Oregon to face South Carolina in the first round of March Madness

The Oregon Ducks first round matchup in March Madness is the South Carolina Gamecocks.

For the first time since the 2020-21 season, the Oregon Ducks are headed to the NCAA Tournament. The road to the Big Dance wasn’t smooth for Oregon, but it persevered and won the games that mattered most. The Ducks ended a magical run in dramatic fashion on Saturday night with a Pac-12 championship, beating the Colorado Buffaloes to clinch a tournament berth.

In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Ducks are a No. 11 seed, matching up with No. 6 South Carolina. Oregon’s first-round matchup (and second-round matchup if it wins the first game) will be in Pittsburgh. Other teams in the same region include Purdue (No. 1), Gonzaga (No. 5) and Kansas (No. 4).

South Carolina shattered all preseason expectations. Some polls picked the Gamecocks to finish last in the SEC, but they ended up tying for second place in the conference.

One storyline to pay attention to in this matchup is Jermaine Couisnard. The sixth-year point guard has played his last two seasons at Oregon, but he played his first four seasons at South Carolina.

The Ducks’ first game will be on Thursday. If they win, they’ll play their second-round game on Saturday, also in Pittsburgh.

4 bid thieves force bubble teams to sweat before Selection Sunday reveal

Four college basketball programs stole bids for the 2024 NCAA Tournament by winning their conference championships ahead of Selection Sunday.

A college basketball season full of parity and upsets culminated in an insane final few days of conference tournament championships – with a pair of Power-6 conferences being won by teams not expected to earn at-large bids in the NCAA Tournament.

First it was the Wolfpack of NC State, who became the second program ever to win five straight games in five days to win a conference championship, starting as the 10 seed in the ACC and mowing down five teams that all won a national championship this past decade in Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Then the Oregon Ducks knocked off Washington State in the final Pac-12 championship, resulting in Dana Altman’s team taking a bid.

Additionally, a pair of mid-major conferences had potential bid thieves as well. The AAC championship will be between UAB and Temple, while FAU could still earn an at-large bid despite losing in the semifinals. And finally the Atlantic 10 conference had a wild weekend where each of the top four seeds were upset on the same day, resulting in a championship battle between Duquesne and VCU, while a ranked Dayton team will likely earn an at-large bid giving the conference two teams in the big dance.

All this bid thievery is bad news for teams who were on the right side of the bubble, and is a likely death sentence for the teams who were borderline. Fans of Indiana State, Seton Hall, Providence, St. John’s, Texas A&M, and Colorado will be extra sweaty for the next few hours until the bracket is revealed starting at 6:00 PM ET.

Oregon takes the series 2-1 over the Arizona State Sun Devils

The Oregon Ducks baseball team beat the Arizona State Sun Devils two games to one in the desert this weekend.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team wrapped up their long road trip to the desert with a series victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend. After losing the first game of the series on Friday, the Ducks won two straight to beat the Sun Devils 2-1.

In Friday’s game – which Oregon lost 4-5 — the Ducks had no shortage of baserunners, but they had trouble bringing their guys around to score. Oregon finished the game with 10 runners left-stranded, which was partially a result of Arizona State’s pitching staff generating 13 punch-outs.

On Saturday, the Ducks offense got going. After just 4 hits on Friday, Oregon finished with 9 knocks on Saturday, two of which were home runs. Starting pitcher Tony Twist gave the Ducks just four innings, but relievers Brock Moore and Bradley Moore combined for five scoreless innings pitched to close the game for a 6-4 Oregon victory.

The Ducks brought the series home on Sunday afternoon, bringing even more offense for the third game of the series. In the fourth inning, Ducks first-baseman Jacob Walsh cranked a grand slam to put Oregon up 4-2, and from then on, the Ducks held the lead, carrying them to an 8-5 victory.

Throughout the weekend, the Ducks had to rely on their bullpen, but the relief pitchers answered the call. No Oregon starter made further than 5.1 innings, but each time the relievers were called on they answered.

The Ducks’ next matchup is on Tuesday, back in Eugene for a one-game stand against the University of Portland. After that, Oregon will host Cal and then Arizona at PK Park, each for a three-game series.

‘I’m not going anywhere;’ Dana Altman addresses retirement rumors

Dana Altman squashes rumors that he will be retiring after the 2023-24 season.

In the past few weeks, multiple national news outlets have suggested that Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman’s retirement could be looming after the 2023-24 season. After practice on Tuesday, Altman squashed those rumors.

“I have no idea who said that,” Altman said about the supposed retirement buzz. “I’m not sure who said it; I know I didn’t. I have talked to nobody. Whoever is saying that is pure speculation. I’m not going anywhere — unless the school tells me I’m not here — but no, I’m not retiring that’s for sure.”

