After enduring some nail-biting rumors that claimed Oregon had been “on the bubble” for even National Invitational Tournament (NIT) inclusion, the Ducks open play today in that tournament at Utah State. The Aggies are out of the Mountain West Conference where they finished the regular season in 7th place. Oregon’s seeming “on paper” higher quality team has taken some hits as Will Richardson has been out since before the Pac-12 tournament, and N’Faly Dante did not travel with the team due to a “non-Covid illness.”
The Ducks have won their first game in 10 of their 12 NIT appearances, going 14 - 12 overall in all tournament appearances.