NCAA Tournament: Storylines For Every Sweet 16 Team

Oregon Ducks: Are They The Latest High-Seed Flame Out?

Of all the top seeds in the NCAA tournament, it’s Oregon that seems to have the least amount of respect from outsiders. Part of that stems from the Pac-12 not living up to the regular season success and their gaming the RPI to get higher seeds and more teams into the tournament.

But the Ducks are the only team left from the Pac-12. They’re also the only team that will have to go through an all-chalk Sweet 16 field in the West Region. With fourth seed Duke, third seed Texas A&M and second seed Oklahoma left, the Ducks have the more difficult path to get to the Final Four.

With this, it would be understandable for Oregon to lose in the next two rounds. Generally, their team is decently inexperienced, being led by freshman Tyler Dorsey and sophomores Dillon Brooks, Casey Benson and Jordan Bell make up four of their top seven players in terms of scoring.

Oregon has not lost since Feb. 13, which could either mean they’re firing on all cylinders or they’re due for a loss sometime in the near future, depending upon how you look at it. But let’s look at the last few “weakest” No. 1 seeds have faired recently.

2015 – Villanova; lost in second round
2014 – Wichita State; lost in second round
2013 – Gonzaga; lost in second round
2012 – Michigan State; lost in Sweet 16

Of course, how you view a “weak” team is subjective, but these were the ones generally regarded as the weak No. 1 seed and Oregon’s in the same boat.

Is Oregon the latest No. 1 seed to have a premature flameout? Or can they silence the doubters and make history?

Next: New Devils, Same Result?