Oregon Ducks face Maryland Terrapins in Sweet 16 showdown

“Especially as a young guy, you can get labeled as a recruiter”, said Howard, who was the lead scout in preparation for the OR game. The Elite 8 showdown between Kansas and OR determines the Midwest Regional champ, and a place in the Final Four.

Neither coach could have imagined it when they faced off that November night in 1994. “But that was early, so we didn’t really at that time even know what we had”. “He’s been a good player, and he’s getting better each and every year”.

Trevon Bluiett led the way dropping 25 points for Xavier, which will play top-seeded Gonzaga in San Jose for the right to advance to the Final Four on Saturday.

Oregon’s go-to player is Brooks, who leads the Ducks with 16.4 points per game. Coach Dana Altman joked: “I will be Frank (Mason III)”. Devonte Graham has poured in 3-pointers at a record-setting rate. Mason’s star underclassman sidekick, freshman Josh Jackson, is sure to go in the NBA Draft lottery in two months.

Chiozza took an inbounds pass, sprinted almost the length of the court and hit a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to help Florida beat Wisconsin 84-83 in overtime.

OR enters this game with a 32-5 record overall. “I just wanted to pick up some knowledge from them and that’s what I did”. If we get the lead, keep our foot on the gas.

The Ducks (32-5) have done a sublime job of that so far.

Though the Ducks (32-5) led for most of the game, MI had all of the momentum after coming back to take a three-point lead with less than two minutes remaining.

Other great Kansas teams have fallen short shy of the Final Four, but this team won’t be one of them. “I never considered coaching the game of basketball work”.

“An incredible season for us, conference champions, the run we’ve been on, the heart we showed today and the high level of play”, Hurley said. “I continue to be amazed at this team”, OR coach Kelly Graves said.

In what should be a close and entertaining game, the Jayhawks have too much firepower for the Ducks to overcome.

The Jayhawks are 22-2 straight up in their last 24 games versus Pac-12 opponents heading into this Elite Eight matchup, and the favorite has also won the past three meetings. Both teams have used those losses as motivation.

“There’s not a kid in Chicago from seventh grade on up we don’t know about”, he said. They are 1-1-1 against the spread in these three games and they sit at 20-15-1 against the spread on the season.

“Unfortunately he didn’t like us as much as we liked him, but it turned out to be a great choice he made”, Self said. From the haircut to the Cali accent and a certain brashness that many from the region carry, there’s no question where the OR guard is from. He’s been flexible, not only on offense in running a four guard set so alien to his past, but on defense in utilizing a variety of zones throughout the year when his team needed it.

Both the Jayhawks and Ducks believe they are similar, athletic teams. That was in the 2002 regional finals in Madison, Wisconsin.

His son, Jayhawks’ senior center Landen Lucas, grew up a Ducks fan, but the one-time Sunset student and eventual Westview High graduate traded in his Duck walk for Rock Chalk.