Altman has coached at Oregon for the last 13 seasons, including this one. Before coming to Eugene he was the head coach at Creighton for 15 years, with 4 years at Kansas State before that.

Altman has come under some fire this season since the Ducks are likely to miss the NCAA tournament in 2024 for the third consecutive year. The season began strong for Oregon, but the Ducks haven’t been able to sustain consistent enough shooting or defense to win the key games.

Despite the recent struggles though, there is no inclination that Oregon is close to moving on from Altman. When things are all said and done, Altman will be a Hall of Fame coach, and he’s made such an impact for the Ducks during his time at Oregon.

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Oregon keeps their offensive momentum rolling to pick up a win in the desert

The Oregon Ducks got back to their winning ways with a victory over Grand Canyon on Tuesday night.

The Oregon Ducks won their first game against Grand Canyon University 9-4 on Tuesday night, moving to 8-3 on the season. The Ducks built on the offensive momentum they created in the last game of their series against Santa Barbara, picking up 14 hits in the game.

Although he only pitched four innings, Oregon got good production out of their starting pitcher Turner Spoljaric. After giving up a two-run homer in the second inning, Spoljaric pitched two scoreless innings, to finish his outing with only three hits conceded.

After Spoljaric’s day was done, Oregon used a committee of pitchers to keep the Antelopes off the board. Brock Moore gave the Ducks two scoreless and hitless innings. Sammy Cova then pitched one and two-thirds innings, giving up the home run in the eighth. Bradley then came in to close the game for the Ducks, picking up the save.

Once again, the star of the show was Ducks right fielder Jeffery Heard. In the second inning, Heard picked up a leadoff single and came around to score. The next inning, Heard came to the plate with two outs and launched a moonshot over the right field wall, flipped the bat, and trotted the bases on a 2-run home run. Heard finished the game 2 for 4 with a walk and two RBIs.

The ‘Lopes made things interesting with a two-run home run in the eighth inning to make the score 7-4. But in the top of the ninth, Jacob Walsh responded for the Ducks with a two-run jack of his own, to put Grand Canyon away.

Oregon will play the second half of their two-game series against Grand Canyon on Wednesday at 1:00 PT. The Ducks will then stay in the desert this weekend for a three-game series against the Arizona State Sun Devils to kick off conference play.

Oregon to hire Missouri State’s Donte Ellington as analyst

The Oregon Ducks are expected to hire Donte Ellington, the former WR and special teams coach of the Missouri State Bears.

The Oregon Ducks are making an addition to their coaching staff, hiring former Missouri State coach Donte Ellington.

Ellington worked as a wide receiver coach and special teams coordinator for Missouri State, and per 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz, he will come to Eugene as an analyst.

In 2023, three of Ellington’s wide receivers at Missouri State gathered over 500 receiving yards, all averaging 40+ yards per game and 10+ yards per catch. The Bears’ most productive receiver, Raylen Sharpe, had 991 receiving yards and 7 TDs in 10 games played last season.

 

Before his season with Missouri State, Ellington took stops at Abilene Christian, Eastern Kentucky, and Midwestern State. Before that, he spent 10 years as a high school football coach in the San Francisco area. This will be Ellington’s first coaching job at the Power 5 level.

It’s not yet clear what Ellington’s specific role will be on the Ducks’ coaching staff, beyond serving as an analyst in some capacity.

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Spring Position Preview: Jordan James, Noah Whittington usher in post-Bucky Irving era

Bucky Irving leaves big shoes to fill in Eugene, but Jordan James and Noah Whittington are more than capable of getting the job done.

After a couple of long off-season months, the grass is starting to grow and trees are getting ready to bloom. Spring is coming in Eugene, and with it comes the long-awaited return of football for the Oregon Ducks. A lot will look different in this new year for Dan Lanning and his team, with several of last year’s top players moving onto the NFL, including guys like Bo Nix, Troy Franklin, Bucky Irving, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Brandon Dorlus. All of that is not to mention the fact that the Ducks are joining the Big Ten, and have a new-look conference to get used to on top of a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff to strive for. 

It’s safe to say that there are a lot of things to talk about going into this spring season, and a lot of storylines to discuss. To get things started, we want to give a position-by-position breakdown of Oregon’s current roster, getting readers up to date on which players left, which players are returning, and what the overall outlook is going into the spring. So far, we’ve looked at the quarterbacks, and now we’ll examine the Ducks’ running back room.


