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NCAA Tournament first-round predictions: Will Arizona, Oregon survive upset bids?

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NCAA Tournament first-round predictions: Will Arizona, Oregon survive upset bids?


The East Region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament is loaded with offensive talent.

From No. 1 seed Duke to No. 13 seed Akron, the region features a host of teams who like to play fast and can put up points in bunches.

At least three of those teams — Arizona, Oregon and BYU — face tough first-round matchups. And No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s — one team that doesn’t play fast — will have its hands full with No. 10 Vanderbilt.

East Region first-round predictions: Seattle

The first-round matchups in the East are spread over four regional “pods” — Raleigh, North Carolina; Cleveland; Denver; and Seattle.

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The Seattle pod features No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron and No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty. Akron and Liberty are both flying across the country; Arizona has a short flight from Tucson; and Oregon could drive to Seattle from Eugene.

Akron doesn’t have an impressive resume — 0-1 in Quad 1 games — but the Zips present myriad issues with their balance and shooting ability. They’ve made 369 3-pointers this season and they feature seven players who have made at least 30 triples.

Compare that with Arizona, who has made 232 3-pointers and has only three players who have drained 30 more from downtown. But the Wildcats are built around toughness and paint points, and their size should ultimately be too difficult for Akron to handle. Arizona is favored by 13.5 points, but it will be closer than that.

Prediction: No. 4 Arizona 85, No. 13 Akron 77

Oregon landed in the dreaded 5-12 matchup, which has produced more upsets than any other seed since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985 — a whopping 55 upsets. And there were two last season: No. 12 Grand Canyon beat No. 5 Saint Mary’s and No. 12 James Madison stunned No. 5 Wisconsin.

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The difference between the 12-5 and 13-6 matchup is staggering: Only 33 No. 13 seeds have upset No. 4 seeds since 1985.

Oregon has won eight of its last nine, but only one of those wins was against an NCAA Tournament team (Wisconsin). The Ducks finished No. 29 in the NCAA NET Ranking and went 8-7 in Quad 1 games, but most of those wins came over two months ago.

Liberty finished No. 60 in the NET and doesn’t have a single Quad 1 win, but the Flames have remarkable balance — and one of the best shooters in the country in senior guard Taelon Porter, who is averaging 13.9 points and shooting 46% from downtown.

Liberty has four players who score in double figures and seven who average at least 8.8 points per game. They also have length and tons of experience. Fifth-year senior guard Kaden Metheny (13.5 ppg) has been on a heater his last three games, shooting 16-of-31 from downtown to lead Liberty to the CUSA Tournament championship.

Oregon’s 7-foot sophomore Nate Bittle will be a problem for Liberty, but the Flames have enough big bodies to throw at him, and if they get hot from downtown, watch out. There’s a reason Oregon is only favored by 6.5 points. Down goes another No. 5 seed.

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Prediction: No. 12 Liberty 73, No. 5 Oregon 68

East Region first-round predictions: Raleigh

Baylor’s zone will give Mississippi State problems, and freshman VJ Edgecombe is getting better and better. The Bears are built for March.

Prediction: No. 9 Baylor 75, No. 8 Mississippi State 69

With our without Cooper Flagg, Duke will roll to victory over the play-in winner between American and Mount St. Mary’s. We’re predicting American will win, and move on to face Duke.

Prediction: No. 1 Duke 81, No. 16 American 57

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East Region first-round predictions: Cleveland

Robert Morris (26-8) is really good, but Alabama (25-8) is on a different level. The Crimson Tide should win by 20.

Prediction: No. 2 Alabama 89, No. 15 Robert Morris 69

After being upset by Grand Canyon in the first round last season, Saint Mary’s has another tough draw in 2025. The Gaels have to travel across the country to face Vanderbilt, a team that has wins over Tennessee, Kentucky and Texas A&M.

The Commodores have played a much tougher schedule than Saint Mary’s, and that will make the difference in this one.

Prediction: No. 10 Vanderbilt 71, No. 7 Saint Mary’s 67

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East Region first-round predictions: Denver

No. 3 Wisconsin shouldn’t have much trouble with No. 14 Montana. The Badgers are favored by 14.5 points, but they’ll win by more than 20.

Prediction: No. 3 Wisconsin 78, No. 14 Montana 56

In the final first-round game in the East Region, BYU has to face a VCU team that is much better than its No. 11 seed. The Rams finished No. 31 in NET — just six spots behind BYU.

BYU has been playing incredible basketball the past five weeks, but Houston smothered them in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals and VCU will do the same on Thursday.

