Oregon
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
More Arizona & Big 12 Analysis
BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
Darius Johnson Releases His Top Four Schools
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
More About Darius Johnson
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
What If He Committed to Oregon Today?
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
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