Ducks Face Familiar NCAA Road, Beginning Friday Vs. Oklahoma State
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Oregon's third straight NCAA Tournament appearance doesn't lack for storylines.
The Ducks were announced as the No. 8 seed in the West Region on Sunday, a day after losing in the final of the Pac-12 Tournament. It will be the first time in school history the UO men play in the Big Dance three consecutive seasons.
Oregon will open the tournament Friday night against Oklahoma State, the team the Ducks beat to open their 2013 run to the Sweet Sixteen. Looming in the next round would be the West's top seed, Wisconsin, which denied the Ducks a Sweet Sixteen bid last season.
And all of that will take place in Omaha, Neb., where three members of the UO coaching staff have close ties. That includes UO head coach Dana Altman, a Nebraska native who spent 16 years in Omaha at Creighton before taking over in Eugene. Assistant Kevin McKenna played at Creighton, and assistant Tony Stubblefield played and coached at Nebraska-Omaha.
On Sunday, Altman said he had about 60 text messages from friends and family in Nebraska, requesting tickets. "It's nice," he said of the chance to play close to home. "But this is about our team. It's about these guys."
Oregon (25-9) enters the NCAA Tournament having won 13 of its last 16 games, the only losses coming to fellow tournament teams UCLA and Arizona, all away from home. Oklahoma State (18-13) lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday, after posting three top-10 wins this season, over Baylor (twice) and Kansas.
The Cowboys start the same frontcourt as they did two years ago against the Ducks, Le'Bryan Nash and Michael Cobbins. Oregon, meanwhile, doesn't have a single player remaining from the roster for that 2013 matchup, and only two who faced Wisconsin last season.
"Being that me and Joe (Young) are the only returning players, we've got to bring the energy," UO junior Elgin Cook said. "We've got to put an emphasis on how important it is, and make sure we're ready to compete for 40 minutes."
The Ducks need to regroup after being soundly beaten Saturday by Arizona, and they need to turn their attention to final exams this week. But Altman said he also wanted his young roster to "get selfish" a little bit on Sunday, appreciating the gravity of an NCAA appearance and using it as motivation for future seasons.
"I wanted them to understand how unusual and how special this is, and I wanted them to soak it in and enjoy it," Altman said. "Especially the five freshmen."
Oklahoma State's Nash and Cobbins stand 6-foot-7 and 6-8, respectively, making Friday's tournament opener a more favorable matchup for the size-deficient Ducks.
Oregon overcame that disadvantage in its first two Pac-12 Tournament games, but couldn't do so against Arizona. Altman said Sunday the Ducks didn't use their athleticism enough to make up for their lack of size on the boards, perhaps due to fatigue after leaning heavily on guys like Young and Cook.
"We played the three biggest teams in the league, which has been our Achilles heel," Altman said. "We battled Colorado, we battled Utah; we didn't battle Arizona as well as I had hoped. There are a lot of factors in that but the bottom line is, we didn't compete as well as I thought our guys can compete."
Oregon beat Oklahoma State 68-55 two seasons ago, getting 17 points from Damyean Dotson and a double-double from Arsalan Kazemi.
Last season, the Ducks beat BYU to open the tournament before facing Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Oregon had a 12-point halftime lead, but the Badgers used their size on the offensive glass to turn the tables after halftime.
No doubt, the Ducks would love another crack at Wisconsin. "It put a smile on my face," Young said of seeing the possibility of a rematch. "But we had Oklahoma State pop up on the line below us, and that's the game we've got to focus on."
Altman said it will be no problem getting his Ducks focused on the Cowboys. "We'll show them clips of Oklahoma State tomorrow, and their athleticism. They played in one of the most — if not the most — competitive leagues this year, in the Big 12. No, we won't be looking past Oklahoma State. Our guys know better than that. We know we'll have our hands full."
