Take a deep sigh of relief Duck fans. Barring another selection committee snafu like the one with Oregon soccer team, the men’s basketball team practically ensured itself of a berth in the NCAA Tournament this past weekend.
So I guess I’ll stop with the doomsday scenarios.
The Ducks stopped the bleeding from their six of eight losing streak and pulled through two impressive wins against the Washington schools. Two weeks from now, Oregon will be playing its first postseason game since 2003.
But the team won’t start talking about the tournament until the brackets have been announced. They say there are still games to be played, even though those final games will only help determine where Oregon is seeded, they won’t make or break its invitation to the big dance.
While you can tell that the players are happy to have, at least for now, stopped criticism of the team being too tired at this point of the season, they still carry the burden of expectations of a team that has defeated three top-10 teams in one season. Right now, the Ducks are expected as a seven-seed in the tournament according to ESPN. That isn’t exactly the type of seed you’d expect for a team that’s defeated the nation’s top teams.
So what’s a better indicator of Oregon’s success this season? The Ducks have a 5-2 record against top-25 teams this season and could win a few games in the tournament but still face the possibility of losing in the first round.
Should that happen, will fans put pressure on rookie Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny to remove coach Ernie Kent and bring in somebody with a different approach to handling an elite team? Or has Kent accomplished enough that going one and done in the tournament shouldn’t mar what should be considered a great season.
I think he has. We know that the NCAA Tournament is a crapshoot enough as it is, teams can go in as a No. 1 seed and lose in the second round. The coach can’t be blamed for losing to a team like George Mason who was an 11-seed and beat No. 1 Connecticut in the regional final last year. The unpredictability of the tournament is beyond the coaches’ control. Teams can have all the hype and flop in the first round to some Cinderella team.
With that in mind, what will fans be satisfied with? Has a few seasons of underachievement made this year seem more glamorous than it is or does the team need a deep run into March Madness to satisfy every rabid Duck fans’ thirst for postseason glory that’s been missing since the Luke Jackson and Luke Ridnour days?
This season has already had enough drama and excitement for me. Naturally, I’ll be disappointed if Oregon doesn’t make it out of the first round but I won’t be calling for Ernie’s head if it happens. He’s led the Ducks through impressive wins over top-ranked teams and, while he’s raised expectations for the postseason, I won’t fault him should Oregon stutter.
Kent’s accomplished enough this season to warrant an extra year or two at Oregon but I don’t know if that’s enough to silence his critics. It seems that no matter what Oregon does, he’ll always have his detractors. That’s too bad because while people are looking for reasons to blame Kent for recent losses, they’re missing a season to remember.
[email protected]