Oregon Ducks Basketball Being Back in the Polls Can Only Help the Ducks Looking Ahead

Jan, 13, 2013; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks center Waverly Austin (20) chews gum in the first half against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon is finally back in the National spotlight after five years. They are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, at #21. The Ducks are one point out of the Coaches Poll with #25 UCLA holding a one point lead on Oregon.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, famous for his inside look at teams seeding for the NCAA Tournament with ‘Bracketology’ right now has Oregon at a 7 seed, and in the same slot they have been in for the past few weeks.  They are ‘slated’ with Georgetown, Gonzaga and Southern U.

If the Ducks keep winning, this should change. When you’re a program that hasn’t been around (the Top 25) for five years, people need to see you play. Being ranked always helps, but visibility with voters never hurts.

Head Coach Dana Altman has something special brewing in Eugene.  A growing home winning streak going back to last season, players that have bought into his system and want to play here, and a fanbase like no other in college basketball.

Oregon’s fanbase is a mix of old and young, they aren’t going to storm the court every game, but it’s a fanbase right now that is partly still in the process of buying into the program. I see this as an NCAA Tournament team right now – the team RPI is climbing with the fanbase – which can only lead to better things.

This Week: Ducks face USC/Thursday at 8pm  UCLA(#24)/Saturday1pmon CBS.

 Justin Phillips can be heard with Sports reports Mornings on 1120 KPNW-AM in Eugene,Oregon. Follow @Autzen_Zoo on Twitter for more on the Ducks.