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Bracketology in November? It’s Never Too Early to Think About the Oregon Ducks and March Madness

By Justin Phillips

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Mar 29, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith (2) runs into Oregon Ducks forward Arsalan Kazemi (14) in the second half during the semifinals of the Midwest regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest College Football game of the season in the Pac 12 is over and it is time to focus on another sport – at least for a day. The 2013 College Basketball season kicks off tonight for Oregon  and both Athlon Sports and ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi take an early look at March Madness.  Lunardi and Athlon both have the Oregon Ducks as ‘in’ to the NCAA Tournament come March, even with the absence of  Dominic Artis and Ben Carter to start the year. Both broke an NCAA rule and sold merchandise. Their punishment: sitting out the first nine ‘regular’ season games.

Lunardi has Oregon set, at least for now, better than the 12 seed they were last year. ESPN’s Bracketology expert puts the Ducks as a 5 seed playing in the East Regional with the likes of  Michigan State, the 1 seed,  Florida, the 2 seed and Syracuse the 3. On the other side the folks at Athlon Sports have Oregon placed lower in the seedings.

A 9 seed in the South region is not necessarily a bad place to be either. When it comes to the NCAA Tournament you look at who you have to face in each round. The placement here keeps the Ducks as a ‘threat’ but not as easy to beat. If Oregon can get on a roll in the win column at this point in the season the could go pretty far.

Of course we now have to rewind to reality and the fact that the 2013 College Basketball season has not even started yet for any team and anything can happen. It is nice to see that the Ducks earned some respect last season for getting as far as they did in the tournament.

Oregon kicks off the 2013 season Friday night in Seoul, South Korea vs Georgetown in the Armed Forces Classic(5pm PT, ESPN)

Oregon Ducks This Week:

Oregon Ducks Fans, November 16th the USC Bandwagon Needs YouOregon Ducks 4th Quarter Effort Not Enough As They Fall to Stanford 26-20Bracketology in November? It’s Never Too Early to Think About the Oregon Ducks and March MadnessFor more on the Oregon Ducks , the rest of the Pac 12 and any cool tidbits we find along the way follow us on Facebook and Twitter.