Oregon blows out Liberty in March Madness night cap at Climate Pledge Arena

It would have been hard for Oregon to script a better start than what it had in its first-round game against Liberty in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

The No. 5 seed Ducks began the game on an 18-2 run, and the outcome was never in doubt after that as the Ducks defeated the 12th-seeded Flames 81-52 on Friday night in the last of four games at Climate Pledge Arena.

Oregon (25-9) figures to get a much tougher challenge Sunday against No. 4 seed Arizona (23-12), its former Pac-12 rival, which rolled to a 93-65 victory over Akron.

Advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament has been a sure thing for Oregon under coach Dana Altman, doing it nine straight times during his tenure.

This one didn’t have much suspense in the second half after the Ducks led by 24 at halftime.

The Ducks took a 13-2 lead less than four minutes into the game, making five of their first seven shots, with three players making three-pointers in the early flurry.

The first media timeout didn’t stop the Ducks’ momentum as they scored the next five points. That caused Liberty coach Ritchie McKay, who played collegiately at Seattle Pacific and SPU and Washington to call a timeout.

That stalled the Ducks’ momentum for a bit but the damage was done.

Liberty (28-7) closed to 27-14 with 7:22 left in the first half. Oregon then dominated the final minutes of the half, taking a 44-20 lead on a three-pointer in the final seconds from Jackson Shelstad, who had 15 first-half points.

Liberty was ranked No. 6 in the nation in field-goal percentage (49.4%) and No. 7 in three-pointer percentage (39%) but the Flames struggled mightily in the first half. They shot 25% (7 of 28) and made just 2 of 15 three-point attempts (13.3%).

Oregon made 16 of 29 shots (55.2%) in the first half and was 6 of 11 (54.5%) from three-point range.

Liberty scored the first two baskets of the second half to pull to 44-24, but that was as close as the Flames got as their shooting woes continued.

Oregon led by 32 points when it took out its starters with almost four minutes left.

Shelstad finished with 17 points to lead Oregon and Nate Biddle had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Zach Cleveland scored 10 to lead Liberty.