Desert Duck

I know we've only completed the first round so far, but I'm amazed that the PAC-12 is 5-0. Can't wait for the game tonight. GO DUCKS!

Love the Lopes. That's great that your kid goes their. One of sons went their and graduated a few years ago -- and he loved it. Great school, environment, and amazing facilities. But enough Lopes talk... GO DUCKS!

GCU Baby! First NCAA D1 tourney win since moving up in 2013.

I just felt the need to underscore those numbers this morning.

Holy cow... The former Gamecock went off. What an insane, incredible, performance.

Did Couisnard just score the most points by a Duck in Duck NCAA tourney history? I'm not positive about that, but if he didn't, he was darn close.

The floor is definitely innovative. But the bummer is that, while creative, it looks like crapola on TV. In person, it's not quite as bad. But I feel like we're kind of the basketball equivalent of Boise State's vomit blue Smurf-Turf.

Facts and data can just be so darn inconvenient sometimes.

Yep... that thing, while creative, has gotta go.

They went from hitting 12% of their 3s against the Buffs, to hitting 44% today. Nice. And they were smokin hot from the 2 at 60%.

I think they heard your call from over the interwebs... Only 1 TO in the second half.

What a bummer. With 11:55 to go in the game, Dante has missed a shot. He's only 6/7 so far. Dude really needs to regroup and step it up. C'mon Ducks... Finish this game strong!!

Plus three times zones. If I was a betting man, I'd have to go with SC. However, I had Oregon getting bounced in the first round of the PAC 12 championship too. Regardless, GO DUCKS!

The defense absolutely won the game against Colorado, forcing 13 TO's and picking up 9 Steals. They just smothered the Buffs. And to have won by 7 while only shooting 12% from the 3, further underscores the exceptional defensive output.

I'm going out on a limb and predicting that the Ducks will shoot better from the 3 than the 12% they hit last night.

No doubt that teams will now double, and even perhaps triple team, Dante. Especially after Oregon shot a horrendous 12% from the 3, opponents will likely feel some freedom to give our shooters some room and focus on defending Dante. So, hopefully, our shooters will be feeling it and nail some early shots from downtown.

3 games against the Huskies in a span of about 12 months... losing each by 3. I'll be honest, that sting is going to linger for a while.

I was having flashbacks to Oregon's great Greg Ballard. And yes, that play near the end where Dante came way out to swat the daylights out of that attempted Buff 3, chase it down to keep it from going out of bounds, while tossing it to a teammate, seriously displayed his athletic talent & high b-ball IQ. It's my favorite play of the game.

Dante's performance tonight truly reminded me of shades of Bill Walton in his playing days at UCLA -- with the exception of Bill's freaky-amazing passing ability. Tonight, Dante's performance was a thing of beauty. Plus, his story of perseverance is incredible & inspirational.

After last night, I wonder if Arizona has shades of Princeton 2023 dancing around in there heads.

Buffs shot 33% from the 3. We shot 12%. They hit 91% of their FT's (21-23). We hit 71%. Rebounds were fairly close... Buffs 35 - Ducks 31. Looking at those stats, I was trying to figure out how we won this game... and it was all Defense (and of course, Dante). We destroyed them on steals 10 to 1, and TO's 13 to 3. Plus, Dante was a beast on altered shots. I doubt there are many teams that are going to want to face us in the first round.

Actually, he was better than magnificent. He was absolutely perfect. 12-12 & 1-1. Plus, there was only one block in the entire game... and, of course, that was Dante coming to the 3 point line at the end of game to slap that three-point attempt... only followed by him saving it from going out of bounds, while passing it to his teammate to seal the game.

Good for Chip. Seems like a very good move for him.

The Land of Mario... Where great QBs go to die.

Love Bill, but I just can hardly listen to the guy anymore. I recently watched The King's Speech and as I listened to Bill a bit last night, I was reminded that he once has a pretty severe speech impediment. This was naturally inflamed when Bill had to speak in public. He hated the cameras in college because of it. But the truly amazing part is that he chose to work his as off to overcome it. It's really quite remarkable and impressive. I can only imagine the amount of hope he has given, and gives, to those who struggle with this challenge. And now, the "Conference of Champions" Dude can't even begin to shut his yapper .