Head: Ruth: Looking back at the most memorable NCAA tournament runs from Oregon’s basketball programs
Deck: Both of the Ducks’ basketball teams have strung together some impressive March Madness runs over the years. Let’s rank them.
By: Brady Ruth
Look, Duck fans. We all know. These basketball seasons that the Oregon men’s and women’s teams have put together this year aren’t what we expected. Both programs started the year ranked, but now are fighting just to be bubble teams for this year’s NCAA tournament.
The men’s team is looking like a National Invitational Tournament lock barring a miraculous run at the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. The women’s team sits on the bubble right now, but it still has the Pac-12 tournament left on the schedule.
Women’s head coach Kelly Graves remains optimistic.
“I still think that we’re a team that’s going to get into the NCAA [tournament]. I truly do,” Graves said in an interview on Feb. 21.
It certainly appears that the women’s team has a better shot than the men’s. But with both programs serving as a major question mark for this year’s tournament, it seems fitting to look back on brighter years and relive some of the best March Madness runs in school history.
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1939 Inaugural Tournament Champions
It was the Ducks – called the Webfoots at the time – that won the first ever NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Sure, at the time it was only an eight-team tournament instead of the 68-team gauntlet we know today. But the banner still proudly hangs at Matthew Knight Arena to celebrate the lone National Championship between either program. Oregon defeated Texas 56-41, Oklahoma 55-37 and Ohio State 46-33 to win the first ever National Tournament. The competition was far from what it is today, and the path for a championship is significantly more daunting now. But Oregon got a championship out of the 1939 tournament, and so the run comes in at No. 1 on my list.
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2019 Women’s Final Four run
The Final Four is the furthest the women’s team has ever gone, but what a run it was. The Ducks were a No. 2 seed and won four games over No. 15 Portland State 78-40, No. 10 Indiana 91-68, No. 6 South Dakota 63-53 and No. 1 Mississippi State 88-84 before falling to the eventual national champions: No. 1 Baylor 67-72. Oregon set several school NCAA Tournament records for fewest points allowed (40), most rebounds (50) and most steals (16) against Portland State. The Ducks also set a school record for 3-pointers made in a tournament game with 13 against Mississippi State.
Guard Sabrina Ionescu set several records as well. Against Mississippi State, she set Oregon records for most total points (31), field goals made (12) and 3-pointers made (5) in a tournament game.
The 2019 Ducks felt like a team of destiny, and they made an incredible run. It would have been great to have seen that team get another shot in 2020. Thanks a lot, COVID-19. Regardless, the women’s best tournament run in program history fits nicely on my list.
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2017 Men’s Final Four run
As you’ll see across the next two bits, the 2017 tournament was quite a year for Oregon’s basketball programs. The men’s team entered March Madness as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest bracket – and won it. The Ducks took down No. 14 Iona 93-77, No. 11 Rhode Island 75-72, No. 7 Michigan 69-68 and No. 1 Kansas 74-60.
Guard Tyler Dorsey set an Oregon record for best field goal percentage (.900) in a tournament game in the win over Rhode Island. The Ducks lost a heartbreaker to No. 1 North Carolina 76-77. The Tar Heels went on to win the whole dang thing leaving Oregon fans to wonder what could have been if just a few more shots had fallen.
But the men’s best run of recent memory still deserves to have a spot on this list, and for me, it’s right here at No. 3.
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2017 Women’s Elite Eight appearance
I wasn’t lying when I said March 2017 was a memorable one for the green and yellow. The teams the women knocked off this year are arguably more impressive than the ones the men did. But the men’s team made it just one game further and lost to the eventual national champion, so it ranks just slightly higher.
But the women’s team entered as a No. 10 seed and stole the show. In one of the true Cinderella stories of that tournament, the Ducks took down No. 7 Temple 71-70, No. 2 Duke 74-65 and No. 3 Maryland 77-63. They set a program record for best free throw percentage (93.8) in a tournament game in their win over the Terrapins. But Oregon ran into a bigger women’s basketball powerhouse: No. 1 UConn. The Huskies trampled the Ducks 90-52 in the Elite Eight and squashed the unexpected run. But it was Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard’s first seasons with Oregon and it gave the duo a much-needed taste of the postseason.
What the Ducks did in that 2017 tournament was incredible, and it put Oregon women’s basketball back on the map. It was the first NCAA tournament that the team had made since 2005, and the Ducks have made each tournament (except for the 2020 cancellation) since. We’ll hold out hope that this year’s team can find a way to keep the streak alive.
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2013 Men’s Sweet 16 Appearance and the beginning of the Altman era
Dana Altman’s first tournament appearance with the Ducks was certainly a memorable one. In 2013, his Oregon team entered March Madness as a No. 12 seed and caused some serious disruption in the Midwest region. The Ducks dominated No. 5 Oklahoma State 68-55 in a game where Arsalan Kazemi collected 17 rebounds that set an Oregon record that still stands today for rebounds in a tournament game. Then, just a few days later, the Ducks blew out No. 4 St. Louis 74-57 for their second shocking win in a row.
No. 1 Louisville was next on Oregon’s schedule, and the luck ran out. The Cardinals won 77-69 and ended the Ducks’ run en route to a national championship. Oregon men’s basketball has been to five tournaments since, including that 2017 run. The Ducks can make some noise in these tournaments, and with a little bit of Altman magic – or manifested Bronny recruiting – they can hopefully return to March Madness form soon.
