Ducks Get 3rd Seed in Madness, Path to Elite 8

After romping through only slightly denuded competition in the Pac-10 tournament, the Ducks were minimally rewarded with a 3rd seed from the Midwest Region in this weekend's start to March Madness. The Ducks will open play in Spokane, a favorable siting given that they could have been forced to travel much further. Considering that UCLA is still considered to have accomplished more this season (they're seeded second), and another good team the webfeet beat (twice) that couldn't make it to the final--Washington State--also earned a 3 seed, Oregon should have earned serious consideration as a 2. That the Georgetown Hoyas are a 2 seed but also count Oregon among their losses, only makes that clearer. That's, what--a 4-1 record against teams seeded 3 or higher? Not too shabby.

It looks like they've got a path to the Final Four that is possible, but would require continuing solid play at the same level that breezed them through the Pac-10 tourney, and their best game will be needed to beat Midwest top seed Florida. Luckily for Ducks fans their best game shows up often enough to make it plausible, and so this could be a great season for the Ducks and Oregon basketball fans. I'm going to predict they make it to a chance at the FF, but fall just short and satisfy themselves with being one of the top eight teams of the year. Congrats on what is already a successful season, and we'll be watching as we curse our brackets.