Oregon
No. 6 Arizona Basketball faces Oregon in Pac-12 Semifinal's
LAS VEGAS, NV – After getting its revenge against USC, No. 6 Arizona Basketball (25-7, 15-5) takes on Oregon (21-11, 12-8) in the Pac-12 Conference Semifinals.
Win and advance! That is the mantra come March, and for No. 6 Arizona Basketball, that is certainly the case as the Wildcats quickly disbanded the Trojans in a rematch game on Thursday afternoon to advance in the last-ever Pac-12 Conference Tournament.
Returning to action inside the Arizona-friendly T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Wildcats return to action for the Semifinal round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament.
Coming in, they will face a talented Oregon team once again, and while the Wildcats had seemingly no problems in running the Ducks out of the gym a couple of weeks ago, this is a bit of a must-win game against Arizona if they hope to make the NCAA Tournament. It is also a great opportunity for Oregon to improve its postseason resume.
The Ducks have the talent and coaching to win, and if Arizona is to get a win here and advance, it is going to take another focused and concerted effort. Hopefully, we will see our Wildcats come out ready to go in this one!
Team: Oregon Ducks
Conference: Pac-12 Conference
Current Record: 21–11 (12–8)
Head Coach: Dana Altman. Now in his 35th season as a head coach (14th with Oregon), Coach Altman has put together a fantastic career and is currently 342–151 (167–91) with the Ducks with seven NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet 16 Finishes, two Elite Eight appearances, and a Final Four run in 2016-17.
Before arriving in Eugene, Dana was head coach at Marshall (1989-90), Kansas State (1990-94), and Creighton (1994-2010). Overall, he is 752–394 as a head coach with several postseason tournament bids.
2022-23 Record: Finishing the 2022-23 season with a 21–15 (12–8) record, the Ducks ended their year finishing in 4th in the Pac-12 and just narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament. Oregon would go to the NIT where they were eliminated by Wisconsin in the quarterfinals.
Arizona Basketball vs Oregon Information and Details:
Date: Friday, March 15, 2024
Time: 5:00 P.M.
Television: Pac-12 Network
Location: T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, NV (18,000)
Spread: -11.0 Arizona. (Don’t forget to sign up with Caesars Sportsbook or DraftKings to enhance your overall betting experience)
Overall Series Record: 55-36 Arizona. Overall, this is a series that the Wildcats lead in; however, Oregon has done well as of late as the Ducks have won 11 of the last 17 matchups.
Last Meeting: Meeting in Tucson just a couple of weeks ago, then No. 6 Arizona came away with the dominant win, beating the visiting Ducks by a 103-83 final on Senior Day!
Arizona looked sharp on Thursday afternoon, and despite a bit of a sluggish start in the first half, the Wildcats used a stifling defensive effort en route to the 21-point win over the Trojans!
However, that is all in the past and the focus is now on Oregon and the Semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament!
Coming in, the Wildcats will need another sharp defensive effort as the Ducks are a talented offensive group, averaging 75.8 points per game and shooting a respectable 45.9 percent from the field, including 34.7 percent from three.
Largely led by senior guard Jermaine Couisnard, the Indiana native is averaging 15.5 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. Couisnard scored a season-high 39 points against the Wildcats the last time these two teams met.
Additionally, Oregon big man N’Faly Dante has posed to be quite a problem for the Cats this year, averaging 15.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
Beyond them, highly-touted freshman Jackson Shelstad has been impressive, averaging 12.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game, meanwhile, Nathan Bittle and former Arizona recruiting target, Kwame Evans Jr. have been solid, complimentary pieces as well.
Overall, this team has a lot of talent and athleticism, and defensively Arizona will need another strong defensive showing if they hope to slow this Oregon offense down.
Hopefully, the Wildcats will be ready to go in this one, as we should be in store for a competitive game! Tip-off for Friday’s game against the Ducks is set for 5:00 P.M. Tucson time, and the game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network.
No. 6 Arizona Basketball throttles Trojans to advance. No. 6 Arizona Basketball throttles Trojans to advance. dark. Next
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The Oregon Ducks are set for one of the biggest timelines of their recruiting cycle, as many top targets are nearing commitments. This time around, the Ducks have a ton of top targets still remaining on their board compared to past seasons, as the Ducks have eight total commitments at this time.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff still need to land a safety commitment, but three-star safety Elijah Butler out of Maryland recently included the Ducks in his final six schools.
Oregon Target Elijah Butler Makes Exciting Recruiting Announcement
Butler announced his top six schools ahead of a crucial part of his recruitment, according to a graphic by Leyton Roberts. The Ducks made the cut alongside the Maryland Terrapins, Virginia Tech Hokies, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The talented prospect would be a great addition for any of these teams, as they could all use a safety prospect at this point in the recruiting timeline.
Butler is from the state of Maryland, which makes the Terrapins one to watch.
It is also worth noting that he has been labeled as one of the best players in the state of Maryland, as he currently ranks as the state’s No. 9 prospect, according to Rivals. This is important as the Terrapins have always made solid attempts to land their in-state stars, including last season when they landed one of the better players in the state’s history, Zion Elee.
As of now, the prospect hasn’t been predicted to land with any of these schools, which means it is likely still a tight race entering the official visit schedule. He has yet to schedule an official visit with all of the schools he has listed in his top six, as he is still missing three key official visits. Butler has scheduled official visits with Alabama, Auburn, and Florida, according to 247Sports. This means he still needs to set one with Oregon, Virginia Tech, and Maryland if he wants to take one to each school.
If the Ducks are able to get Butler on a visit, then they would likely be in a more favorable position to land his commitment, as it currently. seems they are one of the trailing teams from this list. It seems highly unlikely that the Ducks will gain his commitment unless they get him on an official visit, which is still possible at this point, as plenty of top prospects across the nation are still scheduling their official visits.
As of now, the Ducks have 27 prospects set to take an official visit, according to 247Sports. Among all of the prospects who have scheduled a visit thus far, only one of the players is listed as a safety. That player is a three-star target, Junior Tu’upo. This leads one to believe that the Ducks could try to get Butler on a visit, or at a minimum, pitch their program to the prospect from St Frances Academy.
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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.”
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