EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Chris Boucher announced his return to No. 11 Oregon’s starting lineup with one dramatic slash-and-slam move.
In the process, he helped answer what the latest version of the Ducks would look like without injured preseason All-America forward Dillon Brooks again.
Boucher had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Dylan Ennis scored 15 and Oregon rolled to a 69-52 victory over Stanford on Saturday.
With Brooks on the bench and his left leg in a boot to protect a sprained foot, the Ducks (18-2, 7-0 Pac-12) broke a 104-year-old school record with their 16th consecutive win and 38th in a row at home.
Jordan Bell and Tyler Dorsey each had 11 points for Oregon, which overcame 19 turnovers by shooting 11 of 25 from 3-point range and outrebounding Stanford 40-29.
The Ducks share a 1 1/2-game lead atop the Pac-12 with No. 14 Arizona, but Oregon coach Dana Altman, ever the taskmaster, wasn’t satisfied.
“I’m disappointed. We were sloppy, but there were some good things,” he said, pointing to the eight rebounds and seven assists from freshman point guard Payton Pritchard. “That’s a big plus. We need our guards to rebound.
“But 19 turnovers is just unacceptable. The (12) turnovers in the second half took away from what could have been a good performance.”
It was the 11th career double-double for 6-foot-10 Boucher, whose swooping drive and dunk from the left wing late in the first half showed no lingering effects of the ankle sprain that cost him his starting spot eight games ago.
“I felt like it was always there,” said Boucher, who had come off the bench the past six games after sitting out two to recuperate. “Their bigs were kind of slow, so I felt I had the opportunity to do that.
“It’s always good to know you’re capable of doing it.”
Marcus Allen had 13 points as the only scorer in double figures for the Cardinal (11-9, 3-5). Stanford went more than eight minutes of the second half without a field goal, shot just 32.3 percent overall (20 of 62) and had two players foul out.
Oregon spotted the Cardinal the first five points and then hit four straight 3-pointers in taking a 16-7 lead. The margin grew to 20 late in the half as the Ducks went 8 of 17 beyond the arc and 14 of 26 (53.8 percent) overall.
Stanford, meanwhile, went the last five minutes of the half without a field goal and trailed 40-22.
“I think it was a combination of great shooting on their part, and poor defense on ours,” first-year Cardinal coach Jerod Haase said.
The Ducks, who led by as many as 25 late in the game, have won their last six games by an average of 24.3 points.
There’s no timetable for Brooks’ return after Oregon announced his injury status two hours before tipoff. The Ducks were ranked as high as No. 4 early in the season before he came back from offseason surgery for a broken bone in the same foot.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Altman said, “but hopefully it’ll all work out and he’ll feel better quick.”
BIG PICTURE
Stanford hasn’t swept a conference road trip since 2010. The Cardinal hope to have leading scorer Reid Travis (16.6 ppg) back from a shoulder injury in time for a visit to California in eight days.
Oregon finishes the first half of the Pac-12 season next week at Utah and Colorado, a road trip it hasn’t swept in four tries since the Utes and Buffaloes joined the conference in 2011.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Oregon’s chances of rejoining the Top 10 were helped Saturday when both No. 3 UCLA and No. 7 Creighton lost at home.
HE SAID IT
Oregon has five players scoring in double figures, led by Brooks at 13.4 points per game, but none among the Pac-12’s top 20 this season. “I think our balance is our identity, and I like to see that,” Altman said. “When guys are making plays for each other, we’re pretty good. When the ball’s hitting the floor too much, we’re not nearly as good.”
WHAT STREAK?
Boucher said he wasn’t aware that Oregon’s 16th win in a row was a school record until told by a Pac-12 broadcaster during a postgame interview. Meanwhile, Pritchard insisted such things don’t matter to the Ducks. “We’re not worried about any streaks,” he said. “We just want to make a run to the Pac-12 tournament and the NCAA Tournament.”
STAT OF THE GAME
The announced crowd of 12,364 was Oregon’s fourth sellout of the season and 12th in 119 games since Matthew Knight Arena opened six years ago — though there were at least 1,000 empty seats. The Ducks have drawn more than 10,000 for each of their five Pac-12 home games.
UP NEXT
Stanford, now 0-6 against ranked teams, hits the Pac-12 midpoint at California on Jan. 29.
Oregon goes for its first 8-0 start to conference play in 91 years at Utah on Thursday. The Ducks finished 10-0 in the Pacific Coast Conference in 1925-26.
