They went 4-0 in the Patriot League tournament to earn an automatic bid, then posted their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1953 in a First Four game against Southern University on Wednesday.
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First, the team that went 10-19 in the regular season and 0-9 on the road its conference, survived four consecutive road games – three of them settled in the final minute – to win the Patriot League tournament. No. 1 seed OR destroyed No. 16 Holy Cross 91-52 Friday in Spokane. The game is being played inside Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington and will have a start time of 7:27 p.m., where it will be televised nationally on truTV.
On the season, Holy Cross basketball averages 65.3 points, 30.1 rebounds and 13.9 assists per game.
“We knew we were capable, what we were capable of, and we stuck together through all the tough times and tough losses, we were able to stick together and things came together for us”.
“We jumped out to a nice lead”, said Robert Champion, who led Holy Cross with 19 points. “I think we only had four or five turnovers for the game and we gave ourselves a shot to win”.
This is its 13th appearance in the tournament and its first since 2007. I like OR to win here, but check back when a line is posted.
The #3 seed Utah Utes were next up for the Pac-12 who handled their business with an 11-point victory over the #14 seed Fresno State Bulldogs.
Junior Chris Boucher led the OR scoring effort with 20 points, while Dwayne Benjamin chipped in 12. “We have been making a lot of history in OR, but I didn’t want to make that kind of history: First 16 seed to beat a 1 seed”. But the “3” was set up before I even took it. (Forward) Malachi (Alexander) made a great play to get me open. They slept on the flight from OH, and benefited from the time change by flying west. But Carmody’s priority for his team prior to Friday’s game was rest.
OR led throughout the contest, scoring the first seven points and going up by double digits for good midway through the first half. The Crusaders have relied almost exclusively on a 1-3-1 defense during their winning streak, holding Southern nearly 18 points below its season average after allowing an average of 57.3 points during their conference tournament.
But Oregon might be a step too far for Holy Cross, because it’s worth noting a team seeded #16 has never beaten the #1 seeded team in the NCAA Tournament. A big game against Holy Cross may not sway the perception of the Ducks, but a big Second Round matchup awaits on Sunday that could very well tell the tale of THIS Oregon team.
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NCAA Basketball this evening will see the top-ranked Oregon Ducks take on the Holy Cross Crusaders in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
