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Oregon rejected by NIT, miss postseason play
■ The Ducks miss an opportunity to possibly host an NIT game,
as the tournament doesn’t even select a Pac-10 team
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
The bubble burst for the Oregon
men’s basketball team.
The NIT bubble, that is.
The Ducks were shut out of the
NIT Sunday night, meaning Oregon’s
season ended Saturday night with its
69-60 victory over Oregon State.
The Ducks had given up hope for
a trip to the NCAA Tournament a
long time ago, but became eligible
for the NIT with the win over the
Beavers Saturday.
When all five teams ahead of Ore
gon in the Pacific-10 Conference
standings were given bids to March
Madness, it looked like the Ducks
were a lock to play in the NIT. It
would have been Oregon’s third
straight trip to the postseason.
But the Ducks weren’t tapped by
the NIT selection committee Sun
day night, meaning the tournament
will not feature a Pac-10 team. No
other conference team was eligible
for the NIT.
Oregon’s players and coaches
were unavailable for comment Sun
day, but were confident that an NIT
berth was in the cards after Satur
day night’s victory.
“I would welcome the opportuni
ty to represent the Pac-10 in [the
NIT],” Oregon head coach Ernie
Kent said. “We’re definitely a good
enough team.”
“Hopefully [the Civil War win]
will give us a chance to play some
more,” Ducks forward Bryan Bracey
said. .“I think we can get it going
again.”
Had they been selected, Oregon
would have had the worst record of
all the teams in the NIT field at 14
14. South Carolina (15-14) was se
lected, as were Seton Hall (16-14)
and Pittsburgh (18-13).
The Big East, which had five teams
selected for the NCAA Tournament,
sent six more to the NIT. Of the major
conferences, the Pac-10 joined only
the Atlantic Coast Conference and
the Big 12 Conference in not sending
a representative to the NIT.
Saturday night, the Ducks were
still oblivious of the fact that they
would be spending March on their
couches.
“We’re hopeful right now,” Ore
gon guard Freddie Jones said Sat
urday night. “Hopeful that we’ll
see another day.”
Now, the Ducks know they will
not see another basketball game
until the 2001-02 preseason.
Laura Smit Emerald
The cut above senior Lindsey Dion’s right eye, which required five
stitches Saturday, is symbolic of her tenacious four years at Oregon.
Seniors pace UO
to extend streak
■ it’s so hard: Ducks say goodbye to fans in 10th
straight win over Oregon State on Saturday
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
Even an hour after the game ended, the Oregon seniors
couldn’t get out of the spotlight.
They already received their flowers, hugs and standing
ovations during their final appearance at McArthur Court,
but the fans — the people who have supported this team
through it all in the last four years — just couldn’t say
goodbye.
The 1,000 or so of the 8,815 fans (the third largest crowd
ever for a women’s game) who remained after the 72-60
Civil War victory applauded, laughed and cheered as the
five seniors — Angelina Wolvert, Jenny Mowe, Lindsey
Dion, Brianne Meharry and Camber Ellingson—conduct
ed post-game radio interviews, which were broadcast over
Turn to Seniors, page 8
Duck women crash the Big Dance
Laura Smit Emerald
Senior Brianne Meharry scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in Oregon’s win Saturday.
■ Oregon’s five senior players
finish off Oregon State and
earn a tournament berth
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
Thirty-nine minutes past Satur
day's Civil War tip-off, there wasn’t
a trace of turmoil to be seen as Ore
gon’s five seniors fought to defend
their eight-point lead.
Yes, that’s right — all five seniors.
Walk-on guard Camber Ellingson
hit a clutch free
throw. Forward
Angelina Wolvert
nailed her third
three-pointer of
the season, then
sank two more
from the charity
stripe.
And, to put the finishing touch
on the Ducks’ 72-60 win over Ore
gon State, Ellingson threaded a
long, bouncing pass to forward
Lindsey Dion, who skied for the un
contested layup and her last-ever
points at McArthur Court.
The win came in front of 8,815
fans, the third-largest crowd in
school history to watch a women’s
basketball game.
Unlike last season, Oregon (17-11
overall, 10-8 Pac-10) players didn’t
celebrate their victory against the
Beavers (16-12, 8-10) with a Pac-10
title. However, for seniors Brianne
Meharry, Jenny Mowe, Wolvert,
Dion and Ellingson, the win was
just as sweet.
“This last [home] game for us was
very emotional and we had a lot of
fun out there,” Mowe said. “It was a
team game; everyone played for
each other.”
Less than 24 hours after beating
Turn to Women’s recap, page 12
UO men finally come ‘together’ in last game of season
■The Ducks end their season on a positive note with a victory against
the Beavers, but are disapointingly shut out from postseason play
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
CORVALLIS — During their morning
breakfast, the Oregon Ducks watched ear
ly season game tapes from their 10-1 start.
And then at night, they went out and
secured the in-state bragging rights with
a 69-60 Civil War victory over Oregon
State at Gill Coliseum.
“We showed them tapes and it touched
my heart,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent
said. “That was a tournament team [on
video]. It touched their hearts too. ”
The videos provided the spark and in
spiration that Oregon had lacked for
weeks, and helped the Ducks (14-14
overall, 5-13 Pacific-10 Conference) be
come NIT eligible.
Unfortunately for Oregon, however,
the bubble burst as the Ducks’ season of
ficially ended with the news Sunday
night that the NIT selection committee
left Oregon out of its tournament.
It’s certainly been a season that’s had
its fair share of downs and too few ups,
but for Oregon, Saturday night’s per
formance helped ease much of the pain
that had built up from losing 13 of the
previous 16 games.
“We’re a good team,” said senior for
ward Bryan Bracey, who had a game
high 19 points and 11 rebounds. “We’ve
just struggled a bit. We’re just happy we
got it all together. It’s a big win.”
As for Oregon State (10-20, 4-14), the
20th loss of the season didn’t sit well
with the Beavers, especially after playing
solid basketball as of late. Beaver head
coach Ritchie McKay was short and to the
Turn to Men’s, page 9
BRACEY