UO to Host NDSU in WNIT First Round
03/12/23 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. – Following its acceptance into the 2023 WNIT, it was announced Monday that Oregon will take on North Dakota State Friday at 7 p.m. PT in the opening round of the postseason tournament at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks are one of 64 teams in the postseason tournament while the full WNIT bracket, along with matchups, dates and times, will be revealed Monday at approximately 11 a.m. PT. The first-round matchups are scheduled to begin March 15-17 at 32 host sites across the country. UO is one of two Pac-12 teams to accept a bid into this year's WNIT (Washington).
The Ducks are the top seed in their half of the Group 1 bracket, with first-round matchups getting underway March 15-17 at 32 host sites across the country. Also in UO's half of the Group 1 bracket are BYU, Long Beach State, Rice, San Diego, San Diego State and UC Irvine. UO is one of two Pac-12 teams to accept a bid into this year's WNIT (Washington).
Oregon claimed the 2002 WNIT title in addition to winning the 1989 NWIT championship. All-time, UO is 18-5 in the invitational tournament, with an 11-2 record at home.
"Obviously, the goal each year is to qualify for the NCAA Tournament," said Graves. "Having said that, if there is an opportunity to play meaningful basketball games, we are going to pursue that. There are a lot of teams right now who are done with their seasons, so we feel fortunate to have the chance to continue playing – and to play again in front of our great fans, for hopefully multiple games, at Matthew Knight (Arena) is always exciting."
Oregon finished the regular season 17-14 and 7-11 in Pac-12 play, finishing the year tied for eighth in the league standings. The Ducks boast a NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rating of 19 and Her Hoop Stats rating of 28 entering Sunday.
Playing in one of the nation's toughest conferences, UO faced 10 ranked opponents during the regular season and faced 12 different teams that are in this year's NCAA Tournament field of 68 – picking up wins against five of those squads. Oregon was ranked in the season's first 12 Associated Press top-25 polls, reaching a ranking as high as No. 16. The Ducks saw their Pac-12 Tournament run end in the quarterfinals, losing to top-seed Stanford, 76-65, after beating Washington, 52-50, in the first round.
The Ducks went 3-1 against teams in this year's WNIT bracket, matching up with Arkansas and Washington during the regular season. The bid mark UO's third under Graves, who owns a 5-2 record (4-1 at home) in the WNIT in his Oregon tenure.
2023 WNIT SCHEDULE:
Round 1 – March 15-17
Round 2 – March 18-21
Round 3 – March 22-24
Quarterfinals – March 25-27
Semifinals – March 28-29
Championship – Saturday, April 1 at 2:30 p.m. PT (CBS Sports Network)
OREGON IN THE WNIT
The Ducks are one of 64 teams in the postseason tournament while the full WNIT bracket, along with matchups, dates and times, will be revealed Monday at approximately 11 a.m. PT. The first-round matchups are scheduled to begin March 15-17 at 32 host sites across the country. UO is one of two Pac-12 teams to accept a bid into this year's WNIT (Washington).
The Ducks are the top seed in their half of the Group 1 bracket, with first-round matchups getting underway March 15-17 at 32 host sites across the country. Also in UO's half of the Group 1 bracket are BYU, Long Beach State, Rice, San Diego, San Diego State and UC Irvine. UO is one of two Pac-12 teams to accept a bid into this year's WNIT (Washington).
Oregon claimed the 2002 WNIT title in addition to winning the 1989 NWIT championship. All-time, UO is 18-5 in the invitational tournament, with an 11-2 record at home.
"Obviously, the goal each year is to qualify for the NCAA Tournament," said Graves. "Having said that, if there is an opportunity to play meaningful basketball games, we are going to pursue that. There are a lot of teams right now who are done with their seasons, so we feel fortunate to have the chance to continue playing – and to play again in front of our great fans, for hopefully multiple games, at Matthew Knight (Arena) is always exciting."
Oregon finished the regular season 17-14 and 7-11 in Pac-12 play, finishing the year tied for eighth in the league standings. The Ducks boast a NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rating of 19 and Her Hoop Stats rating of 28 entering Sunday.
Playing in one of the nation's toughest conferences, UO faced 10 ranked opponents during the regular season and faced 12 different teams that are in this year's NCAA Tournament field of 68 – picking up wins against five of those squads. Oregon was ranked in the season's first 12 Associated Press top-25 polls, reaching a ranking as high as No. 16. The Ducks saw their Pac-12 Tournament run end in the quarterfinals, losing to top-seed Stanford, 76-65, after beating Washington, 52-50, in the first round.
The Ducks went 3-1 against teams in this year's WNIT bracket, matching up with Arkansas and Washington during the regular season. The bid mark UO's third under Graves, who owns a 5-2 record (4-1 at home) in the WNIT in his Oregon tenure.
2023 WNIT SCHEDULE:
Round 1 – March 15-17
Round 2 – March 18-21
Round 3 – March 22-24
Quarterfinals – March 25-27
Semifinals – March 28-29
Championship – Saturday, April 1 at 2:30 p.m. PT (CBS Sports Network)
OREGON IN THE WNIT
- Eighth all-time appearance in WNIT/NWIT
- First WNIT bid since 2016 and third appearance under Graves
- 18-5 all-time record in WNIT/NWIT
- Won 2002 WNIT title and 1989 NWIT championship
- Reached semifinal round in 2016 WNIT
- 5-2 WNIT record under Graves and 4-1 record at home
- 11-2 at home all-time in the WNIT/NWIT
Kelly Graves | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Deja Kelly, Peyton Scott & Phillipina Kyei | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Peyton Scott & Ari Long: "A good, competitive basketball game."
Thursday, February 27
Kelly Graves: "We've played really well."
Thursday, February 27
