Oregon choked away a Pac-12 Tournament game that was all but over against Arizona
The Oregon Ducks held a lead over the Arizona Wildcats for the majority of their matchup in the semifinals of the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament. In fact, the Ducks were up by four points with only seconds left on the clock as they seemed to have secured a victory. What happened next can only be described as a massive choke-job by Oregon.
After a missed three from the Wildcats, the Ducks first allowed Arizona to tip the ball out for an offensive rebound to Gabe York. Though York knocked down the three, all the Ducks had to do was safely inbound the ball with less than a second remaining on the clock. They couldn’t even manage that as the Wildcats intercepted the inbounds pass. Things got even more unthinkable as Mark Tollefsen’s last second heave was no good, but he was fouled by the Ducks on the play for the chance to win:
Though Tollefsen missed the first of the two free throws to only force overtime, this was a massive choke by the Ducks. From not being able to secure the rebound to not being able to inbound the ball to not fouling on the desperation last-second shot, they blew a sure thing in the final seconds of a huge Pac-12 Tournament game.
Oregon didn’t let the blown lead affect them in overtime, but that they let this type of thing happen at all is just near unfathomable. For a team heading the Pac-12 title game, you’d expect just a little bit more poise.