As Oregon coach Kelly Graves puts it, the Ducks don’t have to rely on any other Division I teams in order to reach the program’s first NCAA Tournament since 2005.
After a weekend road split — a win over Arizona and a loss to No. 23 ASU — the Ducks remained a No. 8 seed in ESPN’s latest NCAA Tournament bracketology. The projection contains seven Pac-12 teams, including Cal in “the last four in.”
The Ducks check in at N0. 37 in the NCAA’s official RPI. They were No. 41 before consecutive losses to Oregon State. After four Pac-12 weekends last year, the Ducks were No. 83 in RPI.
“I think we’ve put ourselves in a position [to reach the NCAA Tournament], no doubt,” Graves said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “Six games left — a third of the season. All six games very winnable. But losable too. We know that in this conference. … I’d like to think that if we get a few more, we’ve put ourselves in that position.”
The Golden Bears (17-7, 5-7 Pac-12) and Ducks (15-9, 5-7 Pac-12) are tied for sixth in the Pac-12 standings. Oregon hosts No. 15 UCLA and USC this weekend, travels to Utah and Colorado next weekend then hosts Cal and No. 8 Stanford to round out the regular season.
“We obviously have some work to do, but we’re in a good position,” Graves said. “It’s within our grasp and it’s within our control. We don’t have to worry about somebody else doing it for us. … We’ll have to work our butts off because every team is good, but it’s certainly doable.”

Mary Murphy, an analyst for the Pac-12 Network, said the Ducks have an advantage down the stretch with four of the final six games at home. She cautioned against overlooking the Ducks’ road trip to the Mountain schools, though.
“Who they have in those four [home] games is certainly very challenging,” Murphy said on Tuesday. “And going to Utah and Colorado, looking at the standings, you’d think that’s an advantage but Colorado played Washington to a four-point game. On any given day those teams can hurt you if you’re not paying attention.”
The Ducks’ final six regular season opponents are a combined 33-39 in league play.
Murphy, who keeps close tabs on the conference, said she’s not surprised that the Ducks have played well down the stretch. For Murphy, Oregon’s Friday matchup against UCLA is a microcosm of what remains for the rest of the regular season.
“The weekend at home looms large,” Murphy said. “Do you split? Do you sweep to get to .500? Do you lose two? This is really a quarter-by-quarter project.”
The Bruins are coming off an upset win over Stanford in ESPN2’s Big Monday game.
Murphy, a former Division I player for Northwestern, has liked what she’s seen from the 2016-17 Ducks and Graves’ staff on the recruiting trail.
“No matter what they do this year, incredibly impressed with what Kelly and his staff have done,” Murphy said. “The talent and people that they’ve brought into the program, it’s going to stand the test of time — whether it’s this year or next year. There’s no doubt that the future is incredibly bright.
“The real question is the now. What can they accomplish today in practice to get ready for UCLA?”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne