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We’re starting to feel a bit like a broken record over here in Eugene.
With the Oregon Ducks’ 68-63 upset win over the No. 12 UCLA Bruins on Thursday night, we are once again touting their potential NCAA Tournament resume, just a week removed from proclaiming that their only path into the postseason would be winning the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas next month.
We thought that might be the only path, because we didn’t quite foresee the Ducks completing the sweep over UCLA this season, making it 4-straight wins over the Bruins. Considering how we saw Oregon play against California and Arizona State, you’d be crazy to think that the Ducks could run with some of the best teams in the country.
So we thought. After their performance against No. 3 Arizona last weekend — and 84-81 loss — and of course their win over UCLA, Oregon once again has a heartbeat. Their standing in the NET rankings certainly reflects that.
Oregon men's basketball moved from 67 to 58 in NET after its second win over UCLA, which stayed at 13. BYU moving back to Q1 and UC Riverside getting into Q3 also helped UO's resume. Ducks host USC, which dropped from 24 to 26 after 2OT win at Oregon State, on Saturday.
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) February 25, 2022
The Ducks have a chance to improve that ranking on Saturday night with the No. 16 USC Trojans coming to town. If Oregon can complete that season-sweep, as long as they don’t fumble either of the final two games in Washington next week, it would be hard to see them being held out of the big dance.
If you watched Oregon against UCLA tonight and versus Arizona last Saturday, you'd know that they were a team that could ADVANCE in the NCAA Tournament.
Ducks are in position. https://t.co/2vKWTrmP77
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 25, 2022
So what happens if Oregon can’t pull the upset over USC on Saturday night? Where does that leave them heading into the Pac-12 tournament? According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the bracketologist, they wouldn’t be dead yet. Before the win on Thursday night, Lunardi laid out a scenario for the Ducks to get into the big dance, and it included a split with UCLA and USC and a couple of wins in the Pac-12 tourney.
Here's @ESPNLunardi on Oregon's path to an at-large bid:
– split with UCLA, USC
– sweep Washingtons
– reach semis in Vegas (at least)— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) February 25, 2022
Step one of that checklist is complete, and the second test is coming this weekend. If Oregon can send USC packing — we should note that the Trojans barely squeaked out a double-OT win over the 3-22 Oregon State Beavers on Thursday — then they will be in prime position to get an at-large bid.
Of course, we know that the Ducks can get up for the big games against ranked teams. What they’ve struggled to do this year is beat the teams who can’t hold a candle to their level of talent. That’s the next test.
To start, it’s all eyes on USC, though. Take care of business on Saturday, and the path to March gets a lot clearer.
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