No. 3 Oregon deals No. 4 UConn its worst loss ever in Storrs

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Who knows if there is a such thing as a “statement” victory at this stage of the college basketball season with the tournament right around the corner?

If there is, a picture from No. 3 Oregon’s blowout triumph over No. 4 UConn should be in the dictionary’s definition.

And while the Ducks (20-2, 9-1 Pac-12) will eventually have to deal with the likes of South Carolina, Baylor and Louisville among others in its bid to bring a national title to Eugene, earning such a commanding win on the road against another of the college game’s elite teams should put everyone in all four brackets on notice.

The Ducks scored a 74-56 win over the Huskies with over 10,000 in attendance. It is the first top-five road victory for Oregon and UConn’s worst home loss ever at Gampel Pavilion.

An argument can be made that this one may not have even been that close. Oregon outscored UConn (19-2, 9-0 AAC) 22-12 in the first quarter and only widened its lead ever since.

All of Oregon’s 74 points came from its starting five with Taylor Chavez getting significant numbers off the bench for the Ducks. Ruthy Hebard had a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds and Satou Sabally finished with one as well with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Erin Boley scored 13 points while Minyon Moore had 12 points and six assists. Sabrina Ionescu added 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Crystal Dangerfield led all UConn scorers with 19 and Anna Makurat added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench. Megan Walker and Olivia Nelson-Ododa were held to eight points apiece, but Walker did bring in seven rebounds and Nelson-Ododa contributed six rebounds and six assists.

Oregon heads back to Eugene to host Arizona on Friday at 6 p.m. on Pac-12 Network. UConn remains at Gampel to host Memphis that same day at 7 p.m. on SportsNet New York.

Also in this game, UConn’s coach Geno Auriemma delivered a nice touch to honor the late, great Kobe Bryant.