Oregon's men's basketball team is staring down a daunting challenge as they head into the Big Ten tournament in Chicago. With their season hanging by a thread, the Ducks need to string together six consecutive wins to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the third year running.
The action kicks off with a first-round showdown against No. 17-seed Maryland at 2 p.m. on March 10 at the United Center. The winner of this clash will face No. 9-seed Iowa the following morning.
Coach Dana Altman is keeping the focus simple: take it one game at a time. "We just gotta go try and win a game," Altman emphasized. "If we're fortunate, we'll get ready for the next one and see what we can do."
Oregon enters the tournament with a bit of momentum. They wrapped up their regular season with a thrilling comeback against Washington, where Kwame Evans Jr. scored nine unanswered points in the final seconds to clinch an 85-79 victory. Evans expressed optimism, saying, "We've got momentum going into the Big Ten, and we'll just fight, fight, and keep going."
Earlier in the season, the Ducks managed a 64-54 victory over Maryland, but it was followed by a tough stretch of ten straight losses. However, they found some rhythm late in the season, finishing with a 4-3 record over the last three weeks.
Maryland, on the other hand, has been struggling, losing six of their last seven games, including a recent 78-72 defeat to Illinois.
For fans eager to catch the action, the game will be streamed on Peacock, with radio coverage available on several stations including KUGN and Sirius 381.
The Ducks are ready to swing for the fences, knowing full well the stakes and the slim margin for error. With the tournament's automatic NCAA bid on the line, it's now or never for Oregon.