NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest storylines from 2022 "Feast Week" matchups

NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest storylines from 2022 “Feast Week” matchups

Mar 24, 2022; San Francisco, CA, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman gestures during the second half of their game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the semifinals of the West regional of the men's college basketball NCAA Tournament at Chase Center. The Arkansas Razorbacks won 74-68. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

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Oregon coach Dana Altman Basketball Eug Uombb Vs Montana State Montana State At Oregon /

9. Oregon needs to impress in Phil Knight Invitational bracket

I could do a separate project just on the storylines alone throughout both brackets of the PK85 tournaments. So I opted to do one key thing for each of them. In the Phil Knight Invitational, one team I’m keeping watch on is Oregon, who suffered a home loss to UC Irvine a week ago.

It’s part of an awful first couple of weeks for the Pac-12. More than half of them have suffered Quad 3 or 4 home losses, while UCLA, the preseason favorite in the league, fell to Illinois and now has to face Baylor on Sunday in the Continental Tire Main Event Tournament. So for the remaining opportunities left for the teams in the conference, they’ll need to collectively get resume-building wins.

The Ducks have the best chance to do that. First, they have No. 3 Houston on Sunday. Afterward is this tournament, where they face off against UConn in the quarterfinals, before either Michigan State or Alabama. One is a preseason top-15 team in the Tide, while the Spartans look like a top-15 in their own right after wins over Kentucky and Villanova.

Oregon will need to beat at least one of those teams to avoid the 7th-place matchup with likely Portland and leave without a big win. They should have center N’Faly Dante back but not South Carolina transfer, Jermaine Cousinard.

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