MADISON, Wis. – At the time of Oregon’s early-season road losses at
Minnesota, at Portland and at Massachusetts, head coach Ernie Kent’s words seemed like mere coach-speak.
“This is a learning experience. We’re going to take this and grow because of it.”
Pure coach-speak.
But upon reflection, it was pure coach genius. Because now Oregon is in
the Elite Eight, and even if the Ducks lose to the Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday, they will still have three wins in the NCAA Tournament.
And those three wins in the Big Dance can be attributed in part to three losses back in the “little dance” – the preseason.
“It’s helped us a lot, playing in those tough games in the preseason,”
Oregon center Chris Christoffersen said. “We learned that we didn’t want to have that feeling again.”
Christoffersen’s sickening feeling came after three-straight losses over a span of six days. The first came at Massachusetts, a 62-58 Minutemen win that was decided in the final minute. Then came the worst of the three losses, a 79-78 heartbreaker at Portland.
“That Portland game was probably the worst experience we’ve had on a
basketball court,” Oregon guard Freddie Jones said after the Ducks’ Sweet 16 win over Texas on Friday.
Worse than anything from last season’s 14-14 ledger?
“Oh, definitely,” Jones said. “We had a lot more confidence in ourselves this season, so that Portland loss just hurt our hearts.”
There’s that sickening feeling again.
But as if the two losses weren’t enough, the Ducks lost one more close
game at Minnesota, 75-72, and limped back home with a 4-3 record.
Who knew those three games would translate into NCAA Tournament wins?
“We figured out some things about ourselves and how to stay composed,”
Oregon forward Luke Jackson said. “That’s helped in the NCAA Tournament.”
The three close losses didn’t help in overtime losses at Stanford and
California, but since those midseason games the Ducks have won four-straight close games, all on the road. Jones hit buzzer-beaters at USC and UCLA to close the regular season, a shot that he mimicked in Friday’s win over Texas.
“That play goes back to our losses at Umass, Portland and Minnesota,”
Kent said afterwards.
Oregon got past Wake Forest in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a game that was decided in the final minute, even if the 92-87 final score doesn’t tell that story.
Now the Ducks will face the high-flying Jayhawks, a game that has been
predicted by many to be a fast-paced contest. A very high-scoring, fast-paced contest. Kansas averages more than 90 points per game to lead the nation, while Oregon averages 86 points per game.
Will the Ducks’ experience in close games propel them one more game into the Final Four? Only time will tell.
Email sports reporter Peter Hockaday at [email protected].