Oregon women upset No. 2 Duke

Duke lost, quite simply, because their roster is – was – flawed, and the individual talent amongst their ranks was not enough to overcome it. After all, the Blue Devils had just won four games in four days to claim the ACC Conference Tournament Title, knocking off eventual No. 1 seed North Carolina along the way for good measure. Alas, brackets fell to shreds over the weekend when Villanova lost to No. 8 Wisconsin in Buffalo and then Duke (who many pegged as a No. 1 seed) fell to No. 7 SC.

“They had more players step up and play across the board”, Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

Eleventh-seeded Xavier might be a surprise team in the regional semifinals, but with their 3-point prowess, the Musketeers are capable of shooting their way past any opponent.

“With a young team, you kind of have to do that. But their productivity certainly doesn’t reflect that”. No. 2 seed Arizona (32-4): Wildcats coach Sean Miller’s former team against his current team.

Instead, a SC team that hadn’t won an NCAA tournament game since 1973, is moving on to the Sweet 16.

Maite Cazorla added 17 points and Lexi Bando finished with 14 points to help OR (22-13) become the first No. 10 seed in a decade to reach the Round of 16. The defense is solid, and Butler is shooting 47 percent from 3-point range in the tourney.

“As a kid you dream about moments like this and for it to be here is a blessing”, Bears guard King McClure said. “We just appreciate them and all that they do for us and we come out and play hard for them just as we did today”. Gonzaga is the only team in these matchups with a greater than 60 percent chance to win.

Of the nine ACC teams to earn berths in the tournament, just one – North Carolina – is still alive. The Ducks recorded 20 assists on 26 made field goals, with Sabrina Ionescu and Cazorla leading the way with six assists each.

Okay, so we’re guilty of looking too far ahead here. “There is no one else we’d rather have to shoot the ball”.

“Our guys were very, very nervous”, SC coach Frank Martin said. Both are recipes for a L and Duke got just that.

The Huskies (29-5) are going to the Sweet 16 in consecutive years for the first time in school history, thanks to an offensive showcase against the Sooners where Plum didn’t do it alone. I picked Gonzaga and Arizona to have a rematch in the Elite 8, and at this point I have no real reason to not believe in my prediction.

It was hard to call this anything other than a home game for SC, whose campus is 2 hours east and whose fans filled the arena. No team seems unbeatable to even the most unlikely Cinderella. Of the five double-digit seeds most likely to win their first games, only Marquette failed to do so. The run started when Duke failed to secure a defensive rebound, allowing Bando to drill an open 3-pointer. The Sun Devils led by 11 points early in the third quarter and still held a two-point advantage, 53-51, going into the fourth quarter.

It felt like a road game for Duke, which is used to this sort of thing; the Blue Devils take everyone’s best shot, on the court and in the stands, and have done so for decades.

After a OR shot clock violation, Greenwell had a chance to pull the Blue Devils even closer. She dribbled to the top of the key but her contested shot missed. The Ducks went cold, missing their next seven shots.

Duke kept it close late, but intentionally fouled Hebard prior to an inbound pass in the final minute, giving OR two free throws and the ball.

A’ja Wilson put the Gamecocks in front by scoring off an offensive rebound with 46.8 seconds left.

A Maite Cazorla free throw allowed OR to take a five-point halftime lead.