2014 NCAA tournament preview: Oregon

Season summary: This season was all about momentum for Oregon. The Ducks began the season winning 13 straight games, their best record since opening the 2006-07 with the same record—but then lost eight of their first 11 contests in the Pac-12 Conference, including a five-game losing streak after reaching 13-0. But a commanding 93-83 victory against Oregon State Feb. 16 ignited an eight-game win streak to close out the Ducks’ season until they were blown out by eventual Pac-12 tournament champions UCLA in the tournament’s semifinals. A 82-63 score in favor of the Bruins may curb Oregon’s momentum heading into the Big Dance—it’ll be up to guard Joseph Young to galvanize the Ducks’ offense, which led the Pac-12 in scoring. The redshirt junior, who leads Oregon in points per game (18.6), free-throw percentage (.884) and minutes per game (31.2), is joined on offense by the Pac-12’s top 3-point specialist, Jason Calliste, with a conference-best 50.8 3-point percentage. On the defensive end, redshirt senior Mike Moser leads the Ducks in rebounding with an average of 8.0 each game, while also joining Young and Calliste as the only Oregon players to average double-digit scoring.

How they make a run: The Ducks quickly move past their loss to UCLA and win the way they’ve won all season long—get hot and hammer out one last six-game win streak.