The No. 11 seeded Oregon Ducks (23-11, 12-8) are set to take on the No. 6 seeded South Carolina Gamecocks (26-7, 13-5) in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
The Ducks were a “bubble team” heading into their final three games of the season against No. 6 Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, but after being defeated in two of the three, the Ducks’ tournament hopes sank, well until the Pac12 tournament rolled in.
Finishing the season 12-8 in conference play, Oregon earned the No. 4 seed in the Pac12 tournament and squashed the field, beating No. 5 UCLA, No. 1 Arizona, and No. 3 Colorado in the final, punching an automatic ticket to the big dance.
Now, with its quest to become the first No. 11 seed to make the Final Four since UCLA in 2021, the Ducks find themselves tasked with a beatbale first round opponent.
South Carolina finished the season 13-5 in SEC play and sat as the No. 5 seed where they beat Arkansas 80-66 in the second round before falling to the eventual champions, Auburn, in the quarterfinal.
The Gamecocks have some notable wins this season, including victories vs. No. 6 Kentucky and No. 24 Florida, along with a big road win at No. 5 Tennessee. When scouting South Carolina it is important to look at who they beat, but it is also important to look at what players they have in their arsenal, and that is junior Meechie Johnson and senior B.J. Mack, the duo who lead the Cocks in points per game with 13.8 and 13.6. If Johnson and Mack get going it’ll be extremely difficult for the Ducks to spread their wings and fly to the second round, however, if they limit them, they will be cleared for takeoff.
For Oregon, the Ducks have three major weapons in N’Faly Dante - who leads Oregon in points per game with 15.4 - senior Jermaine Couisnard, and freshman Jackson Shelstad who have the talent and ability to outduel Johnson and Mack. Together the trio provides an average of 44.7 points per game, and keep in mind, Oregon scores an average of 75.3 points per game. With other contributors in Kario Oquendo and Kwame Evans Jr. the Ducks have a shot to pull off the upset and advance.
The game is estimated to tip-off at 4:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, March 21 inside of PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You can watch the two battle it out live on TNT.