Ducks still have shot at NCAA berth with strong close

by DSH contributing writer Eric Sloat

 March Madness is almost here!!! And after a season with ups and downs that would make rollercoaster freaks dizzy, the Ducks still have a chance to participate in the NCAA tournament

 In an interview on “Duck Insider”, CBS sports analyst, Jerry Palm spoke about the schedule and Oregon’s chances.

”These last four games for Oregon are very important. That’s 3 games out of four left in the regular season before the conference tournament, (that gives) Oregon a chance to say that we’re capable of beating tournament quality teams. And I think it’s really important to do that.”

Ducks look for big finish: Mike Moser dunks against Washington State. Winners of three in a row, Oregon can earn their way into the NCAA with a solid effort in the last four games of PAC-12 play (Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports images).

 In a projection released last Sunday, Palm has Oregon seeded at 11, which is actually higher than last season when Oregon, winner of the conference tournament, was awarded a 12 seed, the Ducks currently have  an RPI of 40, 20 for the BPI, and has a SOS of 46, they also haven’t lost to a team outside of the top 100. However their best win to date came in December against BYU, so they need to stay on track, finish the season strong and make the selection committee’s choice for them.

First up for the Ducks is a chance for payback against UCLA. The Bruins took the first one, at MKA by a score of 70-68.  With the score tied, UCLA was awarded the ball on a contested out of bounds call with 5.3 seconds left. Travis Wear was good on a short jumper to put the Bruins up by 2, Loyd missed a jumper for the Ducks, and that was it.  Looking back it was amazing it was that close. Three of Oregon’s starters went scoreless, most notably, Mike Moser, who ended the game missing his only two attempts from the field.  He never got to the foul line, had 0 rebounds. The only stat line he showed up in was turnovers, with five.  The good news is that not only is a repeat of that kind of performance likely,  Moser is playing his best right now. Besides being the catalyst for the strong starts to the second halves in the last two games, he has been at the top of his game personally on both ends of the court during the winning streak. In the last two games, he averaged 20.5 points, 6 rebounds and only one turnover.  Joe Young has also picked his game up; also scoreless against UCLA, in the last two games he averaged 18.

 On offense the Ducks need to play fast, not necessarily getting fast breaks, but being active, passing crisply, setting screens. With movement, the offense clicks. When one player monopolizes the ball, and the rest of the players become bored spectators, it bogs down completely. The same for the defense, without a big, protecting the rim, Oregon needs to be active outside, disrupting the passing lines, keeping the guards on the perimeter, forcing the opponent to take shots they don’t want to. Oregon was effective against Washington, holding the Huskies’ leading scorer, and 2^nd in the conference, CJ Wilcox to only 9 points, on 2-8 shooting.  The Bruins present a bigger and different challenge. 6’8 point guard, Karl Anderson leads the conference in assists; center Tony Parker leads the conference in field goal percentage, not a coincidence. It is imperative that the guards disrupt Anderson ‘s planning and make him improvise instead of working the clock down before passing it in to Parker at the basket for a lay-up.