Tourney Bound! Women Basketball Earns NCAA Tournament Bid

Tourney Bound! Ducks Earn NCAA Tournament Bid

EUGENE, Ore. –  For the second straight season and the seventh time in the last nine tournaments, the Oregon women’s basketball team is NCAA Tournament bound.

Oregon earned its 19^th NCAA Tournament bid in school history, and seventh in the last nine tournaments under head coach Kelly Graves, as it received a No. 8 seed in the Fort Worth 3 Region. The Ducks will meet ninth-seeded Virginia Tech on Friday, March 20 at Texas’ Moody Center in Austin, Texas, the NCAA Selection Committee announced on ESPN.

“It never gets old hearing your name,” said Graves. “If you’ve never experienced it, it’s pretty special. It really is. They treat you how you should be treated as a collegiate student-athlete.”

In last season’s NCAA Tournament, the 10^th-seeded Ducks advanced to the second round after upsetting No. 7-seed Vanderbilt before falling to host and two-seed Duke. UO was one of just two double-digit seeds to make it out of the Round of 64 in last year’s postseason.

“I’ve coached in a lot of these tournaments, it’s the matchup. It’s not the name or the seeding, or any of that,” Graves added. “Your stars have to perform, but I’ve been in enough of these to know that it’s that X-factor, you never know where you might get it from. But I like our chances.”

“We’re super excited, just to hear our name, it’s a special moment,” said junior Sofia Bell. “So it was something we were looking forward to as a team and we’re excited.”

“It’s great to be able to be here, be able to play in March Madness,” said senior Mia Jacobs, who will be making her first NCAA Tournament appearance. “It’s something that a lot of people talk about, but not a lot of people get to experience. So, I am excited that I get to be one of those people.”

Oregon finished the regular season 22-12 and 8-10 in Big Ten play, reaching the quarterfinals at last week’s Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis. The Ducks boast a NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rating of 24 while picking up six total Quad 1 and 2 victories.

Playing in the nation’s second-toughest conference according to NET rankings, UO faced 10 ranked opponents during the regular season and earned victories over then-No. 21 USC and two wins over a ranked Maryland team (Nos. 16 and 14). The Ducks played 11 different teams that are in this year’s field of 68 – picking up five wins against those squads.

In 12 seasons at Oregon, Graves has guided the Ducks to seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Sweet Sixteen berths, two Elite Eights and one Final Four. The Ducks are 13-6 in the NCAA Tournament under Graves.

This marks the first time Oregon has received an eight seed in the NCAA Tournament, while the Ducks and Hokies have met just once previously. UO defeated Virginia Tech 73-53 back on Nov. 27, 1999, in Eugene.

Graves has guided the Ducks to at least one NCAA Tournament win in five of his previous six appearances in his UO tenure. Graves has led Oregon to 13 of its 18 all-time NCAA Tournament victories and will make his 15^th career appearance in the postseason.

OREGON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Seventh tournament bid in last nine tournaments

• Second consecutive tournament bid (reached second round last season)

• 19^th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance

• Seventh NCAA Tournament bid under Graves

• Won at least one game in six of the last seven tournament appearances

• Reached one Final Four, three Elite Eights and four Sweet Sixteens under Graves

• Ducks are 13-6 in the NCAA Tournament in Graves’ tenure

• First time being a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament

• 18-18 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament

• Graves earns his 15^th career NCAA Tournament bid