Ducks Face UC-Irvine in Round-Two Battle of Underdogs

The Oregon Ducks Men’s Basketball Team is playing its best basketball right when it matters most.

The Ducks upset (5) Wisconsin 72-54 on Friday to win their 10th consecutive game and advance to the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. A lot of folks saw a win for the Ducks in their opening game in the Tournament, but they likely didn’t anticipate Oregon’s next opponent. That’s because (13) UC-Irvine stunned (4) Kansas State 70-64 to earn their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Now they’ll have to face an Oregon team that is firing on all cylinders.

But UC-Irvine is doing some nice things as well. The Anteaters have one of the deepest benches and most experienced rosters in the sport. That was critical on Friday, and so was their top-rated 2-point defense. Kansas State was just 14 of 32 from 2-point range (43.8 percent) and even worse from behind the arc (29.3 percent).

The Ducks are on fire. The Anteaters have the makings of a Cinderella story. Something’s got to give.

We’ll find out what on Sunday.