PITTSBURGH — As shots fell, so did the PPG Paints Arena points record on Thursday afternoon as Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard’s 40 points set an all-time record in the history of the venue. The career-high masterpiece meant even more with it coming against his former team in South Carolina.
Couisnard’s 40-piece not only was a personal-best on the biggest stage of the year, but it also comes as the most all-time points by an Oregon Duck in NCAA Tournament history.
Game two in Pittsburgh between No. 6 South Carolina and No. 11 Oregon was everything a college basketball fan could have asked for as a mix of smooth 3-point shooting, jaw-dropping slams and, of course, the patented buzzer beater unfolded in front of a PPG Pants Crowd of 17,698.
While South Carolina (SEC) aimed to build upon its incredible 15-win turnaround from last year, it was the underdog Ducks (Pac-12) that utilized a big second half to take care of business, winning 87-73 and returning to the Round of 32 for the first time since 2021.
The Ducks’ leading scorers turned it up under the bright lights as Couisnard’s ungodly 40 points on five triples and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line paved the way, along with six assists, while N’Faly Dante added 23 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
The upset comes as the second 11-6 takedown of the day following Duquesne’s win over BYU.
Oregon jumped out to a 5-0 lead after Jackson Shelsted opened the scoring with a triple and Kwame Evans Jr. followed that up with a layup.
From there, the two teams remained within four points from one another until Meechie Johnson fired in a timely three for the Gamecocks to make it 20-14 at the 8:22 mark of the first half.
Johnson paced the Gamecocks with 24 points on four triples.
The Ducks, however, prevented any more damage as they strung together an 11-0 run with Couisnard going to work in the paint as he finished the first half leading all scorers with 14 points.
With the Gamecocks trailing by eight, Ta’Lon Cooper, in March Madness fashion, sent a prayer beyond half court as the buzzer sounded. Cooper’s 3-pointer pulled the Gamecocks within five as they trailed 34-29 at the half.
In the second half, Oregon wasted no time putting the Gamecocks further on their heels as Shelsted picked the ball off and quickly scored on the breakaway layup.
The Ducks turned up the heat on both sides of the floor and the ignitor was the 6-foot-11 senior Dante. He was only getting started when he rejected B.J. Mack’s attempt and swatted it ferociously out of bounds.
Moments later he threw down a nasty alley-oop play set up by Jadrian Tracey as he scored eight points in the first four minutes of the half.
South Carolina lingered with Johnson draining a pair of triples, but Couisnard was electric beyond the arc, burying a trio of treys for the Ducks midway through the second.
The Ducks continued to blend strong 3-point shooting and work in the paint as Evans Jr. added another thunderous two-handed slam to put the Ducks up by 12 and capped off the Ducks win.
A matchup with No. 3 Creighton — Oregon head coach Dana Altman’s former team — awaits the Ducks on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena with the time still TBD.
