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NCAA BK

Oregon expects road to get tougher against Rhode Island

By FoxSports
Published | Updated

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Oregon had little trouble with Iona in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, but Rhode Island could present more problems in a second-round Midwest Regional game on Sunday at the Golden 1 Center.

The third-seeded Ducks (30-5) rolled to a 93-77 victory over 14th-seeded Iona in a first-round game Friday. The 11th-seeded Rams advanced with an 84-72 win over sixth-seeded Creighton.

Oregon coach Dana Altman was pleased with the way his team played against Iona. Tyler Dorsey scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. Dillon Brooks scored 18 points, Jordan Bell posted 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Payton Pritchard added 16 points.

"Hopefully, we saved a little bit for Sunday because we know we will have a big challenge," Altman said.

Brooks leads Oregon in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game. Dorsey averages 13.3 points.

The Ducks will again be without senior forward Chris Boucher, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the Pac-12 tournament. Boucher was third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and first in blocked shots.

"(With) Chris out, it's tough for us," Ennis said. "He brings so much, especially on the defensive end, but we have a job to be done. Like coach says, it's not going to be one person who does what Chris does. It's going to be all of us."

Oregon will face a red-hot Rhode Island team with more size, strength and athleticism than Iona. The Rams have won nine in a row and 13 of their last 15.

Jeff Dowtin, who averages 4.9 points per game, poured in 23 against Creighton. Kuran Iverson scored 17 points. E.C. Matthews had 16 points and seven rebounds.

Matthews leads Rhode Island in scoring at 14.9 points per game. Hassan Martin averages 14.1 points and seven rebounds.

After the win over Creighton, Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley admitted he and his staff have some homework to do before they face Oregon.

"You know what?" Hurley said. "To be honest with you, we have a couple coaches on staff here that were at the earlier game. We were so locked in on Creighton. We didn't get ahead of ourselves."

Hurley said he will seek assistance from his older brother, Bobby, who has become quite familiar with Oregon in the past two years as the head coach at Arizona State.

"Obviously, we're going to hustle now and I'm going to lean on brother Bob for a little Pac-12 intel," Hurley said. "They played them very well at Oregon and played them really well in the first half, in particular, in the Pac-12 tournament.

"Bob is here and now it becomes -- it was a vacation-type of a trip for him, and now it becomes a working trip for Bob. I don't know if he's allowed to unofficially join our staff. Gotta check with compliance."