Oregon Ducks
Pac-12 (23-9, 10-8)
Well, so much for the school in Eugene being just a football powerhouse. Oregon has slowly emerged in men’s basketball in the last several years, culminating in the school’s first NCAA appearance since 2008 last season. The Ducks made the Sweet 16 in their first trip to the big dance in quite some time. Now if only Oregon could win a Pac-12 title, something it hasn’t done since the days of the old Pac-10 in 2002. Once in the tournament, Oregon dusted off more well-known programs like Oklahoma State and Saint Louis and came within nine points of knocking off eventual champion Louisville. So what can Oregon do for an encore? For starters, it won 22 games during the regular season. Former Creighton coach Dana Altman has done a marvelous job turning Oregon back from the brink.
Big Wins: 12/21 BYU (100-96), 2/27 at UCLA (87-83), 3/8 Arizona (64-57)
Bad Losses: 1/9 California (83-96), 1/9 at Oregon State (72-80), 1/23 at Washington (76-80)
Coach: Dana Altman (4 seasons at Oregon)
Why They Can Surprise:
Just ask Arizona and UCLA what Oregon can do to nearly wreck a team’s title hopes. After the Ducks lost to these programs early in the year – albeit by very close margins – Oregon beat both programs, with the Ducks earning an upset of Arizona in the final game of the regular season. With a player like Joseph Young leading the way, Oregon has been quite strong. Mike Moser and Jayson Calliste also average in double figures in scoring, and the drop-off isn’t steep after that. Seven players on the roster average over six points per game, and that will help Oregon achieve some success. Oregon boasts an 82.3 scoring average, the highest total in the Pac-12, and that should be a plus.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Some of the other team stats leave a bit to be desired. The team isn’t particularly good at defensive rebounding, and that could be a disadvantage if it encounters a team with more post presence and a more solid inside game. Although the Ducks excel at free-throw percentage and field-goal shooting, there are other categories where Oregon ranks in the bottom half of the Pac-12. The team has also shown a reliance on Young as the leading scorer in most of their contests. Of the eight losses Oregon suffered this season, Young led in six of the games, but the team could not find its scoring niche elsewhere. There are an abundance of close calls in overtime and close losses by less than five points. Oregon has been on the short end of the stick too many times. Still, most of these could be nitpicky as Oregon could be quite a damaging club to other teams’ tourney hopes.
Probable Starters:
Joseph Young, Junior, Guard, 18.6 ppg, 1.9 apg
Damyean Dotson, Sophomore, Guard, 9.7 ppg, 1.2 apg
Jonathan Loyd, Senior, Guard, 7.2 ppg, 4.7 apg
Mike Moser, Senior, Forward, 13.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg
Waverly Austin, Senior, Center, 1.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Jason Calliste, Senior, Guard, 12.4 ppg, 1.7 apg
Richard Amardi, Senior, Forward, 6.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Elgin Cook, Sophomore, Forward, 6.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Dominic Artis, Sophomore, Guard, 4.3 ppg, 2.3 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 82.3 (9th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 73.7 (270, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.6 (61, 5)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.4 (167, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.7 (51, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.0 (26, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 77.2 (4, 1)
Rebound Margin: 1.5 (148, 7)
Assists Per Game: 14.6 (55, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 11,7 (198, 8)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2013 NCAA Second Round win over Oklahoma State
2013 NCAA Third Round win over St. Louis
2013 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Louisville
2012 NIT First Round win over LSU
2012 NIT Second Round win over Iowa
2012 NIT Quarterfinal loss to Washington
2011 CBI First Round win over Weber State
2011 CBI Second Round win over Duquesne
2011 CBI Semifinal win over Boise State
2011 CBI Final loss to Creighton
2008 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Mississippi State
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Miami-Ohio
2007 NCAA Round of 32 win over Winthrop
2007 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over UNLV
2007 NCAA Regional Final loss to Florida
2004 NIT First round win over Colorado
2004 NIT Second round win over George Mason
2004 NIT Quarterfinal win over Notre Dame
2004 NIT Semifinal loss to Michigan
2003 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Utah
*all team stats through 3/9
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
