Jermaine Couisnard leads Oregon to first-round win over South Carolina
In the days leading up to Oregon’s first-round matchup with South Carolina, there was plenty of buzz surrounding Jermaine Couisnard as the Ducks’ senior guard was tasked with facing his former school.
In his first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Couisnard delivered one of the brightest performances of his career and kept Oregon’s thrilling postseason run alive.
Couisnard scored 40 points on 14-of-22 shooting — including 5-of-9 from three — and dished out six assists to lead the No. 11-seeded Ducks to an 87-33 win over the No. 6 Gamecocks in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
In the process, Couisnard broke Tajuan Porter‘s previous UO record for most points (33) in a single NCAA Tournament game.
Couisnard’s 40 points were also a career-high.
“I wouldn’t be here without them guys, man,” Couisnard said of his UO teammates while speaking with TNT’s Evan Washburn postgame. “For the last month, last week, these guys put the ball in my hands and let me make plays. They just kept letting me make plays. I wouldn’t be anywhere without those guys in that locker room.”
Oregon center N’Faly Dante finished with 23 points, two blocks, and two steals. Jackson Shelstad chipped in 11 points and four assists for the Ducks.
Oregon took a 34-29 lead into halftime, then put its foot on the gas after the break and took control of the lead for good.
The Ducks stretched their lead out to 48-37 with 15:17 left in regulation and the Gamecocks never managed to cut the deficit to single-digits after that.
Dante and Couisnard combined to score 41 of Oregon’s 53 second-half points.
Down the stretch, the Ducks got some big contributions from freshman forward Kwame Evnas Jr. on both ends of the floor to close things out. The former four-star signee finished the day with eight points six rebounds, and two blocks.
Evans’ box plus-minus of +16 was tied for the second-best among all UO players on Thursday.
Oregon will face off with No. 3 Creighton on Saturday after the Bluejays topped Akron in Thursday’s tournament opener.
