Autzen Zoo
Fansided

What happens in Vegas… could take the Ducks WBB team to the Big Dance

Will Oregon be able to pull off the improbable in Las Vegas as they look to earn their spot in the NCAA Tournament? The terminal Pac-12 tourney is rapidly approaching and it's Oregon's last chance at March Madness.

By Sam Fariss

Oregon's Grace VanSlooten, center, shoots a reverse layup against Arizona.
Oregon's Grace VanSlooten, center, shoots a reverse layup against Arizona. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA
facebooktwitterreddit

The Orgon women’s basketball team is having one of its worst seasons ever. Head coach Kelly Graves has managed to lead his team to only 11 wins… and 20 losses.

On a 13-game losing streak, the Ducks sit at the bottom of the Pac-12 standings as the conference tournament rapidly approaches. While the future of the season doesn’t look promising for Oregon, it isn’t over til it’s over.

So you’re telling me there’s a chance

As of the 2016–17 season, 32 teams receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament by winning their conference tournament. This means, despite the Ducks’ atrocious overall record, they could still go dancing in March.

The journey to the Pac-12 title game won’t be easy. 

With their 12th-place finish to the regular season, Oregon won’t have a bye in the first round of the tournament and will have to play against the fifth-seed Colorado Buffaloes.

If the Ducks can defeat the Buffs, they will then have to face their in-state rival Oregon State. The Beavers finished the regular season fourth in the conference and earned a bye in the first round so hopefully they will be a bit rusty by the time they play Oregon.

Getting past Oregon State would land the Ducks in the semifinals where they would most likely face the top-seeded Stanford Cardinal. Currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, the Cardinal just defeated the Ducks in Eugene… by 20 points.

Oregon upsetting Stanford is against all odds but if the Ducks can pull it off they would be heading to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game.

On the other side of the bracket, USC and UCLA are the top seeds. If all goes as is expected, at least for those two teams, Oregon will most likely face one of them in the final.

Taking down the Bruins or the Trojans, the Ducks will have upset every team along the way and cemented their bid in the NCAA Tournament. So, what happens in Vegas… wouldn’t stay in Vegas.

The Pac-12 Tournament will be March 6-10 in Las Vegas, NV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Fans will be able to tune in to Pac-12 Networks to see if the Ducks can pull off the improbable.

This will be the final Pac-12 Tournament as 10 of the teams are moving to new conferences. Next season, Oregon will be one of 18 teams in the Big Ten and the only teams remaining in the Pac-2 conference will be Oregon State and Washington State.

The women's NCAA Tournament will start on March 20 after Selection Sunday on the 17th. To see any of the games during March Madness, viewers can tune into ESPN.

Read more:

feed

Home/Oregon Ducks Women's Basketball