TUCSON, Ariz. — Oregon’s season has been resurrected.
Nearly left for dead at the end of non-conference play due to the season-ending left foot injury to Bol Bol, transfer of Abu Kigab and Kenny Wooten being sidelined with a broken jaw, the Ducks started Pac-12 play with back-to-back home losses, including the worst final-minute collapse in conference history.
But after a dominant win over USC on Sunday, Oregon raised its defensive intensity in arguably the most hostile environment in the conference and kept its postseason hopes alive in the process.
The return of Wooten after a four-game absence gave Oregon’s interior defense a jolt and Paul White continued his torrid start to Pac-12 play with a fifth straight game in double-figures, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Ducks to a 59-54 win over Arizona at a silenced McKale Center Thursday night.
It was Oregon’s first win at Arizona since Jan. 28, 2016 and its best road win, in terms of RPI or NET, since beating USC in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, 2017.
Earlier in the week, Oregon coach Dana Altman didn’t want to make too much of the magnitude of Thursday’s game, as Arizona was the highest-ranked opponent remaining on the schedule and a road win carries more weight in postseason consideration.
But after the workmanlike, grinding performance Altman acknowledged it was Oregon’s “best opportunity” to gain a resume-building win.
“It’s a young team,” he said. “I don’t want to read too much into it but I feel great for them because they did compete and had a chance to give into it.”
What was expected to be a defensive clash lived up to the billing.
A rivalry in which the winner had topped 80 points in each of the prior nine meetings saw the teams combine for their lowest point total in the series since Jan. 3, 1987, as well as the sixth single-digit margin of victory in their last seven meetings.
Both teams shot below 40 percent from the field, but Oregon forced 14 turnovers while committing nine and White and Victor Bailey Jr. made several critical shots during the final seven minutes when Arizona frantically tried to rally but never had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.
White also drew a charge, his fifth in the last three games, and Wooten (five points, seven rebounds, one block) made an impact on the inside of Oregon’s zone defense.
Each of White’s buckets in the second half helped curb an Arizona run. Twice he scored after the Wildcats cut a double-digit lead down to eight. When Arizona got within 45-41 with 7:13 to go, White responded with another layup and added another that gave UO a 51-43 lead.
“I think it’s about being comfortable and really trusting my skill,” White said of his recent performances, arguably the best five-gave stretch of his career. “I think that telling myself it’s a game, not to put too much pressure on me. Just go out there, handle my business. With the confidence that my coaches have and my teammates have in me, I just feel a lot more comfortable.”
With Oregon clinging to a 52-48 lead with less than two minutes to go, the Ducks were trying to drain the shot clock when Payton Pritchard (eight points, four rebounds, four assists) found Bailey, who drilled a 3-pointer.
“It wasn’t a called play,” said Bailey, who had 13 points and three rebounds. “The clock was just running down, I saw Payton, I called for it, he hit me and was able to hit the shot.”
Arizona’s Dylan Smith hit a pair of threes, including to make it a 3-point deficit with 4.2 to go, but it was too little too late.
Chase Jeter had 12 points and Brandon Williams added 10 for the Wildcats (13-5, 4-1 Pac-12).
Oregon (11-6, 2-2 Pac-12) will try to complete the weekend sweep at Arizona State on Saturday (6:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
“It’s always a big win coming in and beating these Arizona schools," Bailey Jr. said. “They’re usually always ranked high, they always got a lot of people coming to the games, they always got a lot of cameras. These two games are big for us, big for mental, physical, all of that.”