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Pac-12 Tournament Champions: Oregon Ducks Flying Into March Madness

By Justin Phillips

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 16: Jaylen Nowell #5 of the Washington Huskies brings the ball up the court against Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks during the championship game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Huskies 68-48. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 16: Jaylen Nowell #5 of the Washington Huskies brings the ball up the court against Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks during the championship game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Huskies 68-48. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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The Oregon Ducks beat Washington 68-48  Saturday night for their eighth straight win and momentum entering the NCAA Tournament.

A month ago, the Oregon Men’s Basketball team was at a crossroads for the rest of their season. They were 10th in the Pac-12 Conference and Head Coach Dana Altman talked about the chemistry of his team. He said everyone had a different background and at times it felt like some may have been playing more for themselves individually than for the team. That was certainly not the case Saturday.

The first half was a battle with the Washington Huskies. However, the second half was a different story. Oregon held Washington to just four points in the opening eight minutes of the second half.

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Washington Starter and Pac-12 Player of the Year Jaylen Nowell did not have a good game.

Oregon was able to get him into early foul trouble limiting his opportunity to do any offensive damage With four fouls in the game early in the second half he finished with just 8 points.

Payton Pritchard showed he can lead Oregon. He had 20 points for the game and 7 assists. Louis King, who was seen earlier in the day reportedly in a boot had 15 points. Kenny Wooten was key to the Ducks win. He was impressive on Defense changing the trajectory of 7 shots and coming away with 4 blocks.

The Oregon Ducks have held 7 of their last 8 opponents to shooting less than 65 points from the floor. Of course, all those teams were from their own Conference. It is no secret that the Pac-12 is down this season. As far as where Oregon will place in the NCAA Tournament, they could be as high as an 8 seed for winning the Conference Tournament and riding a winning streak. They could also find themselves in the play-in game in Dayton.

The NCAA Tournament Selection show is set for Sunday at 3 pm.

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