NIT: Oregon Ducks Face Battle Tested Marquette In Second Round
The Oregon Ducks(23-12, 10-8 Pac-12) travel to Marquette(20-13, 9-9 Big East) to take on the Golden Eagles in the Second Round of the NIT.
Road games for the Oregon Ducks have not been kind this season. The Pac-12 Slate was downright cruel with Freshman acting like Freshman showing inexperience and inconsistency. In the first game in the National Invitation Tournament against Rider, Oregon was able to put together some consistency.
The Ducks had 22 assists and 8 steals shooting 56 percent from the floor. Victor Bailey Jr. has the best game of his young career hitting 7 of 8 from the International Three-Point line and setting the tone for what could be a memorable run in the NIT. Despite not getting into the NCAA Tournament, the team is still playing and gaining valuable experience for next season.
Marquette comes into the matchup with Oregon facing solid competition down the stretch. The Golden Eagles lost to Villanova in the Big East Tournament and have played in their share of big games this season They lost to Purdue, but beat Wisconsin on the road. They also played Villanova hard down the stretch losing by just three points.
The last time these two teams faced off was in 1928. The Ducks lost 16-15 on the road. Floyd Razner the leading scorer for the Golden Eagles at the time averaged 6 points per game.
It shows how far College Basketball has come.
Flash Forward to 2018 and Markus Howard leads three players in double figures for Marquette. Howard is the Player to Watch putting up 20+ points and hitting 46 percent of his shots from the floor and 40 percent from three-point range. (The International Three-Point Range will again be used for the game so I’m not sure how much a difference that will make.)
Next: Oregon Football Pro Day Recap
Howard led three players in double figures in the NIT Opening Round Win vs Harvard. He finished with 22 points. The Oregon Ducks and Marquette Golden Eagles tipoff at 1:30 pm Pacific Time on ESPN. The winner faces Penn State in the Quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden.