Ducks Make NCAA Tournament Field As No. 10 Seed, Face No. 7 Vanderbilt In First Round
750 The Game Staff
The Oregon women’s basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament.
Projected as a solid at-large selection, the Ducks realized that hope during Selection Sunday, getting a No. 10 seed from the selection committee.
Oregon will open first round play on Friday against No. 7-seed Vanderbilt. The game will tip-off at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNNews from Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC, home of the Duke Blue Devils.
Vanderbilt is listed as a 5.5-point betting favorite. The winner of the Ducks and Commodores will take on the winner of 2-seed Duke and 15-seed Lehigh who play later Friday.
More from Oregon Athletics media release:
Dancing Ducks! UO Earns NCAA Tournament Bid
EUGENE, Ore. – After seeing his team announced as part of the NCAA Tournament field on ESPN’s Women’s Basketball Selection Show on Sunday, Oregon head coach Kelly Graves used the “magical” to describe the moment.
Oregon earned its 18th NCAA Tournament bid in school history, and sixth in the last eight tournaments, as it received a No. 10 seed in the Birmingham 2 Region. The Ducks will meet seventh-seeded Vanderbilt on Friday, March 21 at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., the NCAA Selection Committee announced on ESPN.
“It’s always magical to see your name up there on the screen and they have the camera there and you get the team shot,” said Graves. “This is a new experience for a lot of [our] players. It’s magical.”
The moment is still magical for Graves, who has heard his team’s name called 13 times in his head coaching career, with this being the sixth time in his Oregon tenure. In Graves’ first NCAA Tournament with the Ducks in 2017, UO was sent to Durham as a No. 10 seed and advanced to the second round, where it upset host and second-seed Duke on its way to the first Elite Eight in program history.
“It’s kind of ironic, eight years ago Durham is where Oregon was put on the basketball map,” Graves recalled. “That’s where it all started for our program. As a 10 seed, we had to beat Temple and then Duke. I let the team know that, this is where it all started. … So now, let’s go.”
“I am really excited. I’m just happy for us and the program, seeing our name called, it shows that our hard work has paid off,” said graduate guard Deja Kelly, who spent four years at Duke-rival North Carolina.
“That’s the biggest rivalry in college sports. So I think being a part of that for four years, that was obviously a phenomenal rivalry. That gym is so historic and so much fun to play in. I loved their fans, so I am excited to play in front of them again. I am excited for everyone to experience that, it is really a fun environment to play in.”
“Man, it was so cool,” said Peyton Scott, a graduate guard in her sixth collegiate season making her first NCAA Tournament appearance. “It was so cool for a lot of reasons. One, this is my first time experiencing it. Setting out a goal from the beginning to get to this point for everyone, is a super cool opportunity, super proud of our team.”
Oregon finished the regular season 19-11 and 10-8 in Big Ten play, finishing the year tied for eighth in the conference standings. The Ducks boast a NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rating of 42 while picking up four Quad 1 victories.
Playing in the nation’s second-toughest conference according to NET rankings, UO faced six ranked opponents during the regular season and earned victories over then-No. 12 Baylor and then-16th-ranked Michigan State. The Ducks played 14 different teams that are in this year’s field of 68 – picking up wins against five of those squads. Oregon spent three weeks in the Associated Press top-25 poll, reaching a ranking as high as No. 21.
In addition to its two ranked victories, marquee victories this season included wins over Iowa (NET 24), Indiana (NET 34), Minnesota (NET 39) and Washington (NET 43). The Ducks totaled six Quad 1 and 2 wins while going 13-0 against Quad 3 and 4 opponents.
In 11 seasons at Oregon, Graves has guided the Ducks to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Sweet Sixteen berths, two Elite Eights and one Final Four. The Ducks are 12-5 in the NCAA Tournament under Graves.
Oregon is 5-3 in program history as a No. 10 seed, and reached its first-ever Elite Eight as a 10-seed in 2017 in Graves’ first tournament run at the helm of the Ducks. That season, UO defeated seventh-seeded Temple, second-seeded Duke and third-seeded Maryland before falling to top-seed UConn.
In his career as a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament, Graves boasts a 9-4 record while reaching the Elite Eight twice in addition to a Sweet 16 appearance. The nine wins as double-digit seed are most among active Division I head coaches.
OREGON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
- Sixth tournament bid in last eight tournaments
- First tournament appearance since 2022
- 18th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance
- Sixth NCAA Tournament bid under Graves
- Won multiple games in five of the last six tournaments
- Reached one Final Four, three Elite Eights and four Sweet Sixteens under Graves
- Ducks are 12-5 in the NCAA Tournament in Graves’ tenure
- 5-3 all-time record as a No. 10 seed
- Reached Elite Eight of 2017 NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed in Graves’ first NCAA Tournament at Oregon
- 17-17 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament
- Graves earns his 13th career NCAA Tournament bid
- Graves is 9-4 as a double-digit seed in his NCAA Tournament career (most among active Division I head coaches)