One of Joe Lunardi’s bubble teams kept its tournament hopes alive with a major upset win on Thursday night.
The University of Oregon men’s basketball team entered Thursday night’s clash vs. No. 12 UCLA having lost three of its last four games to fall to 17-10 on the year. Somehow ESPN’s Lunardi, the network’s premier bracketologist, still had the Ducks on the bubble entering Thursday’s Pac-12 battle. The Ducks can take a deep breath, at least for the moment.
Unranked Oregon knocked off No. 12 UCLA 68-63 on Thursday evening to move to 18-10 overall and 11-6 in conference play. The Ducks received strong efforts from their three veteran guards. De’Vion Harmon (17 points and six rebounds), Jacob Young (14 points, six assists and five rebounds) and Will Richardson (11 points, nine rebounds and four assists) led Oregon to victory.
Just a week ago, Oregon was blown out by 11-16 Arizona State and practically saw its tournament hopes lost. Fast forward to now, the Ducks are still alive on the bubble after taking down UCLA.
FOUR STRAIGHT AGAINST UCLA 😮 @OregonMBB gets a HUGE win as they sit on the bubble in @espnlunardi’s Bracketology! pic.twitter.com/JCVakSrTGI
— ESPN (@espn) February 25, 2022
Oregon entered Thursday night’s game in Joe Lunardi’s “next four out.” The Ducks will no doubt move up after their latest upset win.
Beloved CBB analyst Jon Rothstein has liked what he’s seen from Dana Altman’s team as of late. Oregon nearly upset No. 2 Arizona last Saturday but fell short in a 84-81 loss. The Ducks have clearly figured something out, however, after beating a UCLA team ranked 12th overall.
“If you watched Oregon against UCLA tonight and versus Arizona last Saturday, you’d know that they were a team that could ADVANCE in the NCAA Tournament. Ducks are in position,” Rothstein tweeted.
If you watched Oregon against UCLA tonight and versus Arizona last Saturday, you’d know that they were a team that could ADVANCE in the NCAA Tournament.
Ducks are in position. https://t.co/2vKWTrmP77
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 25, 2022
Other college basketball fans have been discussing the Ducks’ upset win on Thursday night.
“This Oregon team is so perplexing because they have so much talent and when they’re good this squad can absolutely make a sweet 16 run, but when they’re bad this team doesn’t belong anywhere near the tournament,” one fan tweeted.
“This might be the win that gets Oregon in the tournament,” a fan wrote.
Looking ahead, what is Oregon’s path to the Big Dance? ESPN’s Lunardi outlined it during Thursday night’s game.
He said the Ducks can afford a loss to USC this Saturday, but have to beat both Washington and Washington State next week and advance far into the Pac-12 Tournament. A win over USC would obviously help their cause.
Joe Lunardi on Oregon’s résumé: “They’ve got some great wins, they’ve also got some head-scratching losses.”
On what it’ll take for them to get in, Lunardi says #GoDucks needs to split vs. LA teams, sweep Washington teams, and get to semis or champ game of the Pac-12 tournament.
— Saturday Out West (@satoutwest) February 25, 2022
Oregon takes on No. 16 USC this Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The post Oregon Stuns No. 12 UCLA In Massive Upset: Fans React appeared first on The Spun.