NCAA Previews: Recognize the Oregon Ducks

Conference: Pac-10
Record: 18-13, 9-10 Pac-10
RPI: 58
How They Got In: At-Large Bid
Seed/Bracket: #9 in the South

Mascot: Ducks. Despite wearing a handkerchief around his neck, this mascot is known to get in sideline fights and wear his costume out to bars. It's safe to say that no mascot has ever been this cool while looking this silly.

Big Wins: Stanford, at Kansas State, Arizona (home/away), Arizona State

Notable Losses: at Nebraska, at Oakland, at Washington

Player You Should Know: The Ducks have a number of talented guards, but Maarty Leunen poses the most difficult matchup for opponents. Leunen is a face-up forward who shoots a great percentage from outside, so he pulls out bigger defenders and opens up driving lanes for the Oregon guards.

Outlook: Let me be blunt: I don't think Oregon deserved to get in ahead of Arizona State. The Sun Devils were a much more competitive team overall in the Pac-10 and actually beat the truly terrible teams on their non-conference schedule. The Ducks, on the other hand, struggled away from Eugene the whole season and regularly blow games in crunch time. Oregon can be very tough to beat when their athletic guards hit their shots, but that hasn't been common this year. Look for an early exit.