Dwight D. Eisenhower was still in the White House, Roger Maris still hadn’t broken Babe Ruth’s record for most home runs in a single season, and Steve Belko was Oregon’s head coach.
The year was 1960, the last time the Ducks won an NCAA Tournament game.
After defeating Utah in Corvallis, 65-54, Oregon traveled to Seattle to take on West Coast foe California. The Ducks lost to the Bears, 70-49, thus beginning a streak that has spanned five decades.
Through the years, Oregon has been in the Big Dance three other times but has yet to come away with a win.
In 1961, USC narrowly edged the Ducks, 81-79, in Portland. Not since that season, though, have the Ducks gone to the NCAA dance two years in a row.
In fact, they would start a little streak of their own after 1961. Thirty-four years would evaporate before Oregon made it back to the tournament, but that accomplishment still didn’t afford them a win.
In the 1994-95 season, Salt Lake City turned out to be Oregon’s destination. Texas was the opponent, but the Longhorns weren’t more kind to the Ducks than were the Trojans and Golden Bears in decades past.
Despite only being down two at the half, the Ducks were not able to sustain their shooting prowess, eventually going 7-for-33 from beyond the arc.
Orlando Williams had 23 points, while Zach Sellers pitched in with 13 for Oregon, but Texas was too much, winning 90-73.
“It’s always disappointing to lose, but I hope no one takes the loss and says that we had a disappointing season,” Oregon forward Jeff Potter told the Emerald after the game. “I think we accomplished a lot.”
That year’s team finished the season with a 19-9 overall record, the most wins since 1976-77.
Next, flash forward to the 2000 season, a year in which the Ducks finished with 22 wins, the first time Oregon topped the 20-win mark since 1976. After posting a 13-5 Pac-10 record — third in the conference behind No. 1 seeds Arizona and Stanford — the Ducks were matched against Seton Hall in Buffalo, N.Y., and were favored, as they garnered a No. 7 seed in the Eastern bracket.
Notice a common theme occurring here?
A heartbreaking 72-71 overtime loss to the Pirates ended Oregon’s “banner season” — as it was referred to — and extended the losing streak in the NCAA Tournament to 40 years.
To make matters worse, a layin by Seton Hall senior Rimas Kaukenas came with less than 10 seconds left in the game, sending it into overtime.
Overtime could have been picture perfect for the Ducks had it not been for the Pirates’ Shaheen Holloway. Up 71-70 with eight seconds left, the Ducks couldn’t stop the Seton Hall senior, allowing him to drive through the lane and make another Pirates layin, effectively ending Oregon’s dream season.
“It’s difficult to realize the finality of this right now,” said Oregon senior A.D. Smith after his last game in a Ducks’ uniform. “It’s disappointing to go out like this. I think Seton Hall did a great job at containing our transition game.”
To say that the Ducks have not been successful in the NCAA Tournament would be incorrect. Before the “streak” began in 1960, Oregon had gone 4-1 in the postseason tourney, including a championship in 1939 — the first for any Duck squad. That also happened to be the first championship in NCAA history, as the Ducks outdueled Ohio State, 46-33.
Six years later, Oregon again took a run through the tournament, but came up short. After losing to Arkansas, 79-76, the Ducks defeated Utah 69-66 in the Western Regional Consolation Final.
Overall, Oregon has gone 6-5 in the NCAA Tournament, including the 42-year streak.