Oregon Basketball: 3 bold predictions for Sweet 16 battle vs. USC

Oregon basketball will meet a familiar foe in the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Will the Ducks take down USC and advance to the Elite Eight?

You hear that? That was the sound of another Oregon 3-pointer scorching the nets. Iowa felt the pain in round two as the Ducks got hot from deep and scorched the nets for 40 minutes.

The game was an absolute track meet and Oregon had the upper hand due to a lot of matchup problems.

Now the Ducks will see a familiar opponent in the Sweet 16 as USC is coming off two blowout wins and the Trojans are favored in this rematch from a month ago but Oregon will have something to say about that.

Will the Ducks survive and advance to the Elite Eight?

3. Franck Kepnang plays important minutes

The last time Oregon and USC met, the Ducks needed Franck Kepnang to help match up with the length of the Trojans.

Evan Mobley is not an easy cover and there’s really no one in the Ducks’ starting lineup who matches up well with him. The Ducks will likely put Eric Williams Jr. or Eugene Omoruyi on him to start, but they’re going to need Kepnang to come in and give good minutes off the bench.

In the last meeting, Kepnang played 16 minutes, somehow didn’t grab a rebound and had two points, two blocks and a steal along with a couple of fouls. He’s going to play at least 15 minutes again and he’ll have a much more productive outing. He’s coming off a four-point, two-block, one-rebound performance against Iowa and the confidence is building.

I’m going to predict an eight-point, six-rebound, two-block game against the Trojans as he helps keep Mobley in check.