STANFORD, Calif. — Dorian Pickens thought only of being aggressive and let the chips fall. He was nearly perfect.
Pickens scored 25 points, making five 3-pointers, and Stanford handed Oregon its worst loss of the Dana Altman era, beating the Ducks 96-61 Saturday.
KZ Okpala added 20 points for the Cardinal (13-11, 7-4 Pac-12), who won their second straight and seventh in 10 games. Reid Travis added 17 points.
“We all wanted to come out and be aggressive right from the jump,” Pickens said. “One of our themes for this game was to attack at both ends right from the tip-off. We did that and it paid off.”
Troy Brown scored 15 points for Oregon (15-8, 5-5), who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Victor Bailey, Jr. added 13 points and Elijah Brown and Paul White scored 10 each.
The game seemed to turn on a blown call. Oregon threw the ball out of bounds but was awarded the ball. Payton Pritchard hit a 3-pointer moments later to bring the Ducks within 19-16.
Daejon Davis hit a 3-pointer on the other end that sparked a 13-0 run and Stanford was in control the rest of way. Davis flirted with a triple-double, scoring nine points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out eight assists.
“It was an awesome step forward,” Stanford coach Jarod Haase said. “Personally I want to enjoy the heck out of it. I’m hoping it’s an important step, a great win against a great coach. We have to take in stride with the intent of growing.”
Pickens was 9-of-11 shooting from the floor including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Okpala hit a layup in the final minute of the first half and the Cardinal took a 50-34 lead into halftime.
“We need him to be aggressive in all ways,” Haase said. “Dorian won’t brag about himself but I will happily brag about him.”
Oregon hadn’t lost by more than 12 all year. The Ducks also gave up a season-high in points. Stanford scored 107 points in an overtime victory over UCLA on Jan. 4.
“It’s kind of hard to take,” Altman said. “You get outrebounded by 13, they shoot 62 percent, Pickens got easy looks — we just didn’t do a good job. Their freshmen (Davis and Okpala) played well, Daejon really moved the ball well. They got to the basket on us.”
It’s also Stanford’s largest victory over Oregon ever.
“We couldn’t stop them,” Altman said.
DISAPPOINTING
Oregon lost by more than 35 points for just the second time in eight years under Dana Altman. “I don’t know if effort was the problem,” Altman said. “Our energy level wasn’t good; we sure didn’t get any stops. Defensively we weren’t communicating well. We didn’t talk much; we gave up a lot of easy looks. Offensively, 15 turnovers, 10 assists — that’s obviously not what we want.”
BIG PICTURE
Oregon: Since Dana Altman has been at the helm, the Ducks own the second-best record during the second half of Pac-12 play at 46-18. … Oregon leads the Pac-12 and ranks seventh nationally in free throw percentage (.781). Elijah Brown is shooting .963 from the foul line and has made 39 straight. He hasn’t missed a free throw since Nov. 26 in a home game against Oklahoma.
Stanford: Dorian Pickens’ first basket made him the 46th Stanford men’s basketball player to reach 1,000 career points. … Stanford has won the rebounding battle in 19 of its games this year. … Daejon Davis is averaging six assists a game over his last 10.
UP NEXT
Oregon hosts Washington on Thursday.