One of the hallmarks of Oregon football has been the presence of a reliable rushing attack, and that hasn’t changed during Dan Lanning’s tenure as head coach of the Ducks. In his two years as coach, one or more running backs have averaged more than six yards per carry. That consistency has opened up the rest of Oregon’s offense, which led to the Ducks scoring 44.2 points per game in 2023.

The most reliable member of Oregon’s running back room during that time was Bucky Irving, who is now headed to the NFL after two seasons in Eugene. Irving is projected as a mid-round pick, and whichever team drafts him will get an elite rusher, as well as an elite receiver out of the backfield. Trying to replace him will be a tough task for Oregon, but they have enough talent already on their depth chart to feel comfortable with their 2024 RB room.

Below is a breakdown of every loss and addition to the Ducks RB room, as well as a look at each returning player. I also dive into the most compelling storylines pertinent to the Ducks’ running backs and give an overall outlook for the position in 2024.

Assessing Troy Franklin’s performance at the NFL Combine

A look at how former Oregon Ducks WR Troy Franklin performed at the 2024 NFL Combine.

The NFL Combine continued on Saturday with the wide receivers, running backs, and quarterbacks, conducting their on-field workouts. One of the most exciting Oregon Ducks to watch was WR Troy Franklin.

Franklin came into the day a bit undersized at 176 lbs., but he used his speed to show that he is still one of the most athletic receivers in the draft. His 40-yard dash time of 4.41 seconds was one of the fastest at the WR position and he impressed scouts with his performance in the jumping drills as well.

In his pass-catching drills, Franklin had some ups and downs. In his gauntlet drill, he dropped a pass, but he fared much better catching passes while running routes during the QB workouts.

Currently, Franklin is graded as a late first-round to early second-round pick. With his performance in the speed drills on Saturday, Franklin could climb up the draft board of several teams looking for a speed demon.

Below is an in-depth look at Franklin’s 2024 Combine performance.

MBB Recap: Oregon gets crushed down in the desert, giving up season-high 103 points

The Oregon Ducks fall to the Arizona Wildcats 83-103 on Saturday morning.

The Oregon Ducks lost to the Arizona Wildcats in their final road game of the Pac-12 season, and it was a game that was never close.

For a few minutes to start the game, the Ducks traded baskets with the Wildcats, but then Arizona quickly went on a run, and the Ducks lost control of the game. At the half, the Ducks were down 30-51.

In the second half, there were points where it looked like Oregon might crawl back, but the Wildcats always responded and re-extended their lead. Jermaine Cousinard came alive for the Ducks in the second half, scoring 33 second-half points on 75% shooting, but it wasn’t enough to give Oregon a chance to win.

N’Faly Dante had an injury scare in the second half after Jadrian Tracey fell on his ankle. Dante went to the locker room in visible pain, but he returned to the bench a few minutes later and finished the game for the Ducks.

Oregon can’t match Santa Barbara’s early offense on Friday afternoon

The Oregon Ducks lose to the Santa Barbara Gauchos 6-1 on Friday afternoon.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team’s win streak came to a close on Friday afternoon with a 6-1 loss to the Santa Barbara Gauchos. This was the first game of a three-game series against the Gauchos that will continue this weekend. Throughout most of the game, there was steady wind and rain, which probably contributed to Oregon’s lack of offense.

In the top of the first inning, the Ducks gave up three runs, after Santa Barbara’s first three batters picked up base hits. After that shaky first inning, Oregon starting pitcher RJ Gordon cleaned up his pitching, allowing only one hit after the first three batters he faced got knocks. In 4.2 innings pitched Gordon struck out 6 batters as well.

Through all nine innings, Santa Barbara had dominant pitching. The Gauchos’ starter Matt Ager pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just 4 hits, 2 walks, and 0 earned runs, striking out 8 Ducks along the way. Ager’s replacement from the bullpen, Cole Tryba, was equally dominant, giving up no earned runs, 3 baserunners, and striking out 5 batters to close the game for the Gauchos.

Oregon tried to make things interesting with a rally in the ninth inning. Things kicked off with a leadoff single from Oregon’s third-baseman Drew Smith, and then two more batters reached base to load the bases. But with two outs, Ducks centerfielder Bryce Boettcher came to the plate and grounded out to the Gauchos shortstop to end the game.

The Ducks will have their next games against Santa Barbara on Saturday and Sunday, and hopefully, they’ll be able to bring more offense to the field. Oregon finished Friday’s game with just 6 hits (all singles) and 3 bases on balls, and the Ducks’ only run came off of a sacrifice fly in the 5th inning. To start the season, Oregon’s bats have been hot, so hopefully they can swing back into form for the next two games of the series.

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