Oregon dominates UC Irvine on way to Sweet 16

No. 12 Oregon dominated No. 13 UC Irvine 73-54 in a battle of underdogs Sunday night to cap off the first week of the NCAA Tournament.

With the win, the Ducks (25-12) advance to the Sweet 16, where they will face No. 1 seed Virginia at approximately 9:59 p.m. ET Thursday.

Junior guard Payton Pritchard led the way for the Ducks with 18 points and seven assists. Freshman forward Louis King added 16 points while sophomore forward Kenny Wooten had a monster game around the net, contributing eight rebounds and seven blocks to go with 11 points.

The Ducks beat No. 5 Wisconsin 72-54 in the first round on Friday.

The Anteaters (31-6), who upset Kansas State 70-64 in the first round, were led by senior guard Robert Cartwright’s 14 points.

UC Irvine came into the game with longest active winning streak in the nation.

The Cavaliers-Ducks battle will be second game of the night Thursday in South Region play at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The earlier game will feature No. 2 Tennessee and No. 3 Purdue at 7:29 p.m. ET.