Davis Helps UC Irvine Shock No. 21 Oregon

UC Irvine players celebrate after defeating No. 21 Oregon 69-56 in an NCAA college basketball game in Eugene, Ore., on Nov. 11, 2022. (Andy Nelson/AP Photo)

EUGENE, Ore.—DJ Davis scored 24 points, hitting six 3-pointers, as UC Irvine stunned No. 21 Oregon 69–56 on Friday night, Nov. 11.

Dawson Baker added 11 points for UC Irvine (2–0), which is picked to finish fourth in the Big West Conference this season. The Anteaters made 12–of–28 3-pointers.

The Ducks were led by N’Faly Dante with 20 points while Nate Bittle added 10. Oregon shot 32.7% from the field, including 4–for–21 on 3-pointers.

UC Irvine built a 35–22 lead at halftime and stretched the margin when Bent Leuchten scored to open the second half and Devin Tillis added a three-point play to push the lead to 40–22.

Dante made a free throw to cut the lead to 42–26 with 18:03 left to play, but the Ducks couldn’t get much closer the rest of the game.

UC Irvine built an early 12–4 lead before Oregon took an 18–17 lead on two free throws by Kel’el Ware with 6:11 left in the first half.

The Anteaters closed out the half with a 18–5 run to take a 35–22 lead at the half.

UC Irvine guard DJ Davis (22) celebrates with guard Emilis Butkus (23) and guard Ofure Ujadughele (10) after UC Irvine defeated No. 21 Oregon 69–56 in an NCAA college basketball game in Eugene, Ore., on Nov. 11, 2022. (Andy Nelson/AP Photo)

Ofure Ujadughele followed with two free throws before Davis made a 3-pointer for UC Irvine. Dante followed with a layup to get UO within 22–20 before Davis made a jumper and JC Butler hit a 3-pointer.

Dante made a layup to get the Ducks within 27–22 before UC Irvine score the final eight points of the half. Davis made a 3-pointer and Pierre Crockrell hit a jumper before Andre Henry capped the half with a 3-pointer to put the Anteaters ahead 35–22.

Davis scored 13 points in the first half while the Anteaters limited Oregon to 29.2 percent shooting from the field.

Big Picture:

UC Irvine: The Anteaters improved to 2-0 with a couple West Coast Conference teams ahead in Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine before hosting Life Pacific. There is not likely another ranked opponent on UC Irvine’s schedule this year.

Oregon: The Ducks opened the season with a win over Florida A&M and looked likely to start 3–0 with wins expected over UC Irvine and Montana State before the schedule gets tougher.

Oregon’s nonconference schedule is loaded in the middle with a home game against third-ranked Houston on Sunday followed by a trip to the Phil Knight Invitational where they could face No. 1 North Carolina, No. 16 Villanova, or No. 20 Alabama.

After that, Oregon opens Pac-12 play against Washington State and No. 8 UCLA before wrapping up nonconference games against four non-power conference programs.

Up Next

UC Irvine: The Anteaters host Loyola Marymount on Tuesday.

Oregon: The Ducks stay home to face Montana State on Tuesday.