Oregon Basketball: Takeaways from a dominant win over Utah

It’s unclear which version of Oregon to expect in the NCAA Tournament

In Busting Brackets’ latest Bracketology projection, Oregon Basketball enters the NCAA Tournament as a no. 5 seed. Based on the way their season has gone so far, it seems they could be a real threat to reach the Elite Eight or they could choke in the first round. As a team, the Ducks have some great wins this year (Houston, Seton Hall, Michigan, Arizona), but also some really confusing losses to teams in the bottom half of their conference (Washington State, Stanford, Oregon State). They no doubt have the ability to show up in the big game but also could wind up a first-round upset recipient come March.

Another factor to consider is Oregon’s home/away splits. They are perfect at home through 14 games, but are 4-4 in away games and 2-2 at neutral sites. This is reflected even more dramatically in their scoring splits. The Ducks’ average home game is a 17-point win while their average away game is a 2-point loss.

In the Pac-12 Tournament as well as the NCAA Tournament, they won’t have the opportunity to play for a home crowd and this season has proven to be a mixed bag for the Ducks as far as winning away from home is concerned. The Pac-12 Tournament will be an excellent testing ground for Oregon Basketball to gauge how they can handle elimination games away from Eugene.