For the first time in school history, the Oregon men’s basketball team earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks, who are the top-seed in the West Region, will travel to Spokane, Washington, for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. They will face the winner of Holy Cross vs. Southern on Friday, March 18 in the first round.
Here’s a small sample of the players, teams and match-ups that could make for an entertaining couple weeks.
Three teams that could stand in Oregon’s way:
No. 2 Oklahoma (25-7, 12-6 Big 12): When your team has arguably the best player in the nation, Buddy Hield (25 ppg), you’re in every game. The Sooners were 19-2 entering the last third of the regular season, before going 5-5 the rest of the way. Oklahoma is a team that relies on 3-point shooting to win. The team is shooting 42.6 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 80.4 points per game. If the Sooners can find their early season touch, they could be a hard team to stop.
No. 3 Texas A&M (26-8, 13-5 SEC): The Aggies play with a ferocious defense and balanced offense. Texas A&M fought its way through a four-game midseason losing streak to rebound with eight consecutive wins, before falling to Kentucky in the conference championship. Jalen Jones and Danuel House provide a solid one-two punch, averaging 30.6 combined points.
No. 5 Baylor (22-11, 10-8 Big-10): What makes the Bears so dangerous is their size and physicality, with 6-foot-7, 275 pound Rico Gathers and 6-foot-9, 230 pound Johnathan Motley. Both players have the potential to cause fits down low, and if that’s combined with the shooting of Taurean Prince and Al Freeman, the Bears might make a run.
Three potentially intriguing match-ups
No. 7 Oregon State vs. No 2 Oklahoma (second round): Why not have the best offensive player in the Big-12 (Hield) go up against the best defensive player in the Pac-12 (Gary Payton II)?
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (second round): Texas head coach Shaka Smart has brought his “havoc” defense to Texas and when that goes up against the Aggie guards Alex Caruso and Anthony Collins (combined 3.5 turnovers per game), something will have to give.
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (Elite Eight): Hield is a true star, while Oregon makes up for a lack of star power with depth. The Ducks will throw multiple bodies at Hield, but will it be enough to earn the team’s first-ever trip to the Final Four?
Three players to watch
Buddy Hield, Guard, Oklahoma: Hield shoots 49.6 percent from the field, 46.4 percent from beyond the arc and 89.5 percent from the free throw line and has never shied away from the spotlight or the final shot.
Grayson Allen, Guard, Duke: Allen’s offensive scoring capabilities are what hurts his opponents the most. Allen averages 21.6 ppg.
Troy Caupain, Guard, Cincinnati: Caupain had a performance for the ages when he scored 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, not to mention hitting big shot after big shot, in the Bearcats’ loss to Connecticut in the AAC tournament. On the biggest stage of the year thus far, Caupain proved he’s ready to go.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @RyanKostecka