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 just confirmed what we all already knew – Oregon didn’t deserve a 12 seed. The win against St. Louis was oh so sweet, not just because it brought the Ducks to the Sweet 16, but because Oregon beat a great team and went on proving the committee wrong.
Oregon is not the only “low” seeded team making the nation sit up and take notice. La Salle and Florida Gulf Coast are also creating a stir; this is the first year that the Sweet 16 has three teams ranked No. 12 or lower.
It seems like the Ducks took the committee’s lack of belief in them and turned it into an ever-raging monster that is cheering/pushing them past points that they might be in trouble.
On the other side of the bracket, Louisville breezed past 16 seed North Carolina A&T, then beat a good Colorado State team to advance to the Sweet 16 to face Oregon.
Louisville is the number one overall seed, a distinction that is justly deserved. The Cardinals have played a stellar season so far, and unlike some of the other number one seeds in the tournament this year the Cardinals have not even come close to stumbling. They’ve defeated their two opponents in the tournament so far by a combined score of 161-104.
While die-hard Oregon fans want the Ducks to beat Louisville and head to Elite Eight and beyond, most of the outside world is not with us — at least stats-wise. Most analysts give Oregon small chance of getting past Louisville.
The first thing Oregon will need to do is stop with the turnovers. It seems like as the games progress, the Ducks start taking care of the ball more and turn the ball over less. In order to advance, Oregon will need to do that right from the start against Louisville because the Cardinals will capitalize on every turnover the Ducks give them.
There are only two PAC-12 teams left in the tournament: Arizona and Oregon. The other teams dropped the ball (sometimes literally) and lost.
Here’s the games:
– Arizona vs. Ohio State, Thursday, March 28 at 4:47 PM
The winner of this game will play the winner of the Wichita State and La Salle.
– Louisville vs. Oregon, Friday, March 29 at 4:15 PM
The winner of this game will play the winner of Michigan State and Duke.
All we can do now is wait (very impatiently) until Friday, and hopefully watch the Oregon Ducks beat Louisville. Win and the Ducks can match those same 2007 Ducks in reaching the Elite 8.
The Ducks are 2-1 all-time against the Louisville. A win against Louisville could make the Ducks a prohibitive favorite to reach the Final Four.
The last time Oregon met Louisville in 2001, Luke and Luke led the Ducks to a 90-63 victory in the Pape Jam at the Rose Garden
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Pat Pannu (Editor and Writer) is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon. Pat’s been a crazy Duck fan since she moved to Oregon in early 2004 and has been 95% of all home games since the 2005 football season. She loves to talk about sports though those talks somehow always end in arguments. Pat loves to hear other’s view of the sports and teams that she loves and can’t wait to hear from you all. Follow her on twitter @patpannu