Don’t Start to Party Like it’s 1939 too Fast, North Carolina Awaits
The last time the Oregon Ducks were in the Final Four, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President, the cost of a gallon of gas was ten cents, the Wizard of Oz was months away from being in theaters and Lou Gehrig was a few months away from being the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. The Ducks no longer have to look back 78 years in the history books to find their last Final Four appearance—they’ve danced their way to the 2017 Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona.
In Phoenix with the Ducks will be Gonzaga, North Carolina and South Carolina. Gonzaga ended Xavier’s Cinderella run last weekend, while South Carolina handled Florida and North Carolina delivered an all-time classic against Kentucky.
Oregon’s semifinal opponent is North Carolina. In past years, the later stages of the tournament have been dominated by five-star freshman talent, with teams like Kentucky and Duke consistently making deep runs in March. The Tar Heels are much different.
They’re led by an experienced group. Combined, the North Carolina roster has 172 NCAA tournament games under their belt. Oregon only has a combined 65. Head coach Roy Williams is appearing in his 9th Final Four. Oregon coach Dana Altman has never been this deep in the tournament. UNC starts three juniors (Theo Pinson, Joel Berry II and Justin Jackson) and two seniors (Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks), and have three more upperclassmen at their disposal on the bench. And to make matters worse for Oregon, North Carolina was one Kris Jenkins heave away from winning the title just last year.
“I think that’s an advantage. They’ve been there, done that. They’re players have been there, done that. They do have an advantage,” says Oregon head coach Dana Altman.
“The players, after the season was over last year, we talked to them.” says Williams. “They used it as a little motivational tool to work really hard in the offseason.”
The Ducks, on the other hand, haven’t played on this stage before. Last season, Oregon was blown out by Buddy Hield led Oklahoma in the Elite Eight. Since the beginning of the season, Oregon players have said that the loss to the Sooners put a fire in them to reach the Final Four this year.
The Ducks have set program record across the board this season, in wins in a season, total points, blocked shots, and countless others. When Chris Boucher went down with a torn ACL during the Pac-12 Tournament a month ago, many rode off the Ducks. Jordan Bell, Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey have made up for Boucher’s play during his absence. The three have put up a combined 55.6 points per game since Boucher’s injury, led by Dorsey’s 24.5 points per game, the highest in the NCAA tournament. In Oregon’s last game against Kansas, Bell shined with a career high eight blocks, and was named Most Outstanding Player in the Midwest Region.
“Jordan always brings attention. He’s always flying around. Amazingly enough, he’s picked it up even more. Somebody made the comparison, it’s him and Chris (Boucher) out there. That game (against Kansas) might have been all around the best game I’ve ever seen him play. His energy level, he was all over the place,” says junior guard Casey Benson.
While Oregon has seemingly dealt with their fair share of injuries, North Carolina is just beginning to deal with theirs. In their Elite Eight victory over Kentucky, Joel Berry II left the game in the first half with an ankle injury. He did return later in the game, but there are still concerns about his ankles, as he has hurt both this year and is not currently playing at one hundred percent.
“I’m scared to death right now because I just don’t know,” Roy Williams says when asked about the current state of Berry II’s ankles.
While Berry II will likely play through the pain, the Tar Heels’ strategy, as it has been all season long, will be to attack the paint against the Ducks. Without Boucher, Bell is left as the only rim protector for the Ducks, something Williams clearly recognizes.
“It’s extremely important to get (Oregon) in foul trouble, and the easiest way to get the big guys in foul trouble is to go inside,” says Williams.
Despite all of that, Altman is still confident in his team’s ability to fight through adversity. Citing the team’s victory over Kansas in hostile territory, Altman says that the Ducks should not be discounted even if North Carolina is the blue blood and the Ducks are the new blood.
“For us to go into Kansas City and play Kansas…there wasn’t anyone picking us there.”
When Oregon arrived in Phoenix on Tuesday, they brought along their 1939 championship trophy, as inspiration for what lies ahead. But, for Altman, the road doesn’t end against North Carolina.
“We still got two games to go, I hope. I told our guys I want you to be happy about making it, but that’s not the end result, that’s not what our goal is. It wasn’t to make it, it was to win. We still got a ways to go,” he says.
Win or lose, the Ducks will return to Eugene with a trophy. The team just hopes it isn’t the one they brought with them. Tip-off is at 5:49 pm on Saturday.
Follow Armen Araradian on Twitter @armen_araradian
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