Ducks Digest

Oregon Earns No. 11 Seed in 2024 NCAA Tournament

The Ducks are heading to Pittsburgh for the first round of the Big Dance.

Israel La Rue

Oregon Earns No. 11 Seed in 2024 NCAA Tournament
Oregon Earns No. 11 Seed in 2024 NCAA Tournament /
In this story:

The Oregon Ducks were selected as the No.11 seed in the Midwest bracket of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon, after punching their ticket into the Big Dance by winning the final Pac-12 Tournament.

The Ducks are dancing for the first time since 2021, when they made a Sweet 16 run in Indianapolis. Oregon had to win the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time since 2019 to punch their ticket into the NCAA Tournament, and just as they did in 2019 the Ducks got the job done.

Oregon went through UCLA, No. 6 Arizona and Colorado to break the two-year drought of not making the NCAA Tournament. The only way to avoid a third straight NIT appearance was by taking it all in Las Vegas at the Pac-12 Tournament.

Oregon Ducks center N'Faly flies over a Colorado Buffaloes defender for a dunk in the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament.
Oregon Ducks center N'Faly flies over a Colorado Buffaloes defender for a dunk in the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament / © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It took heroic efforts from N’Faly Dante, Jermaine Couisnard and Jackson Shelstad for the Ducks to win three straight in Las Vegas.

Dante averaged 20.3 points per game only missing two shots the whole tournament en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player; Couisnard averaged 14.6 points per game and 7 assists per game and Shelstad averaged 16.6 points per game while shooting 42.1% from the field. Couisnard and Shelstad were also named to the All-Tournament Team.

The last time the Ducks had to win the Pac-12 Tournament to play in the NCAA Tournament, a Payton Pritchard-lead team went to Sweet 16 before falling to Virginia, the eventual NCAA Champions.

Oregon will play the No.6 seed South Carolina Gamecocks on Thursday, March 21 at 1 p.m. PT. If the Ducks advance they will play the winner of the Creighton vs Akron first-round matchup.

REPORT: Oregon Finalizes Contract Extension for RB Coach Carlos Locklyn

Oregon Expects Big Impact From Jamaree Caldwell on New-Look Defensive Line

Oregon Makes Top Five for Elite RB Alvin Henderson

Published
Israel La Rue
ISRAEL LA RUE

Israel La Rue is a senior journalism student at the University of Oregon. He's covered the Oregon football and basketball beats for four years as the former executive producer for DuckTV, and interned for NBC Sports Bay Area and TrackTown USA.

Home/Basketball