With that much talent, and one of the best coaches in the college basketball world, it makes sense that the Oregon Ducks were able to turn things around at some point in the 2022-23 season, doesn’t it?
I can’t say I expected them to turn things around against the No. 9 team in the nation, though. I will be completely honest about that.
Dana Altman’s Ducks shocked the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday afternoon in front of what turned out to be a raucous and rambunctious Matthew Knight Arena crowd. It featured the energy and effort that has been lacking in so many lackluster performances this season and gave Oregon it’s defining win of the season thus far.
An outlook that featured missed tournament bubbles and potentially another trip to the National Invitational Tournament now has experienced a shakeup. With a resume-building win like this on the record, Oregon should feel good about playing in March if they keep things rolling. If they play as well as they did on Saturday afternoon, then the Ducks shouldn’t feel crazy about entertaining the notion that a couple of weekends may be possible in the tournament.
It was a celebratory day for the Oregon program which has seen so many disappointments over the past month. Here’s how everything went down: