The Oregon Ducks have a destination and a seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. It has not been an easy season for Dana Altman and company, but they are March Madness bound with the 11 seed.
Potential looming matchups on their side of the bracket include Purdue, Tennessee, and Creighton.
Oregon enters the tournament on a four-game winning streak after defeating Utah to close out the regular season and sweeping their way to a Pac-12 Championship after beating UCLA and getting some regular season revenge with wins against Arizona and Colorado in Las Vegas in the final Pac-12 Tournament.
Now, Altman and the Ducks take momentum into the NCAA Tournament. This has been a key factor in the past for his teams. Oregon also brings a healthy N’Faly Dante and after watching the most recent game with Colorado I would not want to play Oregon regardless of them being an 11 seed.
The NCAA Tournament loves storylines. Oregon will head to Pittsburgh for a first-round matchup against Pittsburgh and could see a Saturday game with a win against Creighton, Altman’s former team.
The Gamecocks finished the season at 26-7 and also lost to Alabama. It was the lone common opponent for both teams.
While Arizona was the Ducks' threat at the top of the Pac-12, Tennessee led the charge in the SEC this season, despite stumbling down the stretch. South Carolina split the regular season series with the Vols 1-1.
One aspect of this Oregon team that may be talked about this week is that Altman has not only made the tournament with this team, but the team he started the season with and the team he ended it with were different.
Most of the way the Ducks found ways to play and win with just eight scholarship players. They were gritty and tough. Experience came through in different phases. We watched Jackson Shelstad grow in one game, a win versus Michigan at Matthew Knight Arena.
For Oregon, an 11 seed is not the best spot for them, but as Altman has preached in his time with the Ducks time and time again, his team will just swing away and see what happens.
Oregon and South Carolina meet on Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. PT on TNT.