Jermaine Couisnard reacts to N’Faly Dante's poster dunk
Oregon was going to need all the energy it could muster in order to defeat No. 9 Arizona this weekend. With that said, N’Faly Dante decided to give them all the energy they could have hoped for with a ridiculous poster dunk on Wildcat point guard Kerr Kriisa just a minute into the game which sent an early message and the crowd in Eugene into a frenzy.
After the Ducks went on to win 87-68, senior guard Jermaine Couisnard described what play did for Oregon. He said the dunk was so incredible that it energized the entire roster to continue to lock in with their press and fight in a way that would go on to earn them their first ranked win of the season.
“That was crazy. I won’t lie,” said Couisnard. “I think that just got us going. We was pressing early so we had seen they was loose with the ball. We seen (Dante) come down the lane and do that? I feel like that gave us a lot of confidence.”
Arizona still fought with Oregon for most of the first half. In the final 20 minutes, though, the Ducks ran away with it. Their lead bloomed to as much as 21 as they shot 53.1% from the field. It earned them a court storming on the floor of Matthew Knight Arena after Couisnard led the way with 27 points. Meanwhile, Dante was a load down low with 22 points (9-11 shooting), 10 boards, three steals, and two blocks.
Oregon came into this matchup just a game over .500 and 3-3 in the Pac-12. They needed to make a statement and they capitalized on this weekend’s opportunity by knocking off to Top-10 Wildcats. For the Ducks, it’s now about bottling that energy up and maintaining it in order to get back into the race.