ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Dillon Brooks scored 22 points and Oregon advanced to the brink of its first Final Four in 77 years with an 82-68 victory over defending national champion Duke on Thursday night in the West Region semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.
Elgin Cook had 16 points and nine rebounds for the top-seeded Ducks (31-6), who will meet Oklahoma on Saturday. The second-seeded Sooners routed Texas A&M 77-63.
After a season-long rise in the Pacific Northwest, the Pac-12 champion Ducks emphatically arrived on the national stage with a strong second-half rally to beat the mighty Blue Devils (25-11) for the first time in school history.
Freshman Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, but Duke fell short of its third Elite Eight trip in five years. The Blue Devils lost five of their final 10 games.
No longer just a football school, Oregon is flying high after comfortably holding off Duke for one of the biggest wins in the program’s history.