After a loss last Saturday to Washington State, the Oregon Ducks have fallen out of ESPN’s Bracketology, and they’ve almost fallen out of NCAA Tournament contention altogether. After starting the conference season 5-0, the Ducks are now 8-5 and fourth in the Pac-12 standings.
For a while, Oregon was sitting on the bubble of March Madness. Just a few key wins away from making the tournament. But they couldn’t win the must-wins, and now they’ve fallen off the NCAA tournament bubble. With only seven games left on their schedule, Oregon’s hopes for an at-large bid are nearly gone altogether.
The Ducks’ problems began around the time N’Faly Dante was returning from injury. During his absence, Oregon employed small ball strategies which played to their strengths. But since his return, the Ducks’ offense has become one-dimensional, with players constantly throwing the ball to Dante in the post, hoping he’ll make a play. Dante is not the issue. He’s one of the best producers on the team, but the rest team him can’t seem to work out how to play with him.
On Saturday, the Ducks will head up the road to Corvallis to play the Oregon State. The Beavers sit near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings, but they were able to beat Arizona early this year. A win would help boost the Ducks’ seed in the Pac-12 tournament, which is likely the only route Oregon can still take to March Madness.