Jordan Bell was hoping to make a statement for the Oregon Ducks in the Sweet 16, but the star forward misfired just a tad
The Oregon Ducks entered the 2017 NCAA Tournament without one of the biggest contributors in big man Chris Boucher. After tearing his ACL in the Pac-12 Tournament, he was ruled out for the rest of March Madness. That put the onus on another one of their big-time forwards, though, Jordan Bell.
In the Ducks’ two wins leading to the Sweet 16, Bell had been phenomenal. He’s a shot-blocking force, a relentless rebounder, and simply a tough, athletic guy that makes plays almost constantly. That’s what he was looking to showcase on Thursday night as they took on the Michigan Wolverines. Unfortunately, things worked out a little more poorly than planned.
With the game knotted at 16-16 just past midway through the first half, Bell came out to set a screen on the right wing before rolling the cup. The pass was gorgeous as it was right into space where Bell was essentially wide-open.
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Maybe that was the issue—or maybe he just plain fudged it. Whatever the cawe, Bell’s dunk attempt was far less than stellar as he whiffed horrendously and in essence got blocked by the rim:
woops pic.twitter.com/OuJdrXY6K3
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2017
Had they not won two big games to get to the Sweet 16, there definitely would’ve been something to say about an open space and the rim being better defensively than Michigan. But alas, we’ll spare them for now.
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Ever the motor guy and leader for the Ducks, though, the embarrassing attempt at the dunk didn’t deter him. Soon after, he answered with his defense as he notched a massive block. He also got the chance to actually throw it down not long after as well. We can only guess, but the betting man would say to put your money on that being the most careful dunk of the Oregon’s forward career—the second one—following his first attempt.