“They be sleeping on us.”

Those were the words Jordan Bell said to a reporter on national television right after No. 3 seeded Oregon upset No. 1 Kansas 74-60, booking the Ducks’ first trip to the Final Four in 78 years.

Bell was iconic in Oregon’s biggest victory since 1939 when the “Webfoots” won the national championship in the first ever Final Four. He finished the game with a near triple-double — 11 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high eight blocks.

Bell began the game with a decisive block of Kansas’ Josh Jackson, and never stopped protecting the paint from there. His dominance protecting the rim was proven when Deontae Graham drove the lane and saw Bell waiting for him. Graham pulled up from three-feet and promptly air-balled the shot as Bell grabbed the rebound and started the fast break for the Ducks.

Tyler Dorsey — Oregon’s best player since the Pac-12 Tournament — finished the game with 27 points, his seventh game in a row of scoring at least 20.

Bell was named the Midwest region’s MVP while Dorsey and Dillon Brooks were named to the all-Midwest Region team.

The biggest sequence of the game featured Bell and Dorsey doing what they do best. Kansas was in the midst of a 9-2 run and had cut the Ducks’ double-digit lead to 66-60 with 2:20 to play. With the shot clock winding down and Oregon in a slump offensively, Dorsey heaved a shot at that rim to beat the shot clock.

As the ball bounced off the backboard and rim, Bell grabbed the offensive rebound — his seventh of the game — and found Dorsey. This time, Dorsey hit a pull-up 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the game on ice.

More important than Dorsey’s scoring and Bell’s rebounding was Oregon’s approach on the defensive side of the ball. Kansas entered the game averaging 96 points in the first three tournament games. The Ducks held the Jayhawks to 21-of-60 shooting (35 percent) and more importantly, 5-for-25 (20 percent) from beyond the arc.

With Bell protecting the paint, it left Oregon’s perimeter players free to gamble in passing lanes and overpressure there Jayhawks, forcing them into multiple bad shots and possessions. Although Kansas committed just eight turnovers, the Jayhawks rarely had a shot where it wasn’t contested.

The game began as a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to take full control. Jackson — a potential top-3 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft — picked up two early fouls and was forced to the bench early on.

As Oregon began to pull away in the first half, Kansas went on a mini run to cut the Ducks’ lead to 36-33 with 1:29 to play in the half, thus salvaging a rough first 20 minutes for the Jayhawks. Not to be denied, Oregon went on an 8-0 run to end the half, including back-to-back three’s by Dorsey for the 44-33 lead at the break.

The second half saw the Ducks stave off any and all of Kansas’ runs.

The Ducks took their largest lead of the game, 55-37, after a Dillon Brooks 3-pointer five minutes into the second half. As Kansas tried to fight its way back into the game, it was either a Dorsey or Brooks 3-pointer, a Dylan Ennis layup or a Bell block and rebound that kept the Jayhawks at bay and Oregon in the lead.

Oregon will face off with the winner of Sunday’s North Carolina-Kentucky game on Saturday, April 1 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka

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Once again, Mr. March came through for Oregon.

Tyler Dorsey — dubbed “Mr. March” for his performances in the Pac-12 and NCAA Tournament — hit a layup with 1:09 to help No.3 seed Oregon pull out a 69-68 victory over N0.7 Michigan. Two defensive stops, along with a crucial offensive rebound by Jordan Bell late in the game, helped preserve Oregon’s return to the Elite Eight on Saturday.

Dorsey finished the game with 20 points, including a game-best 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Bell finished with his third double-double in as many tournament games by scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

Tyler Dorsey is the 1st Oregon player to score at least 20 points in first 3 NCAA Tournament games in single season. pic.twitter.com/ayzqyKzAwr

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 24, 2017

Michigan entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the tournament. First, the Wolverines won four games in four days to take the Big-10 Tournament championship. Then, in the NCAA Tournament, they defeated No.10 Oklahoma State and No. 2 Louisville.

The Wolverines shot a combined 46 percent from behind the arc in their first two tourney games — including a 16-for-29 showing in their first round game — before finishing tonight 11-of-31 (35.5 percent) from deep.

Oregon seemed very intent on running the Wolverine’s off the three-point line, daring them drive the ball at the hoop where Bell — the Pac-12 defensive player of the year — was waiting to greet them. The strategy allowed the Ducks to take Michigan out of its rhythm.

The Wolverines went on a 7-1 run midway through the first half to take the four-point lead before Dorsey found his stroke. Dorsey scored 11 of Oregon’s next 17 points, the final of which gave the Ducks a 33-31 lead. An Ennis layup with seven seconds left gave Oregon a 35-33 lead at the break.

The first half was as back-and-forth as you’ll see in a game with neither team taking a lead more than five points.

Oregon did appear to be in control with five minutes left, but Michigan responded. The Wolverines hit back-to-back three-pointers around a Dorsey miss to take a 61-60 lead with four minutes to play.

The game went back-and-forth from there as Dorsey responded with a three-pointer on Oregon’s next possession. Zak Irvin (19 points) hit a three-pointer to keep the Wolverine’s ahead.

With two minutes left, Derrick Walton Jr. hit a layup to give Michigan a 68-65 lead, prompting an Oregon timeout.

Oregon cut the deficit to a point when Bell grabbed an offensive rebound and scored after Ennis missed a free throw. The Ducks were able to force a miss by Walton before Dorsey’s game-winning layup.

Ennis asked for the final assignment on defense after missing two FTs: "I swear, he would've made that shot, I would've quit basketball."

— Rob Moseley (@GoDucksMoseley) March 24, 2017

Dillon Brooks finished with 12 points, five assists and four rebounds for the Ducks while Ennis added 10 points.

Oregon returns to action Saturday when it faces the winner of Kansas-Purdue in the Elite Eight.

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As far as Saturdays go, it couldn’t have gone much worse for the Oregon men’s basketball team.

Earlier in the day, the Ducks learned that forward Chris Boucher will miss the remainder of the season. Boucher suffered a torn ACL in the first half of Oregon’s Pac-12 Tournament semifinal game against Cal but played 12 minutes in the second half before being diagnosed with the news.

The Ducks still had to regroup for their biggest game of the year to date: a rematch with regular season co-champion Arizona. After falling behind as many as 14 points in the second half, the Ducks’ furious rally came up short in an 83-80 Arizona win.

Late Saturday, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi projected the loss will put the Ducks to the Midwest region of the NCAA Tournament bracket. The bracket is released on Sunday, beginning at 2:30 p.m.

In the first half, Dillon Brooks kept the Ducks within striking distance. The Pac-12 player of the year had 17 first-half points. His teammates combined for 12 points before intermission.

The second half was the Tyler Dorsey show. Dorsey — who scored just two points in the first half — kept Oregon alive in the second half, scoring 21 points.

“In the second half I felt that we got the flow of our offense going. I think we scored enough,” Dorsey told reporters after the game. “It came down to defensive stops, and we weren’t getting them. We weren’t buckling down.”

Brooks and Dorsey, for their play in the three tournament games, were named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament team.

Jordan Bell was Oregon’s only post presence, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds. Dylan Ennis added 12 points while Kavell Bigby-Williams — Boucher’s backup — finished with three points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Arizona’s Allonzo Trier racked up 23 points in the Oregon loss.

“We never expected it to be easy when we walked in here tonight,” Trier said. “Oregon is a really good team, and they weren’t going to lay down and just let us walk away with a win.”

The Wildcats opened the second half on a 14-6 run to extend their lead to 49-35 with 15:23 to play. That’s when Oregon woke up and started to climb back into it.

Oregon cut the deficit to four, 68-64, with 5:25 to play when Bell scored and converted a free throw. Brooks knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:37 to play and made it a one-possession game.

The Wildcats overcame a 1-for-6 showing at the free throw line late for the win.

After the loss, Oregon head coach Dana Altman reflected on how Oregon will move forward without Boucher.

“Chris is a very talented young man, and he’s a big part of our team. I just feel really bad for Chris,”  Altman said. “It was a big blow to our team this morning. We were all kind of down because he’s one of the most popular guys on the team. He’s the one guy that picks everybody up.”

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After being on the road for the first four weeks of the 2017 season, the Oregon softball team returned to Eugene to host the inaugural Oregon Invitational.

The Ducks — the host team — showed no mercy against their first two opponents. Oregon began the tournament with a 16-0 run-ruled victory over Hofstra before defeating Idaho State 9-3 in the nightcap. With the wins, the Ducks stay perfect on the season at 21-0 — extending their school-record winning streak.

“It is so nice to be home, to not have to pack a suitcase, being able to sleep in your own bed, trying to catch up on schoolwork, it feels so great,” Oregon’s Jenna Lilley told reporters after the game. “Most importantly and above all, playing in front of our home crowd — we haven’t seen crowds like this at all, and our fans are the best. That’s definitely really special.”

Game 1: OREGON 16 — Hofstra 0
The Ducks’ offense exploded with 16 runs on 11 hits.

Eleven different players recorded RBI for the Ducks; Nikki Udria, Miranda Elisha and Megan Kleist all had homeruns. Kleist and Elish, who are both pitchers for the Ducks, recorded their first career homeruns for Oregon. Elish’s blast came when she hit pinch-hit in the fourth inning.

Oregon wasted no time in putting up six runs in the first inning, aided by a Lilley two-run single.

The Ducks scored four runs in the second inning when Udria and Kleist both hit two-run bombs. Oregon added three runs in third and three runs in the fourth to complete the scoring.

Kleist improved to 7-0 on the season with a complete game six-hitter. She struck out six batters and walked one.

Game 2: OREGON 9 — Idaho State 3
Once again, the Ducks struck first in the first inning when Alexis Mack scored on a Danica Mercado fielder’s choice. Oregon added a second run in the second inning when Mia Camuso scored after Sammie Puentes wreaked havoc on the base paths.

Idaho State cut the deficit in half with a solo run in the third before Oregon’s offense exploded in the bottom half the inning. Shannon Rhodes delivered the big hit for the Ducks, a bases-loaded triple, scoring the final three runs on the frame to give Oregon a 9-1 lead.

Maggie Balint, who leads Oregon with a 10-0 record on the mound, threw the first 4.0 innings of the game. She allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts. Elish took over for Balint and threw the final 3.0 innings, giving up two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts.

The Ducks play another doubleheader on Saturday. First Oregon will face Idaho State in a rematch at 3 p.m. and then face Pacific at 5:30 p.m. in the nightcap.

“I think we need to put the ball in play, get hits, and make them try to catch us. That’s what we’ve been doing all year – getting a hit and make people try to catch us,” Oregon head coach Mike White told reporters after the game. “I like our pitching staff; we don’t give up too many runs.”

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One down, two to go.

After defeating rival Oregon State for a share of the Pac-12 regular season championship last week, the Ducks earned the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. Oregon opened tournament play with an 80-57 victory over No. 8-seeded Arizona State in the quarterfinals Thursday in Las Vegas.

“I think we did a good job. We understand that, you know, these rankings don’t mean anything,” Dylan Ennis told reporters after the game. “We have to come out every day and play like it’s our last game. We got defensive stops, and we’re going to have to continue doing that throughout the tournament. But overall I think we did a great job today.”

Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey led the way for the Ducks as the only players to score in double figures. Brooks scored a team-high 22 points while Dorsey added 21. Ennis was everywhere on the court, finishing with seven points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

“He competes, goes after the ball hard, rebounding, scoring,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley said of Brooks. “But he’s a great player and a clutch player. One of the best players in the country.”

Surprisingly after playing in overtime yesterday, Arizona State came out with plenty of energy in the first half; Oregon began sluggish.

Oregon led 34-31 at halftime.

The Ducks wasted no time in the second half to expand their lead, going on a 14-3 run over the first six minutes for a 48-34 advantage. During that run, the Ducks amped up the defense, limiting the Sun Devils to one bucket.

“I thought that our defensive effort to start the second half was pretty good. I thought our defensive energy was pretty good,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “We limited them to one shot, so we were able to get a little burst there. I think they started out 1-for-14 to start the second half and gave us a little separation.”

Arizona State didn’t go away quietly as Torian Graham, who scored a game-high 32 points, had a four-point play with 7:17 left to cut the deficit to eight, 60-52. Oregon responded with an 8-0 run as Brooks and Dorsey each scored four points to clinch the victory for the Ducks.

Oregon outrebounded ASU, 48-29. The Ducks also had 13 offensive rebounds. while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor compared to Arizona State’s 31.1 percent.

The Ducks will play in the semifinals on Friday against either No. 4 Utah or No. 5 Cal at 6 p.m.

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The Oregon softball team has played 19 games in its 2017 season, and the Ducks have 19 wins.

With Sunday’s 8-2 victory over Stephen F. Austin, the Ducks set a program record with 19 consecutive victories. The win came on the final day of the Missouri Invitational, a tournament in which Oregon outscored its five opponents 47-7.

The Ducks scored five runs in the first two innings en-route to the win.

“It’s definitely promising,” Jenna Lilley said in an interview with KWVA. “I think it’s good momentum going into our home opener. … I think it’s really great what we did down here, definitely. I think one of our better weekends of the year.”

Gwen Svekis started the scoring with a two-run blast before Lilley hit an RBI double for three runs. Svekis notched her next two RBIs in the second inning when she singled home Alexis Mack and Danica Mercado.

After a scoreless third inning, the Ducks added a run in the fourth. Mack started the inning off with a double before coming around to score on Nikki Udria’s RBI single.

The Lady Jacks scored their only two runs of the game in the fifth and sixth innings when they mustered two solo home runs.

With a 6-2 lead, the Ducks scored their final two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Udria and Lilley each had RBI singles in the frame to complete the scoring.

For the game, Mack went 4-for-4 to wrap up a standout tournament. The South Carolina transfer went 13-for-17 upping her season average to .509. Lilley is finding her groove as she went 3-for-4 on the day.

Miranda Elish improved her record to 4-0 on with the win in the pitcher’s circle. She threw five innings, giving up one run on two hits with four strikeouts. Megan Kleist threw the final two innings, surrendering one run with two strikeouts.

Oregon can run its winning streak to 20 games when it hosts the inaugural Oregon Invitational starting Friday, March 10. The Ducks will play five games in three days, opening up with a doubleheader against Hofstra and Idaho State on Friday.

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CORVALLIS — The Oregon Ducks are Pac-12 champions, again.

“I’m extremely happy for our players and the work they put in,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “To be able to win it back-to-back. … I think the guys will really realize the significance of it when they bring their kids back to Oregon one day.”

Junior guard Casey Benson added: “It’s extremely special to do it two years in a row. It’s what we play for. … To win championships — it’s a lot of work we put in during the offseason coming to fruition.”

Thanks to the efforts of Dillon Brooks, Benson and Jordan Bell, Oregon surged in the second half to leave Gill Coliseum with an 80-59 victory — and the Pac-12 title shared with Arizona.

“In the second half, we got it going,” Altman said. “I think we hit 11 of our first 12 shots and kind of popped the game open.”

While most stories might end there, the Ducks are hoping Saturday is just the beginning. After winning last year’s Pac-12 regular season and tournament championships, Oregon saw its season end in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Now the Ducks look forward to next week’s Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.

“We are going to take the same approach we always do — swing away and see what happens,” Altman said. “The guys have handled the pressure well all year after being picked to win the league.”

Bell said Saturday’s title was just the first piece of the postseason puzzle.

“We’ve reached one of our goals — which was to win league,” Bell said. “Our next goal is to win the Pac-12 Tournament. And then we will try to go as far as possible in the NCAA Tournament.”

Just a week ago, the Ducks looked unstable on the court. They needed last-minute buckets at Cal and Stanford to keep pace with Arizona. But the Ducks engineered a complete second half, which might be a good omen of things to come.

With Brooks — a national player of the year candidate — leading the way, the Ducks have a variety of ways to win a game. Oregon is the only team in the conference to be ranked in the top-three of offensive and defensive scoring — and second in scoring margin.

“They’re a good team so they’ve got a pretty good chance to make a run,” Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle said. “They defend well. They’ve got shot blockers.

“They’ve got weapons offensively so they should have a good shot.”

In Las Vegas, the Ducks will also play to earn a seed in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region.

The Ducks are battling No. 3 UCLA, No 4 Gonzaga and No. 7 Arizona. Should they land in the West Region, the Ducks’ road to the Final Four becomes easier.

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After earning three close victories via stellar pitching in the Hawaii Bank Invitational, No. 5 Oregon played its most complete game of the tournament on Saturday.

With two great pitching performances supported by an offensive explosion, the Ducks defeated Montana (6-0) and Hawaii (17-0) for an undefeated 5-0 showing. With the wins, Oregon upped its record to 14-0 to begin the 2017 season.

Game 1: Oregon 6, Montana 0

For the second day in a row, it was Danica Mercado, Gwen Svekis and Nikki Udria who ignited Oregon’s offense. Mercado and Svekis jumpstarted the offense with singles in the first inning before Udria scored Mercado on a fielder’s choice.

After an unearned run in the second inning, Udria helped Oregon open up the game in the fifth inning. With a runner on, Udria blasted a pitch deep over the right-center fence to give the Ducks a 4-0 lead.

Oregon scored its final runs of the game in the seventh inning when Shannon Rhodes notched an RBI single before the sixth run came across the plate on a Montana error.

Maggie Balint earned her second win of the tournament after throwing 6.0 innings, surrendering three hits with five strikeouts. For the tournament, Balint threw 13.2 innings, giving up two runs while earning a save.

Game 2: Oregon 17, Hawaii 0

Megan Kleist completed her tournament with a no-hitter in the final game. Kleist, who entered the game with a victory in the invitational already, threw 5.0 innings with six strikeouts and no walks. With the win, she’s a perfect 5-0 on the season.

To compliment Kleist and her performance, the offense exploded for a season-high 17 runs on 14 hits. Of the 14 hits, eight of them went for extra-base hits. Five were home runs.

Mercado went 3-for-3 with two RBIss and two runs while Mia Camuso went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Alexis Mack added three runs while Rhodes went 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI.

The Ducks scored four runs in the first inning, two runs in the second, four runs in the fourth and seven runs in the deciding fifth inning.

Freshmen Haley Cruse and Rhodes both hit their first career home runs in the game. April Utecht hit her first home run of the season.

The Ducks head to Colombia, Missouri next to play in the Missouri Invitational. The Ducks open the three-day innovational with games against Maryland and Missouri.

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The pitchers continue to dominate for Oregon.

A day after freshman Maggie Balint threw a complete game shutout, sophomore Megan Kleist and freshman Miranda Elish shined.

Both pitchers earned victories as the Ducks defeated Montana (1-0) and UNLV (4-2) to stay perfect in the Hawaii Bank Invitational. With the wins, No. 5 Oregon continued its unbeaten start to the season at 12-0.

Game 1: Oregon 1 — Montana 0

Elish was needed in the Ducks’ first game in the day. As Oregon’s bats went silent, it was Elish’s dominance in the pitcher’s circle that got the win for the Ducks.

Elish earned her second victory of the season when she threw 6.1 innings, giving up three hits with eight strikeouts. She was nearly un-hittable through the first five innings when she surrendered one hit while retiring 14 batters in a row. Fatigue seemed to set in as she gave up a hit in the sixth before pitching herself out of the jam.

Then in the seventh, with one out, Elish gave up a double. Oregon head coach Mike White didn’t hesitate as he took out Elish and replaced her with Balint. Balint retired the next two batters to earn the save.

Oregon got its only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning when it put together a two-out rally. Gwen Svekis singled and advanced to second on a hit-by-pitch from the next batter. Mia Camuso followed with a single to left field, scoring Svekis.

Svekis led the Ducks with two hits while Nikki Udria and Danica Mercado each had a hit.

Game 2: Oregon 4 — UNLV 2

With Elish and Balint each picking up wins in Oregon’s previous two games, it was time for Kleist to do the same.

Kleist threw a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. With the victory, Kleist improved her record to 4-0 on the year.

The Ducks wasted no time in getting the offense going.

After Svekis doubled — following a Mercado single — to put runners in scoring position, Udria hit a fielders choice to the shortstop to score Mercado and give Oregon a 1-0 lead.

The Ducks scored their final three runs in the fourth inning when they began it with three consecutive singles. Camuso, Shannon Rhodes and Madi Bishop all recorded RBIss in the frame for the win.

UNLV made the game interesting in the sixth inning when Kleist surrendered a two-run blast.

Mercado, Svekis and Camuso each stayed hot as they all recorded two hits apiece.

Oregon returns to action tomorrow when it faces Montana at 12 p.m. and Hawaii at 4 p.m.

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It was a career night for freshman Maggie Balint.

Balint, who began the season as Oregon’s No. 3 pitcher, threw her first career complete game on Thursday night in Hawaii. Balint went seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts as Oregon stayed undefeated with the 8-2 win. Not only did the Ducks run their record to a perfect 10-0, Balint upped her record to 6-0.

Six different Oregon players tallied hits.

Nikki Udria went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs while Danica Mercado added a solo blast. Gwen Svekis had two RBIs and a double while Jenna Lilley broke out of her recent slump with a 2-for-4 performance.

Svekis got the scoring started for the Ducks with a sacrifice fly in the first inning to score Lilley. Alexis Mack added to Oregon’s lead when she scored Sammie Puentes on an RBI bunt, giving the Ducks a quick 2-0 advantage.

Hawaii got a run back in the bottom of the second to cut the deficit in half before Oregon broke the game open in the third.

Svekis and Udria both had run-scoring doubles while Shannon Rhodes added the third run of the inning with a single.

Hawaii scored its final run in the fourth inning before the Ducks added two more in the fifth and one in the sixth to complete 8-2 game.

Oregon will play two more games on Friday against Montana and UNLV.

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