The Ducks’ Louis King cuts down the nets in Las Vegas after Oregon’s 68-48 victory over Washington in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game Saturday. Photo provided/ Ducks Illustrated Magazine
• With four wins in the 2019 Pac-12 tournament, Dana Altman became the winningest coach in tournament history. He finished 2019 with 19 career conference tournament wins. This year he passed Sean Miller, Arizona (17) and Lute Olson, Arizona (16) for the all-time lead.
• The #12 seed matches Oregon’s lowest seed in the NCAA Tournament (2013).
• Two Ducks will be making their second NCAA Tournament appearances, while it will be the first for the rest of the squad. Payton Pritchard was the starting point guard on Oregon’s 2017 Final Four team. Paul White was a member of Georgetown’s 2015 NCAA Tournament team before transferring to Oregon.
• This is the fourth time that both the UO men and women will play in the NCAA Tournament (1995, 2000, ’17).
• All men’s games are on CBS, TBS, TNT and TRU networks. All women’s games are on ESPN and ESPN2.
MEN
University of Oregon: The Pac-12 Tournament champion is the No. 12 seed in the South Region and will open the NCAA Tournament against No. 5 seed Wisconsin Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The game is televised on TBS.
Five fast facts:
1. This is Oregon’s sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in the ast seven years, and overall it is the Ducks’ ninth straight postseason appearance.
2. A turnaround for the ages. On Feb. 23, Oregon was 15-12 (10th place in the Pac-12 at 6-8). Then came the streak of eight wins in a row. After allowing UCLA to score 62 points in the second half, the Ducks held their next six opponents to less than 62 points for the entire game.
3. During the eight-game winning streak, the Ducks outscored their opponents by nearly 18 points per game (72.0 to 54.2). Opponents are shooting 34.6 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from three.
4. In the midst of that streak, Oregon held six consecutive opponents to less than 62 points. The last time Oregon did that was 1982-83, three years before the shot clock.
5. While Oregon’s recent defensive surge can be directly linked with the switch to the “big” starting lineup (four players standing 6-9), the play of Pac-12 Tournament MOP Payton Pritchard shouldn’t be overlooked. During the eight-game winning streak, he is averaging 15.8 points per game with 39 assists, 22 steals and only 11 turnovers.
WOMEN
University of Oregon: The team will host Portland State on Friday to open the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks (29-4) received a No. 2 seed for the second year in a row, and were placed in the regional to be hosted by Portland for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds. Matthew Knight Arena will also host a first-round game between No. 7 Texas and No. 10 Indiana, with the winner to play the Oregon-PSU winner on Sunday.
The Ducks and Vikes will play 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game, with both to be televised by ESPN2.
Mississippi State received the No. 1 seed in the Portland Region, and the region also includes No. 3 Syracuse, No. 5 Arizona State and No. 6 South Dakota State. The Ducks beat all four teams, which are now potential second-weekend opponents should the UO women survive the opening rounds.
The Ducks enter the NCAA Tournament having won the Pac-12 regular-season title and reached the conference tournament final, a loss to Stanford. The Cardinal also received a No. 2 seed into the NCAA Tournament, in the Chicago Region.
Oregon State University: The Beavers will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The No. 4 seed will open the tournament against 13th-seeded Boise State on Saturday. The winner of that game will take on the winner of No. 5-seed Gonzaga and No. 12-seed Little Rock.
This is the sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Beavers, and the fourth time in the past five years Oregon State has hosted the first two rounds. OSU has made three-consecutive Sweet 16s, including a Final Four run in 2016.
Men’s Tournament
Check out the full NCAA men’s tournament bracket on Page 16. Gonzaga, Duke, North Carolina and Virginia are No. 1 seeds.
Women’s Tournament
See the complete NCAA women’s tournament bracket on Page 17. Oregon, Oregon State and Portland State all made the tournament.
