HDuck

Kentucky - even with a reported $22 million NIL Kansas Gonzaga first time since 1990 that at least one of those 3 hasn't been in Sweet 16 Others which fell short: N. Carolina UCLA Indiana - also wasn't part of the 68 this year

Looks like 6 - B1G 4 - SEC 3 - Big12 2 - BigEast 1 - ACC 16 Seeds left, with 6 B1G 1- 3 (Michigan) 2- 4 (Purdue) 3- 2 (MSU, ILL) 4- 3 (Neb) 5- 1 6- 1 9- 1 (Iowa) 11- 1

Let me repeat for emphasis. The Ducks had loaded the bases in the 11th. They get one run across, they win. They didn't.

It's not just Jon cheerleading for the B1G....it also means money. Money to Oregon and UW from their share of Tournament Units. A conference earns one unit for every game its teams plays, now including the semifinals and championship game. For 2026, the unit is $2.15 million, which is paid out in six equal installments over six years. Those 1/6ths per year are then shared with all conference members. The so-called reduced media shares for UO and UW do not apply to Unit payouts. Both UO and UW get a full share. When a team makes the Sweet 16, that's 3 units (64>32>16) x $2.15M. $6M+ paid out over 6 years, split among all the schools. The more schools that make the Sweet 16, Elite 8....the better. Iowa will play Nebraska, Michigan St may play UCLA. Unfortunately, that may take Units off the table when the loser can't advance. There are 135 participation Units paid total. 8 for First Fours. 64 for the bracket. Then 32, 16, 8, 4, 2,1. Some conferences have made modifications, but not yet in the B1G. For example, part of the deal for Gonzaga joining the Pac12 was that they would keep half of each Unit they earned, then the other Pac schools would split the other half. The SEC pays an appearance bonus. For example, in the first 3 rounds the SEC pays the team $100,000 out of the $2.15M before the remainder is split among all members. So, when you see conference commissioners bitching about a team being left out, it's more than just boosterism...it's money.

Leading up to today, the 16 teams playing their opener at home all won. Today, so far, 7 of the 8 teams (including Texas) won at home. The 8th game is underway - UW at TCU. 8 more women's home games will be played tomorrow. These 7 games today did not involve powderpuffs. But, Texas thumping Oregon was not even the high margin which included home court wins of 54, 42, 29, 23. Until there is more parity among the women's teams, and the games are played on neutral courts, I can't get too excited about a blow out loss.

Iowa fans love going to Tampa. They are 4-3 in Outback Bowls, including a W this past December 31.

Interesting graphic. Which schools have two Current head coaches who have been in post-season CFP and men's Final Four? Then, after you figure out which one of the 7 had those two coaches at their Current School when they did it....add in the fact that same school had the current women's coach also in a Final Four at the same school.

Oram column was about Mark Few? 27 seasons including COVID year. Tournament departure: Round 1: 3 Round 2: 10 - including 2026 Sweet 16: 8 Elite 8: 3 Title loss: 2 I didn't realize he had never lost a Final Four opener. Not sure I agree with Oram on his perception of the New Pac as being a competitive conference upgrade year in and year out?

I imagine the schools that escaped probably believed there would no longer be a Pac12 conference after their departure and under NCAA rules the Tournament shares are then handled differently. The conference did set a precedent with denying voting rights to USC/UCLA, but I don't recall they denied them revenue shares that came until their contract expired. I'm not sure Libey believed OSU/WSU would do what they have done in that regard in handling shares for the other 8 differently. The precedent was a policy, not a court ruling, and like so many judge interpretations based on policy the same circumstances can lead to different decisions depending on the judge. Different judges convey different sentences when circumstances are identical. Different circuits make different decisions on the same circumstances, reverse a lower court decision in one instance but not another for identical circumstances. It was apparent when the escapees gave notice, they intended to live up to the current Pac contract until it expired. They gave early notice, but were not leaving early. It is too bad OSU/WSU couldn't honor the same principle.

When USC/UCLA were "stripped of their voting rights" were they also informed they would no longer receive various revenue pieces from the conference? I don't recall that was part of what the other 10 did? If not, I assume it was because the Pac decided the true effective date was their departure, not the date they gave notice of their future departure. When Libey said it was the date they gave notice of departure, and if that is applied in other similar cases, it would simply incentivize any schools leaving a conference to never give notice until 12:01 am after the end of their current contract. That would not be a good faith effort and could harm those who stayed behind. OSU and WSU benefited via advance notice that the departees gave. They benefited operationally and they took revenue they did not earn.

"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