Top Seed Virginia Up Next For UO Men

An NCAA men's basketball tournament that was expected to be dominated by favorites has lived up to its billing through two rounds.

In the West and East regions, all of the top four seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. In the Midwest, No. 5 seed Auburn pulled off the mildest of upsets, beating No. 4 Kansas in the second round.

There's only been one big-time bracket-buster through two rounds: The No. 12 Oregon men, who knocked off No. 5-seed Wisconsin in the first round and then beat No. 13 UC Irvine on Sunday to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

But don't call the Ducks a Cinderella team. As the UO men prepared to go through their final practice in Eugene before departing Tuesday afternoon for the Sweet Sixteen, and a game Thursday against No. 1 Virginia (7 p.m. PT, TBS), they weren't looking to embrace the underdog role.

"Speaking for myself, and probably for the rest of the team, I don't think they're going to be looking at the seed," UO senior Paul White said. "We've just been looking at the team we've got to face next. It was up to the (NCAA Tournament selection) committee to do the seeding, and it's up to us to play the game. So we'll just go handle our business."

There would be ample reason for the Ducks to play up the David vs. Goliath narrative. Virginia is 31-3 overall, having shared the regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference championship before losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament. In efficiency ratings from the analytics website KenPom.com, the Cavaliers have the No. 2-rated offense in the entire country, and the No. 3 defense.

So, the Ducks could embrace a "shock the world" mentality if they wanted to. But they don't.

"Right now, we don't really care who we play," junior point guard Payton Pritchard said. "We've got 40 minutes – we're gonna give everything we have for 40."

That's not to say the Ducks don't appreciate the challenge they're facing.

"Oh man, they're a very good basketball team," UO coach Dana Altman said. "They don't beat themselves. They don't give up easy baskets. Defensively they know exactly what they want to do, and they play together as a very cohesive unit. Offensively they don't turn the ball over, and they get the shot they want nine times out of 10."

In some ways, the Ducks will be prepared for the challenge they're about to face. Like Oregon's first-round opponent, Wisconsin, Virginia plays a disciplined, grinding style that keeps the pace slow and the score low. But unlike the Badgers, the Cavaliers will present a more diverse challenge to the matchup zone defense that has been key to the Ducks' 10-game win streak.

Against Wisconsin, the Ducks focused their defensive game plan on post Ethan Happ, and limited him to 12 points in 33 minutes. Against UC Irvine, Oregon was most cognizant of guards Max Hazzard and Evan Leonard, and held them to 18 combined points.

Virginia presents a three-headed monster, between post De'Andre Hunter and guards Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome.

"One thing that we have done is kind of keying on the team's best players and trying to limit them as much as possible," White said. "But they do have a lot of talent, so there's not just one or two players on that team. We'll just have to make them uncomfortable, how we've been making other teams."

Do that, and the Ducks will give themselves a chance Thursday to knock off the top-ranked Cavaliers, and advance to the Elite Eight. Just don't call it an upset if they do so.

"I mean, it's March," senior guard Ehab Amin said. "Anybody can beat anybody. That's what March is all about."