In a run that was improbable to predict a month ago, No. 12 seeded Oregon men's basketball carries one of the nation's longest winning streaks at 10-games into the Sweet Sixteen of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The Ducks sit as the only remaining double-digit seed in the tournament following two double-digit victories down in San Jose, collecting wins against No. 5 Wisconsin in the first round and No. 13 UC-Irvine in the second. Junior point guard Payton Pritchard continued his impressive stretch, leading the Ducks with 18.5 points per game in the tournament's opening rounds. Freshman Louis King stepped up in his first postseason action, averaging 16.5 points so far, while Kenny Wooten and Paul White also enter the second weekend averaging double figures. Wooten, who's combination of emphatic dunks and blocks took the tournament by storm in San Jose, is also averaging seven rebounds per game along with 5.5 blocks. Combining with the conistency in its starting lineup has been senior graduate transfer Ehab Amin, who added 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals off the bench in Sunday night's second round win.
Oregon's run marks its second as a 12-seed under head coach Dana Altman, who despite entering as the de-facto underdog in what remains of the South Region, is also the only coach in Louisville with a prior Final Four appearance. On Thursday, the Ducks face the region's No. 1 seed in Virginia, which fought off a slow start in its first round matchup with Gardner-Webb and then stifled No. 9 Oklahoma to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The winner between the Cavaliers and Ducks faces the winner of the 2-3 seed matchup of Tennessee and Purdue.
Before Oregon departs for Louisville with its sights on the program's third Final Four appearance and second in the last three years, coach Altman and the Ducks spoke with media on Tuesday morning. Listen below to the full interviews.
Head Coach Dana Altman
Guard Payton Pritchard
Forward Paul White
Guard Ehab Amin
-Alex Castle