Prediction: No. 11 VCU 77, No. 6 BYU 72

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NCAA Tournament East Region

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OPB’s First Look: Town hall follows power outages

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OPB’s First Look: Town hall follows power outages


OPB’s First Look: Town hall follows power outages – OPB

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Public asked to help find missing 2-year-old Armani Andrews in Portland

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Public asked to help find missing 2-year-old Armani Andrews in Portland


Oregon officials asked the public to help find a two-year-old boy who went missing from Portland last Wednesday, June 17.

The Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division, is asking the public to help find Armani Andrews and call 911 or local law enforcement if they believe they saw him.

Armani is believed to be in danger and is suspected to be in Portland, around any of the following areas: Rose Haven, Multnomah County Central Library, or Southeast Portland around 82nd-103rd.

Armani is a two-year-old Black/mixed race baby. He is about 24 inches tall, he has brown hair, brown eyes, and his weight is unknown.

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If contacting Portland Police Bureau about Armani, reference the case number: #PP185430

The report number for Armani with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Report is: 2093182

ODHS said in a statement when a child is missing, they may be in significant danger and the department “may need to locate them to assess and support their safety.”

KATU News reached out to ODHS to clarify whether there is a custody aspect to the missing child’s case. The department said they are unable to provide that information.

Armani Andrews with Mother Rashonda Andrews/ODHS photos

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You can report suspected child abuse to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline by calling 1-855-503-SAFE (7233). The toll-free number allows anyone to report abuse of any child or adult to the Oregon Department of Human Services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and every day of the year.

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KATU News included photographs of Armani to help the public identify and find him.



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The Cost of the Crackdown: How Trump’s immigration enforcement affects Oregon

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The Cost of the Crackdown: How Trump’s immigration enforcement affects Oregon


President Donald Trump campaigned on carrying out what he called the largest deportation operation in American history.

After taking office, his administration quickly ramped up immigration enforcement. Border czar Tom Homan also pledged to focus on so-called sanctuary cities, including Portland. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, more than 675,000 people were deported in 2025, while the agency says more than 2 million people “self-deported.”

READ ALSO | Supreme Court hands Trump immigration wins, but birthright citizenship might be different

In Oregon, state data shows state and local agencies experienced a 265% increase in immigration-related requests from federal authorities last year.

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So what does that mean for Oregon’s economy?

The state’s chief economist says the effects are beginning to emerge.

Carl Riccadonna, Oregon’s state economist, said immigration enforcement actions are influencing consumer spending and activity across several key industries, though the state cannot yet quantify the overall impact.

“What we’re seeing in terms of immigration action is playing out in either consumption patterns, which we’ve seen in some communities, or in industrial or sectoral activity,” Riccadonna said. “This does then have implications for how we are reading the overall macroeconomy and putting together that revenue forecast.”

Portland police officers walk outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

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Riccadonna said the effects extend beyond agriculture, an industry that has historically relied on immigrant labor.

“We have certainly, in sector-by-sector analysis, we’re hearing evidence of impacts from immigration in consumption numbers, so retail, groceries, those sorts of things,” Riccadonna said. “There are also significant impacts in the retail sector and leisure and hospitality, restaurants and construction, important legacy industries of Oregon like timber, forestry … and manufacturing has a very large footprint as well.”

While the state is seeing those trends, Riccadonna said economists cannot yet calculate exactly how much immigration enforcement has affected Oregon’s economy.

“We haven’t done an exercise to say, well, this is what the forecast would have been otherwise. We don’t produce counterfactuals … but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence from the cherry harvest this past summer and stresses elsewhere throughout those specific sectors,” he said.

National data offers additional context.

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According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the recent immigration surge — which the report says mostly comprises immigrants who were not lawful permanent residents, were not eligible to apply for lawful permanent residency based on their current status, and were not admitted on a temporary basis under the Immigration and Nationality Act — generated approximately $10 billion in state and local tax revenue in 2023. During that same period, governments spent nearly $19 billion on services such as schools, shelters and border security.

A damaged car is seen as law enforcement officials work the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A damaged car is seen as law enforcement officials work the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

The Congressional Budget Office also projects the immigration surge that began in 2023 will increase the U.S. labor force by approximately 5.8 million people by 2034 and boost the nation’s economic output by nearly $9 trillion over the next decade.

Riccadonna said Oregon expects to gain a clearer picture of the economic effects as more tax and revenue data becomes available.

This story is part of KATU’s “The Cost of the Crackdown” special, which examines how increased immigration enforcement is affecting Oregon, from businesses and workers to the state’s broader economy.

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