Dana Altman and His Band of Unsung Heroes

Michael Bigham FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Surrounded by three beefy Cowboys, Casey Benson leaped for the rebound and popped from the scrum with the basketball. Midway through the first half with Oklahoma State, Benson had provided an essential stop in the game. His stat line for the contest wasn’t impressive—two rebounds and a steal, no points, but Benson was an unsung hero in the game. He …

Ducks Finish Season Victorious in Civil War Slugfest

Jordan Ingram FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Oregon men’s basketball team finished the regular season with its fifth straight win in a hard fought 65-62 victory over Oregon State Wednesday night at Gill Coliseum. The Ducks improve to 23-8 overall (13-5 Pac-12), earning a first round bye in the Pac-12 tournament, standing just one game behind second place Utah in conference standings. The Beavers (17-13, 8-10), under first year head coach Wayne Tinkle, finish the regular …

How the Ducks (or Someone New) Wins the Final Four

Nathan Roholt FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

I’m out of words. I’ve complained  about my disinterest in a national championship involving teams I couldn’t care less to watch.  I’ve complained about how college basketball is worse off when John Calipari’s programs succeed.  Yet those things continue to happen in college sports, so lots of good my complaining does. Rather than picking between two schools who, despite their 7th …

Louisville too much for the Ducks in Sweet 16 win

Sam Arney FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

It was a hard fought battle for the Oregon Ducks, who lost to the Louisville Cardinals 77-69 in the Sweet 16 Friday night.  Many analysts had Oregon as being extremely overmatched in this contest; while they were overmatched in some facets of the game, they managed to put up a valiant effort against arguably the best team in NCAA basketball …

Surprising Things I Learned from the Oregon/Louisville Game

Kim Hastings FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

I learned last night that our Ducks can stay with a very good Louisville team.  Nine times out or ten we’re going to go down to defeat to them, but we played them tough, won the game over the last 37 minutes, and comported ourselves well in a Sweet 16 game.  We also covered the spread, which did me no …

Baker’s Dozen: A Duck-Centric Ranking of the Remaining Teams

Nathan Roholt FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Everyone’s got some formula for solving The Bracket:  Always pencil the 1s and 2s in the first round.  Pick at least one 12 over a 5.  You have to choose a few upsets, because even though going chalk will land you in the top third of your pool, no one will respect you for how you got there.  Every year …

Oregon Unknowns: Ducks the odds-on favorite to advance in the Sweet Sixteen

Josh White History

When Oregon and Louisville tip it off tonight at 4:15 on CBS, the Ducks are matched up against arguably the hottest team in the country. But you should also know that this “Return of the Firs” team has been bending their knees and breaking all kinds of records this year.  Also, Oregon has some distinct historical and statistical advantages in this game. …

Oh So Sweet, Do We Dare Hope for More?

Pat Pannu FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

For the first time since 2007, the Ducks are dancing in the Sweet 16.  Last weekend it was the Damien Dotson show, right?  Or was it the Arsalan Kazemi show?  Actually, it was Dotson, Kazemi, Singler, Emory, Loyd and every other Duck-player-on-the-team; at least that’s what it felt like. Watching the Ducks simply overpower Oklahoma State was nice to see because it …

Oregon Was In The Zone … Defense

Sam Arney FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The 12th seeded Oregon Ducks took down 4th seed St. Louis Billikens Saturday in San Jose, 74-57.  It should be blatantly obvious to everyone after this game that Oregon got no seeding respect from the selection committee.  However, it seems to have worked out in the Ducks’ favor, as Oklahoma State and St. Louis were seeded high, and probably not deserving of …

12 Seeds Over 5 Seeds Down Through History

Kim Hastings Humor

I am going to start a movement to ban alcohol at NCAA Selection Committee hotels in the future.  The obviously liquored-up 2013 committee placed Oregon in the 12 spot in this year’s bracket, a spot normally reserved for SUNY/Stony Brook, IUPUILSMFT. and Washington.  The Ducks victory over Okie State, though not unprecedented (especially this year), was a statistical anomaly.  Since …

Ducks Perform Elegant First Step at the Big Dance

Luke Roth FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The NCAA tournament game was technically an upset: No. 12 seed Oregon topples No. 5 seed Oklahoma State 68-55.  It felt like anything but. Oregon, now 27-8, was the aggressor from the opening tip and took the game physically to the higher-ranked Cowboys from the Big-12 Conference.  On Thursday, the Ducks were simply the quicker and …