Usually, transfer students are required to sit out one season before they are allowed to play at their new school. However, Kazemi was cleared to play for Oregon this season on November 15th. This was because Rice signed off on waviers for Kazemi because “allegations coming forth from both players regarding their experiences and poor treatment while at Rice.” (Source: CBS Sports)

Nov 23, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Arsalan Kazemi (14) and Damyean Dotson (21) celebrate a UNLV Runnin

When he first played for the Oregon Ducks this season, the team was already 3-0 and seemed to be rolling.

Kazemi’s first game was against Jacksonville State and it was not a great scoring night, but he came up big in other aspects. He only scored two points and went 1-of-5 from the field. However, he racked up eight rebounds and five steals in the Oregon win.

Arsalan Kazemi has really come to play in both of Oregon’s last two games.

On November 29th, he scored 20 points and went 8-of-9 from the field. He also had six rebounds, five steals, and three blocks. This was arguably his best game thus far this season.

Then, on December 1st, Kazemi recorded his first double-double against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He scored only 11 points, but had 13 rebounds (a season-high). He also had his third game this season where he has recorded five steals.

So far this season, Arsalan Kazemi is averaging nine points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game (leads team), 3.7 steals per game (leads team), and 0.7 blocks per game (second on team) through five games.

Kazemi is making a big impact on the Oregon Ducks so far this season. It will be interesting to see how he performs the entire season, but the answer will be “just fine” if the first five game are any sort of indication.

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August 27, 2011; State College, PA, USA; Oregon Ducks middle hitter Milica Krstojevic (17) scores a point against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Rec Hall. Minnesota defeated Oregon 3 games to 2. Mandatory Credit: Rob Christy-US PRESSWIRE

The Ducks have been better in the postseason under head coach Jim Moore than they have looked in the past. Under Moore, they are 5-5 in the postseason and before him they were 1-5. UO is also 9-4 v.s. teams in the 2012 NCAA field.

Oregon’s first round match will be against Northern Colorado. The Bears surprisingly won the Big Sky conference tournament and finished 24-10. This season is their fourth straight 20-win season.

No pun intended, but the Ducks will need to use their high “flying” offense if they want to beat Northern Colorado in the first round and advance far into the tournament. Coming into the tournament, Oregon had a great last week of the season where they lead the nation in kills (15.9 per set) and assists (14.88 per set). They also ranked ninth in hitting (.292).

The Ducks and the Bears have only met once before and Oregon won 3-2 in 2004.

The other first round game in Eugene, Oregon will be between Dayton and Pepperdine. Dayton is the Atlantic-10 regular season and tournament champion. They recorded a perfect conference record this season (14-0). The Flyers are making the tournament for the sixth consecutive year.

Their opponent in the first round will be Pepperdine. They finished fifth in their conference, but still recorded their 16th 20-win season under head coach Nina Matthies. Last year, they were an Elite 8 advancer.

The winners of #5 Oregon/Northern Colorado and Dayton/Pepperdine will play each other in the second round. As for the Ducks, they have never played Dayton and are 1-3 against Pepperdine. However, the last time they met Pepperdine was in 1986.

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Because of being the No. 5 team in the tournament, the Ducks will host two first round games and one second round game.

Oregon will play the Northern Colorado Bears in their first round game. The Bears are from the Big Sky Conference. They went 14-6 in conference and defeated Idaho State in the Big Sky Championship.

August 27, 2011; State College, PA, USA; Oregon Ducks outside hitter Aliana Bergsma (2) scores a point past Minnesota Golden Gophers outside hitter Katherine Harms (8) in the first game at Rec Hall. Minnesota defeated Oregon 3 games to 2. Mandatory Credit: Rob Christy-US PRESSWIRE

One of the things Northern Colorado did very well in the Big Sky Championship against Idaho State was blocking. They notched a season-high 16.5 team blocks. Their leading blocker was Andrea Spaustat who recorded a career-high nine blocks in that game.

Offensively, the Bears can look to senior outside hitter Kelley Arnold and sophomore outside hitter Tambre Haddock.

Arnold and Haddock were first and second on the team with 19 and 13 kills respectively in the Big Sky Championship game.

However, the Ducks should have no problems with the Bears in their first round game. Expect senior outside hitters Katherine Fischer and Alaina Bergsma (redshirt) to provide the offense as they recorded 15 and 11 kills respectively in their last game of the season.

Defensive, Oregon will look to their freshman and junior middle blockers Ariana Williams and Canace Finley. Both Williams and Finley are tied for most blocks on the season with 66 blocks. In their regular season finale against OSU, WIlliams led the Ducks with four blocks.

The other first round game to take place in Eugene, Oregon will be between Pepperdine (20-11) and Dayton (26-4). Both first round games in Eugene will be played on November 30th.

Other Pac-12 Teams in the National Tournament

• Arizona State will play Oklahoma in Provo Regional
• No. 13 Washington will play Central Arkansas in Seattle Regional
• No. 2 Stanford will play Jackson State in Stanford Regional
• California will play North Carolina in Ames Regional
• No. 7 UCLA will play Long Island in Los Angeles Regional (Pauley Pavillion)
• No. 6 USC will play Fairfield in Los Angeles Regional (Galen Center)

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @RickyWidmer.

Follow the Autzen Zoo on Twitter @Autzen_Zoo and like us on Facebook at Autzen_Zoo.

Check out my other writings on the Illinois Fighting Illini blog, Writing Illini.