Elite 8 -- The OCHO!
WHAT’S ON TAP . . . Third-seeded Oregon will take on top-seeded and defending NCAA champ Florida in the Midwest Regional Final on Sunday, March 25 at 11:40 a.m. (PDT) in St. Louis, Mo. The winner of that game will advance to next week’s Final Four in Atlanta.
NCAA NOTES . . . Oregon is now 12-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 6-3 under current head coach Ernie Kent (four appearances). The Ducks have advanced to the regional finals for the fourth time in school history (1939, 1960, 2002, 2007) by virtue of a 58-56 first round win against Miami (Ohio), a 75-51 second round win over Winthrop and Friday’s 76-72 regional semifinal win against UNLV.
Oregon is making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. The Ducks last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2003, losing as a No. 8-seed in the first round to Utah 60-58.
The year before that (2002) as a No. 2 seed, the Pac-10 regular season champion Ducks advanced to the Elite Eight, defeating Montana, Wake Forest and Texas before falling to top-seeded Kansas. It was Oregon’s first appearance in the regional final in 42 years. The Ducks also have NCAA appearances in 2000, 1995, 1961 and 1960.
Oregon won the very first NCAA Championship in 1939 (defeating Ohio State, 46-33), and the leading scorer in that game (16 points) Ret. Navy RADM John Dick, a UO season ticket holder who attends nearly every home game, has accompanied the team to St. Louis.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS . . . Florida won the 2007 SEC tournament and will be the fourth straight conference tournament champion the Ducks will face in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Oregon opened with Miami (Ohio), champions of the Mid-American tournament, followed by Big South tournament champ Winthrop and Mountain West tournament champ UNLV. The Ducks are tournament champions themselves and are now the only team to have won the Pac-10 tourney title twice since it was brought back in 2002.
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