The Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas seemed like a last-ditch effort for the Oregon Ducks to redeem a season that saw injuries derail what could have been a competitive year.
Heading into the weekend, the Ducks sat fourth in the conference, needing either a conference title or a trip to the championship game while dominating their opponents on the way to have a chance at a March Madness bid. The path for Oregon was not forgiving. The streaking No. 5 seeded UCLA Bruins had won the previous matchup between the two teams, and the Ducks were a combined 0-4 against the No. 1 seeded Arizona Wildcats and No. 3 seeded Colorado Buffaloes.
With the road as precarious as it seemed, I feared that the Ducks might lose round one and I would only be covering one game. Clearly, I was wrong.
I landed in Las Vegas late on Tuesday, March 12 and got to my hotel very early the next morning. I got some sleep before heading to T-Mobile Arena to watch the first round of the tournament. The No. 9 seeded USC Trojans beat the No. 8 seeded Washington Huskies in the first game — potentially a semifinals opponent for Oregon if the Trojans could pull off a massive upset against the Wildcats. Then, the Bruins defeated the No. 12 seeded Oregon State Beavers and Oregon’s first opponent was set.
The Bruins boasted Adem Bona, who had caused problems for the Ducks earlier in the season. Bona vs. N’Faly Dante seemed like the matchup that could define the game. That matchup took a hit when Bona found himself in foul trouble early and often. He played just six minutes in the first half, then sat for extended periods of the second half as well.
Oregon was able to close the game down the stretch, a weakness for the team all year, and come away with their ticket to the semifinals. I had an almost courtside seat to watch the first game of Dante dominating the Pac-12 inside the paint. His great play helped the Ducks overcome poor shooting from almost every other player, something that would become a theme throughout the tournament.
After the second day, the amount of games decreased, and the start times got later. Before, I had spent most of my time at the arena watching every game I could. Now, I had to wait until Oregon’s 5:00 p.m. start time. I took advantage of that time to do things other than watch basketball, and explored Las Vegas a bit before heading to the arena.
Arizona was a team that seemed to have the Ducks’ defense figured out throughout the season. In the two previous matchups between the teams, the Wildcats outscored Oregon 190-161. So head coach Dana Altman adjusted. They forced the pace slower, and held Arizona’s offense to poor shooting. It was another game in which Oregon was forced to put its opponent away late, and once again the Ducks were able to do so.
The final day presented a problem for me. I forgot the start time of the championship game — 6:00 p.m. — when scheduling my flight back to Oregon. I had initially booked a flight for 10:00 p.m. Saturday night, and was forced to change to a 6:00 a.m. departure on Sunday morning. Since I did not have a hotel room booked, that meant a long night in the airport was waiting for me.
Before that, however, Oregon took on Colorado. The game was a third straight close game, and a third straight game in which the Ducks were able to slow the pace way down to end the game and come away with the win. The ensuing celebration and trophy presentation was the highlight of the trip.
I was able to get a close up view of Oregon cutting down the nets and booking its ticket to March Madness. Dante was named the Tournament MVP and Jermaine Couisnard and Jackson Shelstad were both named to the All-Pac-12 Tournament team. The team celebrated on the green and yellow confetti-covered court for over an hour before heading back to the media room.
After all the dust settled, I finally made my way to the airport to begin my long night. I did not sleep a wink after the excitement. I landed the next morning, absolutely exhausted, but without a single regret from the weekend. Covering the Pac-12 Tournament is easily the highlight of my journalistic career so far, and watching the Ducks take home the final Pac-12 Championship was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
