LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Every year, media members and fans fixate on the NCAA Tournament’s Cinderella. They draw the eyes of the nation.
But this year, the Tournament does not have a true Cinderella. Ja Morant and Murray State fell to Florida State in the second round while Oregon defeated UC Irvine, knocking those two from the Cinderella role in the Sweet 16. Liberty upset five-seed Mississippi State in the first round but fell to Virginia Tech in the second round.
Murray State and Liberty were 12-seeds and UC Irvine was a 13-seed. On technicality, Oregon is the same stature. The Ducks are a 12-seed, but given the program’s recent history, and the school’s general athletic success, they don’t feel like a Cinderella.
But Oregon is the biggest underdog of the Sweet 16 with Virginia as the 8.5 point favorite. Oregon is also the lowest seeded team in the Sweet 16. The question of their status as Cinderella was a much discussed topic during media sessions on Wednesday. So are they?
Oregon forward Paul White says no.
“I feel like University of Oregon, we’ve been kind of on a national scale,” he said. “We’ll let you guys call us [a Cinderella], like I said before, we deserve to be on this stage. We feel like we’re equal to every team at this level right now.”
Oregon is on the same level in regards to athletic investment and status as a Power-5 program. The Ducks made the Final Four two years ago, and have been embroiled in top-level Division I basketball scandals as well.
Cinderella’s usually come from mid-major conferences, and we learn the players names for the first time after the first or second rounds.
But, the Ducks aren’t on the same level on the court, according to those in Las Vegas. They are tied for lowest odds of winning the NCAA Tournament at 50-to-1 with LSU.
“I definitely do feel like we’re the underdog,” center Kenny Wooten said. “We’re just going out here. Everyone doesn’t really quite believe in us, doesn’t want us to win, wants us out of the Tournament. It feels like it’s just us against the world really, and I wouldn’t want it any other way to be honest. I only care about the group of guys in this room, honestly.”
That is the message Oregon coach Dana Altman has been trying to get across.
“I think our guys are so excited about playing, I told them right away, when the pairings came out, numbers don’t mean anything,” head coach Dana Altman said. “Cal-Irvine didn’t think of themselves as a 13 after winning 31 games. We didn’t think of ourselves as a 12 going against Wisconsin. We didn’t look at ourselves as a big underdog.”