The Oregon men are thinking bubbles these days, and we’re not talking about Michael Jackson’s monkey.
Nope, it’s March, so “bubble” takes on a much more ominous tone.
“I hate that word,” Luke Jackson said.
Indeed, the Ducks are now a “bubble” team in the eyes of many pundits around the country, meaning they could miss out on an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Especially if they lose to Arizona State on Thursday in the first round of the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament. Oregon faces a daunting task in beating Arizona State, considering the Sun Devils blew the Ducks out of Tempe, Ariz., only six days ago.
“It’s all us right now,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said.
“It’s one-and-done from here on out; that’s how we’re viewing this tournament,” guard Luke Ridnour said.
Of course, the Pac-10 Tournament is literally a one-and-done format like the NCAA Tournament, but on a theoretical level, the Ducks may be one-or-NIT when they face the Sun Devils on Thursday.
“If the Ducks don’t win their Pac-10 Tournament quarterfinal vs. Arizona State, they’ll have less than a 50/50 chance for an at-large bid,” wrote ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi in his weekly “Bracketology” report, which predicts the NCAA Tournament field. “It should never have come to this, but losses at USC and Washington made it so.”
Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel lists Oregon as a team that “needs a strong showing in its conference tournament this weekend to avoid a sad Selection Sunday.”
Oregon has slipped because of the road losses and a low RPI. The Ducks are 53rd in the RPI rankings, just ahead of 15-12 Providence and right behind 15-12 St. Louis. The RPI factors in winning percentage, schedule strength and opponents’ schedule strength.
Only a win over ASU will get that bubble monkey off the Ducks’ back.

Double Luke departure?
With all the hype surrounding Ridnour’s possible early exit to the NBA (in case it wasn’t already seared into your memory, fans repeatedly chanted “one more year” at the junior in Oregon’s final home games), Jackson has avoided the draft spotlight.
But when Jackson was named to the All Pac-10 Team Monday, the spotlight flicked on.
Jackson, despite being thrown off by a finger injury for several games, still finished the regular season in the top 10 in Pac-10 points, rebounds and assists. He still has the size — he’s officially listed at 6-feet-7-inches and 210 pounds — to play in the NBA. He just doesn’t have the hype he had at the beginning of the season.

Cross-eyed
Lost amid the hustle and bustle of Ridnour winning the Pac-10 Player of the Year award Monday was another Duck honor. Freshman Ian Crosswhite was named as an honorable mention on the Pac-10 All Freshman team.
Crosswhite finished the regular season averaging eight points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He shot .457 from the floor, good enough for third on the team.

Add Bracketology
The Ducks remained a No. 12 seed in this week’s edition of Bracketology, but at least the Ducks moved closer to home.
Lunardi projects Oregon will play No. 5-seeded Oklahoma State in Spokane, Wash., in the first round March 20.