Ducks start hot, then lower the shoulder for dominant win over Liberty
The game plan was to be physical. Then the Ducks shot the nets off.
SEATTLE — Get your ass in there!
The plea came from Oregon guard Keeshawn Barthelemy. His Oregon Ducks were already up 17 points in the first half, they were already well on their way to beating the brakes off 12-seed Liberty and they were doing it in the most unexpected way — in a game that matched the hot-shooting Flames up against a bigger, faster and stronger Oregon team, it was the Ducks who came out hot from three and lit up the nets.
But with Oregon cruising, Barthelemy knew it was time for the Ducks to get back to their advantage. So when he nearly ran into 7-foot center Nate Bittle around the perimeter with 5 minutes to play in the first half, the senior guard gruffly told his senior center to position himself under the hoop.