Transfers Looking To Capitalize On NCAA Berth

SEATTLE — This is why they came to Oregon.

The UO men's basketball team will play in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, the Ducks taking on Liberty in Climate Pledge Arena (7:10 p.m., truTV). The team practiced at the venue Thursday, and as players like TJ Bamba and Brandon Angel walked the halls outside the locker room, and took the court under the blue glow of "March Madness" signs, validation was in the air.

"There are a lot of veterans on this team, and a lot of us haven't been to the tournament yet," said Angel, a senior transfer from Stanford. "So this is kind of why we all came to Oregon, something we've built around all year."

The Ducks (24-9) are making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, but with few veterans from last season. Nate Bittle and Keeshawn Barthelemy were on that team but didn't play in the postseason, while the likes of Angel, Bamba, Supreme Cook and Ra'Heim Moss joined the Ducks this season and helped them win eight games down the stretch to lock up a tournament berth.

All of those players are seniors, and looking to make the most of this appearance in the Big Dance.

"It's do or die for us, so I'm just going to go out there, be myself and just try to make winning plays," Bamba said. "Do whatever I can to impact the game in a winning way. I'm just excited, and the rest will take care of itself."

Oregon's season began on an upswing, with a nine-game win streak that included wins over ranked teams from Texas A&M and Alabama. It also included a five-game losing streak a few weeks into the new year.

That might have been a death knell for other programs. But UO coach Dana Altman kept his team together, and they responded with an eight-game winning streak including their Big Ten Tournament opener over Indiana.

"The expectations that he sets for us from day one in the summertime to today, every practice, has been the same — the same intensity level," Bamba said. "He's always demanded a certain level of energy, focus and attention from us. Because of that we always have the growth mindset, every single day, every single practice, every game, to get better and improve.

"Especially during that five-game losing streak that we had midway through the Big Ten, he kept telling us if we just focus on the little things and try to improve and get better, we'll see the results we want to see. So we're just firm believers in that."

Now that the postseason has arrived, the message is no different. Play hard. Be the tougher team. Play for each other, and make plays for each other.

"The veteran-led team gives you that little bit of stability," Angel said. "We have a lot of experience. But we also have the other side, which is the hunger and the desire to make it to this point of the year and go on a run this time."

The beginning of the NCAA Tournament coincides with finals week at the University of Oregon, and the commitment to academics didn't take a back seat to the Big Dance.

Upon arriving in Seattle with the Ducks on Wednesday evening, senior wing Jadrian Tracey promptly sat down with Annie Longtain, associate director of administration at the Jaqua Center, to take a final exam. Longtain, a UO lacrosse alum, traveled with the men's basketball team much of this season to ensure they had adequate academic support on longer road trips in the Big Ten Conference.

Tracey's final exam Wednesday followed by a few hours the announcement of his inclusion on the conference's winter all-academic team.

"It felt pretty good to tell my family about that," Tracey said Thursday. "I've been working hard for that, so it felt pretty good just to tell my family — and brag some to my teammates."

Prior to practice Thursday, the Ducks were having lunch at their hotel when the first matchup of the tournament between a No. 5 seed and a No. 12 seed was ending.

Just before the team loaded up its bus for the trip to the arena, No. 12 McNeese wrapped up an upset of No. 5 Clemson. In his press conference an hour later, Altman was asked if he'd reference that result with his team, itself a No. 5 seed looking to avoid a loss at the hands of a No. 12.

"I don't have to do that," Altman said. "Our guys know the challenge ahead of 'em. They have watched enough film now on Liberty to know that they're a very good basketball team; you don't win 28, 29 games by accident."