Jackson Shelstad scored 18 points and No. 23 Oregon held Indiana speechless for more than 4 1/2 minutes late in the match Thursday to pull out a 72-59 victory in the second round of the Big Ten Conference tournament in Indianapolis.
Tj Bamba added 17 points and Brandon Angel kicked in 14 for the eighth seeded ducks (24-8).
Oregon preserved 49.1 percent of its shots from the field and advanced to the quarter final on Friday against top seeds Michigan State.
Malik Reneau came from the bench to get a gaming high 19 points for Hoosiers (19-13), while Trey Galloway added 15 points and a game high nine assists. Mackenzie Mgbako hit 10 points but leading goal scores Oumar Ballo scored only 4 out of 11 shots and succeeded only eight points, five below his average.
The result was not only Indiana’s second loss for the ducks in nine days but also seems to leave Hoosier’s square on the NCAA tournament bubble. They joined just 25 out of 69 attempts from the field.
Indiana only dragged 56-54 with 7:33 left after Reneau shook out for a layout of a myles rice feed. But it didn’t score until Reneau made a layout on the 2: 04 mark, which made it 65-56. Oregon kept it in the distance from there.
The first name story was whether Ducks could keep their late seasonal period going. They entered the tournament with a seven-game winning line that included an upcoming overtime victory last month in Wisconsin.
Hoosiers came out of the gate strong and played a de facto home game just minutes from their Bloomington campus. They led 17-9 at Markus 13:35 when Reneau converted a 3-point game.
But Oregon gradually rolled them in over the next 6 1/2 minute and forged a 23-23 tie with 7:02 when Angel spent a corner 3-point from a Keeshawn Barthemy pass. Then they ripped away the last 10 points in half to take a 37-29 advantage to interruption on Barthelemy’s short jump with 31 seconds left.
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