of the game. Still, they couldn’t put Oregon away.

For its part, Oregon did a tremendous job of handling a hostile environment after the loss to St. Mary’s, adding a quality win to their resume in the process. But it took the emotional breakdown of a team to accomplish it. The Wildcats on the other hand proved that they can control a game against a top-twenty foe… as long as they focus on the now and not the previous possession.