Oregon Becomes No. 1 Seed Following 88-57 Win Over Utah: A Lesson To Learn From Duke

The Oregon Ducks (28-6, 14-4 Pac-12 Conference) are now a No. 1 seed, following their 88-57 victory over the No. 12 Utah Runnin’ Utes in the Pac-12 NCAA Tournament final in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday.

Oregon Becomes No. 1 Seed Following 88-57 Win Over Utah: A Lesson To Learn From Duke

The Ducks will now play in the West bracket and travel to Spokane, Washington next week to play the winner of Holy Cross and Southern. If Oregon should win that game on Friday, they will surely go far.

Now, Oregon must learn a valuable lesson from last year’s national champions, the Duke Blue Devils. Former Duke point guard Quinn Cook, a senior last year, perhaps said it best: “Look, when you’re named a No. 1 seed it gives you some immediate confidence,” Cook said on Sunday. “You gain some respect and maybe that helps you as you enter the first round of the tournament, but what you have to know is that everything goes out the door once the tournament starts. None of that stuff matters.”

In other words, congrats to Oregon for becoming a top seed. They should feel ver good about it. However, they should not lose focus or get distracted by how everyone else is doing, but rather solely devote all of their attention to their next opponent, whoever that may be.

Cook played four seasons for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. In 2014, Duke was a No. 3 seed and got upset by No. 14 Mercer. In 2012, the Blue Devils were a No. 2 seed and were upset by No. 15-seed Lehigh.

“‘One game at a time,’ was our anthem last year,” Cook added. “We never looked at anybody else. We never even watched ESPN.” “This tournament the greatest thing in sports, but the thing can humble you in an instant,” he also said.
The Ducks are an undeniably strong team. They may even be good enough to cut down the nets in Anaheim and advance to NRG Stadium in Houston for the opening game of the Final Four on April 2. The question is, however, can they understand both what it takes to make it to a Final Four and what that means, if they’ve never been sucker-punched by a No. 15 seed, or even been defeated by a future champion?

There is also no doubt that Oregon coach Dana Altman is an excellent game strategist. Coupled with the strength of players like Elgin Cook and Tyler Dorsey, the Ducks have much to be confident about.

Nevertheless, the spur-of-the-moment leadership and focus, even after setbacks seems to be what will ultimately lead Oregon to nonstop victory in this tournament. Sort of like the way guard Casey Benson led the Ducks to an overtime victory over Arizona in the conference tournament by offering words of confident encouragement. “We’re going to win this game,” said Benson.

Dorsey scored 23 points against the Utes on Saturday, and Dillon Brooks added 18 to lead the Ducks to their second Pac-12 Championship in four years. Oregon had 13 total steals and converted the Utes’ 20 turnovers into 28 points.

Oregon was just as good on offense, shooting 52 percent while making 11 of 22 from 3-point range in its eighth straight win. Chris Boucher had 15 points and tournament MVP Elgin Cook added 11 with six assists.

The Utes are the conference’s rising stars, led by one of the nation’s most unstoppable forces, 7-footer Jakob Poeltl.

Caption:LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 12: Dwayne Benjamin #0 of the Oregon Ducks drivs against Jordan Loveridge #21 of the Utah Utes during the championship game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 12, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 88-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)