Orange Get In: Syracuse – along with Temple, Tulsa, Vanderbilt and Wichita State – sneaked into the field at the expense of hopefuls like Monmouth, St. Bonaventure, St. Mary’s and Valparaiso.
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They’ll decide it on the court.
The main draw begins Thursday at eight sites.
They were outnumbered by Arizona fans in the semifinal, and the Utah faithful in Saturday’s final.
In a season in which six teams held the top spot in The Associated Press poll – one short of the record – there was no doubt there would be some debate about who belonged in the four top spots. The rest of it raised eyebrows.
OR (14-4 Pac-12, 28-6 overall) features an electric, high-octane offense that always seeks to push the ball up the floor and get to the rim.
In Palm’s bracket, the Wildcats are a four seed facing off against South Dakota State in the South.
He praised the Bears, calling them, “obviously a great basketball team”.
Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield (24) shoots as West Virginia forward Nathan Adrian, back, defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Big 12 conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, March 11, 2016.
Earning the top seed capped a meteoric rise to national prominence by the Ducks over the last two months.
This is a big win for the Ducks heading into the NCAA Tournament; they have the potential to go all the way to the Final Four or further if they play the way they played against the Utes. Forward Jordan Loveridge and Taylor (both honorable mention All-Pac-12) were key to the defense.
Palm is one of the biggest believers in the Utes, as he has them as a two seed in the Midwest bracket taking on New Mexico State. Georgia had 19 wins, and is now looking at an NIT bid. Done. Oregon freshman guard Tyler Dorsey had his best all-around game of the season, scoring 23 points and matching his season-best nine boards.
While no No. 1 seed has lost to a 16-seed, the Ducks are taking nothing for granted. “Wherever they set us up, wherever they match us up we’re just going to have to go and play”. – John Calipari, Kentucky’s coach, dejectedly but accurately predicting his team’s placement after it won the SEC tournament on Sunday by beating Texas A&M – which was given a No. 3 seed. Where will they end up?
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I’m not trying to make excuses for this team. “That’s as big a key with us as any”. We’ll find out starting Friday when they open against No. 13 Hawaii. OR had 34 points in the paint and outrebounded the Utes 36-25. Most of us were concerned about the opposite, as it is very hard to beat a team for a third time, especially when the differences between teams is so close. They got exactly what they wanted and likely deserved. Cal State Bakersfield enters the tournament for the first time since it joined Division I nine years ago. But the Beavers are back with Gary Payton II – not to be confused with his half-brother, Gary Payton Jr. – leading the charge. Best possible second-round matchup If No. 4 Duke and No. 5 Baylor both get through their first-round games, they’ll have a fantastic battle in Providence.
