HDuck

"Pac 8 + Gonzo kiss the tournament Goodbye." Well, I guess Utah State is still in it with a game vs Arizona on Sunday. But, will Coach Calhoun still be in it (Pac) by the end of next week?

I had picked Texas. My pre-game concern was that the Zags just don't have the depth they have had in some recent years. No great picker accomplishment, just explaining my logic. We've seen the same thing affecting the Ducks in the past. Especially if you get one of your main horses in foul trouble or injured early. If you don't have depth, you can be in real trouble in a one-and-out scenario.

Next game is playing Texas on their home court where they are 19-0 this season. I understand why the women's game requires this to get butts in seats, but doesn't mean I have to like it.

The WSU Board granted $20 million earlier this month (March 2026) to WSU athletics, while the Oregon Legislature granted $10M to OSU athletics in March 2024. But, little has been revealed about how OSU and WSU are using the bag they got from the December 2023 Judge Libey decision. Would like to see more transparency from both institutions on that.

Well, if anyone is still wondering why the organization is still called the Pac12, instead of the Pac8, Pac9, the Pac, the Best of the Rest, etc. the NCAA unit payments on the books to the Pac12 is the answer.

Oregon State and Washington State are the only two remaining members of the Pac-12, which has lost 10 schools in 2024. According to a rep for the conference, the separation agreements allow the two leftover members to divvy up the money that schools like UCLA, Arizona and USC earned for the conference in recent tournaments prior to their departures. This year, according to Sportico's calculations, they'll both evenly split about $15.4 million. Oregon State and Washington State themselves earned only six of the Pac-12's 43 active units, but they'll share in the spoils from a much larger haul, and that will continue for the next few years. While the Pac-12 is rebuilding around seven new members starting next season, their agreements also state the two legacy schools will continue to share units earned by the prior Pac-12 until they fully burn off in three more years. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/2026-march-madness-oregon-state-and-wazzu-cash-in-despite-not-playing/ar-AA1YZGqe Just another reminder of how horrible the Judge Libey decision was.

Ducks beat Wisconsin 85-71 on Feb. 25 at MKA. Ducks lost 71-81 on Jan. 17 to Michigan at MKA. Though Wisconsin played UM tough this morning.

The Oregon women lost a Pac12 Tournament game to Colorado 79-30 in March 2024. The Ducks (11-21) had 11 points at half-time. Sports sites say the 12 points today was the men's lowest scoring first half in 3 decades, but doesn't cite the date/opponent.

Halftime: Ducks trail 33-12 Final: Ducks lose 70-60

I luv the Ducks. And, I understand the injury situation. But, that first half was beyond bad. As Chas Man said, these guys are not junior high vs varsity - they have spent countless hours in gyms during their lives.

"uniform investment in football programs" I understand the desire, but the reality is stadium size for ticket sales, location, number of alums/donors, etc. just makes it unlikely. Then, add in what will very likely be a tiered structure for media revenue share with the next media negotiation. Ohio State is going to demand a greater share and take it from the hide of programs like Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue, Minnesota....how could those programs ever reach uniform investment.

The affect of this season's injuries:

And, style of play adjustments. Need big bodies and bangers when you play Big Ten basketball.

Will be interesting to see how many B1G teams get at-large selections. ESPN Power Index 1-Michigan 6-Mich St 8-Nebraska 12-Purdue 13-Illinois 21-Miami (OH) 27-Wisconsin 33-UCLA 36-Iowa 38-OSU 46-Indiana 50-USC 76-UW 86-Minnesota 89-Northwestern 103-Maryland 105-Rutgers 110-Oregon 115-Penn St

An "amazing" season. They have won 4 regulation games by 2 points each. And, another 4 games in overtime by a total of 14. Plus, another regulation game by 3 pts. Their last 3 regular season games were 2 pts, 2 pts, and 2 pts in OT. Aside from "luck," the whole psychological aspect of that within a team would make an interesting newspaper column.

Western Kentucky: Willie Taggart, QB 1995-98, head coach 2010-12. WKU plays at Georgia and at Indiana in the 2026 season.

Two straight days of games, and play a fully rested Michigan on Friday. Losing that last second game to Washington last Sunday to drop down to the 11-seed hurts when it comes to this multi-day schedule. But, even if there is a loss to 2-seed Michigan, hopefully a 22 win season will still get the Ducks into the Tournament. Now 22-11, and a 20-12 probably wouldn't have made the Tourney. Ducks lost 87-92 to Michigan in 2-overtimes at MKA on Dec. 29. In that one, Ducks trailed 28-44 at half-time, then won the second half 41-25, before going to two OT's. 4 of 5 Ducks starters fouled out in the loss.

At Michigan State, Garrett Briningstool is Chief of Staff/General Manager NIL. But, it may be akin to football where the head coach has an O-Coordinator but the head coach calls all the plays? Across college basketball a lot of head coaches are pretty insular about giving up any authority relative to recruiting and the portal. It would take a great personal relationship between a head coach and a GM for a head coach to trust him. It is easier to "hide mistakes" on a football roster than it is on a basketball roster - fewer guys play regularly, and more games for critics to snipe at.

The "GM slot" is there, but not sure the duties are: https://goducks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/josh-jamieson/5409

For the women, the 1 point loss to UW yesterday was a drop from No. 8 to No. 11 in seed. And, the No. 8 seed in the bracket would not have been cozy either. 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket Announced

THE OREGON DUCKS REPEAT THEIR SWEEP as Big Ten Indoor Tra...THE OREGON DUCKS REPEAT THEIR SWEEP as Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Champions 🏆🏆 #B1GTF x Oregon Track and Field

For the second consecutive year, both the men and women have won the Big Ten Indoor T&F Championship at Indianapolis. Men (15 teams) - top 2 1-Oregon – 114 points 2-Penn St – 96 Women (18 teams) - top 2 1-Oregon – 101 2-Illinois – 93

Looks like the Ducks are headed to 8-0 to start the season, though running over George Mason and Youngstown State may not be too noteworthy? Beavis is 4-3 and will face the Ducks 3 times this season. No cupcakes in their first 11 games, but I suppose they have to schedule that way due to their conference affiliation later games. 2026 Baseball Schedule - Oregon State University Athletics

Both the men and women Canadian teams rosters were older than USA. The Canadian version of the Hoosiers came up short in both games.

Speaking of travel, on a separate basketball note, so far this season, games in Central/Eastern zone: 1-4 Oregon, with 2 to play 1-4 uW, with 2 to play 1-5 UCLA, with 1 to play 3-4 USC - final trip was Feb. 11 By the way, those 3 USC wins were by a combined 5 points total, and 1 loss was by 1 point. Cronin is a very unhappy guy at UCLA this season. Both UCLA and USC lost road games at UM & MSU "bigly." The B1G is a tough basketball conference. Most often, fans are fully invested in basketball especially if their football teams are semi-mediocre at the same school.