03/21/21

Pac-12 regular season champion Oregon, the #7 seed in the West Region, will face second-seeded Iowa Monday at 9:10 a.m. PT in the second round of the NCAA Tournament (CBS). Oregon advanced to the second round when Saturday’s first round game against VCU was declared a no contest due to COVID-19 related issues within the VCU program.

THE STARTING 5
• 1 – This is Oregon’s seventh appearance in the last eight NCAA Tournaments (the NCAA Tournament was not contested in 2020).
• 2 – The 2021 Pac-12 regular season championship is the eighth league title in program history, joining 1919, 1939, 1945, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020. It is the Ducks’ fourth league title in the last six years.
• 3 – Oregon has now won 20 games for the 11th consecutive season. Gonzaga, Kansas and Belmont are the only other three Division I programs nationally with 11 straight 20-win seasons.
• 4 – Combined, Oregon’s four scholarship seniors – Chris Duarte, LJ Figueroa, Eugene Omoruyi and Amauri Hardy – are averaging 49.9 points per game.
• 5 – Chris Duarte is one of five national finalists for the Jerry West Point Guard of the Year Award. He is one of only two Division I players in the country averaging at least 16.7 points and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the field.
• BENCH – 2020-21 marks Dana Altman‘s 24th consecutive winning season as a head coach. He is one of five head coaches in Division I with an active streak of 24 or more consecutive winning seasons. That list includes Altman and four Hall of Famers: Jim Boeheim, Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self and Tom Izzo.
• BENCH – Under Dana Altman, Oregon has won 90 percent of its games (190-21) when holding opponents below 70 points.
• BENCH – Oregon has won 277 games over the last 11 seasons, a program best.
• BENCH – Oregon leads the Pac-12 in steals (7.6 per game) and three-point field goals (8.1 per game).

THE FIRST NCAA CHAMPIONS
Oregon’s 1939 basketball team earned a unique place in sports history by winning the first NCAA championship basketball tournament ever held. With a first unit composed of four native Oregonians and one Washingtonian, coach Howard Hobson guided the “Tall Firs” to a 29-5 season record and Oregon’s only NCAA basketball title. Oregon’s title run began in the Western Playoffs at Treasure Island, Calif., by knocking off Texas, 56-41, and dropping Oklahoma, 55-37. On March 27, the Tall Firs faced Ohio State on the neutral Northwestern University court in Evanston, Ill., for the national title. John Dick scored 13 points and Laddie Gale and Bobby Anet contributed 10 apiece as the Ducks rolled to a 46-33 victory and the NCAA crown.

JERRY WEST AWARD FINALISTS MEET
Two of the five finalists for the 2021 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award will square off on Monday: Chris Duarte of Oregon and Joe Weiskamp of Iowa. Duarte is the first Jerry West Award finalist in program history. He is one of only two Division I players in the nation averaging 16.7 points and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. Elijah Ford of Wagner is the other. Duarte is ranked among the Pac-12’s top 10 in six different statistical categories. He is eighth in scoring (16.7 points per game), second in steals (1.9 per game), second in three-pointers per game (2.4), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.430) and ninth in field goal percentage (.524). The other Jerry West Award finalists are Joel Ayayi of Gonzaga, Quentin Grimes of Houston and MaCio Teague of Baylor.

VERSUS IOWA
Oregon and Iowa have met seven times, including once in the postseason. The Hawkeyes own a 6-1 series edge and won the last meeting, 77-69, on Nov. 15, 2018, in the 2K Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden. Will Richardson is the only current Duck who played in that game. The two teams also met in the second round of the 2012 NIT, a 108-97 Oregon win in Eugene that is the highest scoring game (two teams combined) in Matthew Knight Arena history.

LAST TIME IN INDIANA
Oregon last played in Indianapolis in a 2013 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Sweet 16 loss to eventual national champion Louisville (77-69) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Oregon and Iowa will play at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Opening in 1999, Bankers Life Fieldhouse is the home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.

NCAA THREE DOT DATA
This is just the fifth time that both the UO men and women will play in the NCAA Tournament (1995, 2000, 2017, 2019) … Oregon has advanced to the second weekend in each of its last three NCAA Tournament appearances (2016, 2017, 2019) … This is Oregon’s 17th NCAA Tournament appearance overall and the seventh under Dana Altman.

OREGON IN THE NCAA UNDER ALTMAN
In the previous six appearances under Dana Altman, Oregon:
• – has won at least one game every tournament
• – has advanced to the Sweet 16 four times (2013, 2016, 2017, 2019)
• – has advanced to the Elite 8 twice (2016, 2017)
• – has advanced to the Final Four once (2017)
• – has lost to a lower-seeded team only one time (2016, falling as the No. 1 seed to No. 2 Oklahoma in the West Regional Final)
• – was eliminated all six times by teams that advanced to the Final Four
• – lost three times to the eventual national champion (2013 – Louisville, 2017 – North Carolina, 2019 – Virginia)

LAST TIME AS A #7 SEED
Oregon was last a #7 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. In the West Regional in Milwaukee, Wis., #7 Oregon defeated #10 BYU 87-68 in the opening round before falling to #2 Wisconsin 85-77 in the Round of 32.

NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
Four Ducks have previous NCAA Tournament experience. Will Richardson came off the bench in all three games during Oregon’s 2019 NCAA Sweet 16 run. He had seven points and five rebounds in the first round game against Wisconsin. Walk-ons Luke Osborn and Will Johnson both saw the floor during the 2019 Ducks’ second round win against UC Irvine. LJ Figueroa scored 19 points with 10 rebounds for St. John’s in a 2019 First Four loss to Arizona State.

11 STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
The Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal win against Arizona State was Oregon’s 20th win of the season, making the Ducks one of just four programs nationally with an active streak of 11 consecutive seasons with 20 wins. The four schools on that list are Oregon, Belmont, Gonzaga and Kansas.

LEADERS OF THE PAC
Oregon leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (.472), three-point field goal percentage (.379), steals (7.5 per game) and three-pointers per game (8.4).

PROTECT THE ROCK
Oregon has committed 12 turnovers or less in 11 of its last 12 games. Four times in that span, the Ducks had less than 10 turnovers. In conference play Oregon averaged just 10.7 turnovers per game.

70 OVER UNDER
Under Dana Altman, Oregon is 191-21 when holding opponents under 70 points, including a 155-13 mark the last six seasons.

COURTESY OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS