Ducks, Holy Cross execute tournament talk-through

Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 17, 2016

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Oregon Ducks, preparing for their 2016 NCAA Tournament debut Friday against Holy Cross, said all the right things about the underdog Crusaders during Thursday’s chit-chat with the media at Spokane Arena.

Thankfully, the Ducks did not lie through their teeth by uttering the standard “they’re a great team” line. Holy Cross is 15-19 and finished ninth among 10 teams in the frightfully weak Patriot League.

The Crusaders are the cute and cuddly story of the NCAA Tournament thus far, however. Holy Cross went 4-0 at the Patriot League tournament before knocking off Southern 59-55 Wednesday in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio.

Cute and cuddly will only get you so far in the Big Dance. Oregon is 28-6, seeded No. 1 in the West Region and ranked second behind Kansas in the NCAA’s Rating Performance Index (RPI). Holy Cross is seeded 16th and has an RPI of 248 among 351 NCAA Division I teams.

With an RPI like that, the Crusaders’ season likely will be RIP come Friday night (tip-off is 4:27 p.m, truTV).

“We’ve got to come in and jump on them right away,” guard Tyler Dorsey said in the Oregon locker room prior to a quick practice (free to the public) at the Arena. “You can’t give a team like that any confidence.

“If they think they can stay with you in the first half, it’s going to be a long game.”

Sports Illustrated labeled Holy Cross “the worst team in the NCAA tournament” before the Crusaders knocked off Southern. SI ranked Southern the second-worst team, so the Crusaders’ rather sloppy win was underwhelming.

That said, the Crusaders’ late-season surge is not just a little bit amazing, heartwarming and inspiring. Alas, all good things come to an end. Unless Holy Cross literally pulls off the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history — a No. 16 seed has never defeated a No. 1 — the Crusaders’ crusade ends Friday.

Perhaps Holy Cross will gain some mojo from playing a couple long 3-pointers from Gonzaga, another small Jesuit school that has been known to make some noise in the college basketball world. The Crusaders and Bulldogs each produced one of the most revered point guards of all-time— Bob Cousy and John Stockton, respectively.

Unlike Gonzaga, Holy Cross has won a national championship (1947). Of course, Oregon won the inaugural NCAA Tournament in 1939.

The Patriot League, much like the Southwestern Athletic Conference that includes Southern, is to the Pac-12 Conference what bologna is to filet mignon. The Pac-12 champions of Oregon are infinitely faster, quicker, more athletic, more everything than Holy Cross. Las Vegas bookies list Oregon as a 23-point favorite.

Overconfidence would appear to be the only potential obstacle facing Oregon.

“We’re focused on Holy Cross,” forward Elgin Cook promised. “Seeding does not matter in March.”

“Our guys definitely won’t underestimate anybody,” coach Dana Altman said.

The Ducks must show more poise than Southern in dealing with Holy Cross’ modified Princeton offense (think: pass, pass, pass; cut, cut, cut; screen, screen, screen) and 1-3-1 defense. Oregon forward Dwayne Benjamin said the Ducks faced “a great 1-3-1” in the second game of the season, a 74-67 home win over Baylor.

“You’ve just got to get the ball to the middle and to the baselines and try to get easy baskets,” Benjamin said.

A 1-3-1 defense poses unique challenges, but the Ducks are averaging 83.9 points during their eight-game winning streak. Holy Cross likes to shoot 3-pointers, but the Crusaders scored just 45 points in a loss to American — the university, not the cheese — 50 in a win over Harvard, 52 in a loss to Lafayette, etc.

When the Crusaders traveled to Kansas in December, the Jayhawks administered a back-of-the-woodshed, 92-59 whuppin’ on the visitors from Worcester, Mass. Where’s Cousy when you need him?

Obviously, Holy Cross has improved of late under first-year coach Bill Carmody, a former Northwestern and Princeton coach.

“We knew what we were capable of as a team,” Holy Cross forward Malachi Alexander said. “The outside world might not have seen that.”

Alexander leads three Crusaders in double figures with 11.8 points per game, and he’s the team leader in rebounds (5.6) and assists (2.9). The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Alexander leads Holy Cross in postseason play with 18.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 59.3-percent shooting on 3-pointers (16 for 27).

Carmody says his players are well aware “the level here of athleticism is not what we see all the time.” The Crusaders didn’t arrive at their Spokane hotel until approximately 1 a.m. Thursday, but Carmody and his players said they’re well rested. Still, the team won’t hold a full practice before Friday’s game.

“After five months,” Carmody asked, “what knowledge can we impart on them?”

Forward Dillon Brooks leads four Ducks in double figures with 16.8 points per game. The Ducks lack great size and can be vulnerable on the boards, but Holy Cross ranked 322nd in rebounding margin (minus-5.5 per game) through Wednesday.

The Oregon-Holy Cross winner faces the survivor of Friday’s late game between eighth-seeded Saint Joseph’s (27-7) and No. 9 seed Cincinnati (22-10), a second-round game to be played Sunday at a time to be determined. All six games at Spokane Arena are sold out, and Altman is confident the fans will get their money’s worth when watching the Ducks.

“Our guys have played awfully well down the stretch,” the coach said.