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B2 SPORTS East Oregonian Tuesday, March 19, 2019 Ducks: Face Wisconsin in first round on Friday Upsets: What it takes Continued from Page B1 Continued from Page B1 loss to Texas Southern and an epic meltdown at home against UCLA. Freshman Bol Bol also went down with a season-ending foot injury, leaving Oregon without one of its best players. Instead of playing as the favorites, the Ducks arrived in Las Vegas need- ing to win four games in four days to clinch an NCAA Tournament berth. No. 12 Oregon will play No. 5 Wis- consin on Friday at 1:30 p.m. Sparked by a lineup change late in the regular season, Oregon was clearly the best team on the floor all four days, returning to the NCAA Tournament after missing last season. The Ducks (23-12) capped it by holding Washington to the lowest point total in championship game his- tory and join Colorado in 2012 as the only teams to win four Pac-12 tourna- ment games in four days. “Everyone kind of came together at the right time,” said Oregon’s Louis King, who had 15 points. The sixth-seeded Ducks clamped down on Washington in the sec- ond half, turning a close game into a 16-point lead. Pritchard led the charge with four steals and Kenny Wooten blocked four shots. “Game in game out, we just came prepared,” said Pritchard, named tour- nament MVP after finishing with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the title game. “Fatigue never hit us.” The top-seeded Huskies (26-8) looked like the tired team, struggling against Oregon’s defensive pressure. Washington had a long scoring drought in the second half, shot 33 per- cent and went 5 for 23 from the 3-point arc. The Huskies had no double-figure scorers and could have some anxious moments on Selection Sunday. “I thought we got decent shots. We got the ball where we wanted to get it and sometimes the ball just doesn’t semifinals, giving UNC a final-play shot for the win even though Duke ulti- mately won, 74-73. VIRGINIA: Fans already know all about Virginia’s worst-case scenario thanks to No. 16 UMBC trouncing the overall No. 1 Cavaliers in last year’s first round. This year’s team plays similarly with a style that can reduce its margin for error. Virginia again has the tough defense and methodical tempo offense, a combination that tests the discipline and patience of its opponent. Behind Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter, the Cav- aliers own their most effi- cient attack since coach Tony Bennett’s breakout season there in 2014. If they struggle for stops and get behind, it can be difficult to reverse momen- tum with fewer posses- sions to work with thanks to their pace — illustrated in Friday’s loss to Florida State in the ACC Tourna- ment semifinals. UNC: The Tar Heels have three scorers capa- ble of big games with Cameron Johnson, Coby White and Luke Maye. And they’re at their best when loose in transition or attacking the glass. Things get tougher when the pace slows. Despite its rebound- ing prowess, UNC lacks a true post scorer — a sta- ple of Roy Williams’ best teams — and can struggle AP Photo/John Locher Washington’s Noah Dickerson shoots around Oregon’s Kenny Wooten (14) and Francis Okoro during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the Pac-12 men’s tournament Saturday in Las Vegas. fall,” Washington coach Mike Hopkins said. “We tried to be aggressive and tried to get to the foul line. That didn’t happen.” The Ducks flew into the title by winning the first three of four they needed to earn an automatic NCAA Women: OSU No. 4 Continued from Page B1 schedule. At the end of the day, I thought we might be going to Albany as 1 or 2,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. Walz won’t coach the Cardinals’ opening game against Robert Morris as he will be serving a one- game suspension for using profane language toward NCAA officials during the Final Four last year. The veteran coach said he expects to have the support of the UConn fans if his team reaches the Sweet 16 and plays in upstate New York. Maryland is the No. 3 seed in Albany and Ore- gon State is the 4. “If we’re fortunate to get that far I’m confident that half of the UConn fans will be wearing Louisville gear and they won’t know who to cheer for,” Walz said. It’s the first time since 2006 that the Huskies aren’t a No. 1 seed. UConn will try to continue its record Final Four run, looking to advance that far for the 12th consecutive year. “I don’t think it mat- ters one way or another,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “We’ve lost national champion- ships being a No. 1 seed and we’ve won national championships being a 2 or 3 seed if I’m not mistaken.” Tournament berth. Oregon held Washington State and Utah under 55 points, and blocked 10 shots while rallying to beat Arizona State in overtime in the quarterfinals. Oregon and Washington split the regular-season series, each winning on the other’s home court. Ichiro keeps ‘em guessing on future Major League Baseball opens at the Tokyo Dome on Wednesday By STEPHEN WADE Associated Press TOKYO — Ichiro will be there Wednesday when Major League Baseball opens the 2019 season with Seattle facing Oakland to start a two-game series. The 45-year-old Ichiro is expected to play in both. What happens next? Ichiro isn’t saying. A’s pitcher Liam Hen- driks probably spoke for both teams. “We’re just happy to be along for the ride,” he said. PREP ROUNDUP Columbia turns Stanfield away early By East Oregonian With last year’s East- ern Oregon League title under their belt, the Stan- field Tigers may not have started the new season off the way they had expected on Saturday. In Washougal, Wash., the Tigers opened their baseball season with a 10-0 loss in six innings to the Columbia Bruins of White Salmon, Washing- ton. Despite not recording a hit or a run, coach Brad Rogers maintained a posi- tive outlook on the day. “We had a lot of bright spots,” said Rogers. “We had some good pitch- ing from Jaden Sanchez. He threw three innings of relief, and Brad Sample worked hard behind the plate.” Rogers said Columbia has a more experienced team, which gave them the edge. “They’re a good, solid team,” he said. “The score really reflects just a few walks and hits. Our main problem was our pitching — we didn’t throw enough strikes and gave up too many free bases.” The Tigers (0-1) won’t have to wait long for another shot at the Bruins. On Tuesday, they’ll host the Washington team with a 4 p.m. start. Softball HEPPNER 22, IRRI- GON 10: The Mustangs pounded out 19 hits Mon- day en route to a nonleague road win over the Knights. “We have some good young talent and we are pleased with what they have done so far,” Heppner coach Rick Johnston said. “We are in a tough league with teams like Grant Union and Pilot Rock. We are young, and we have to get better fast.” Eva Martin went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and four runs scored for the Mustangs, while Jes- sica Medina went 3-for-3 with four runs scored, and Sage Ferguson went 3-for-4 with two runs. Bailey Botefuhr went 3-for-3 with four runs scored for the Knights. She also pitched part of the game, drawing praise from Johnston. “She threw well for them,” he said. “She threw different speeds and caught some corners.” matching up with bigger teams. And its perimeter strength makes the team more dependent on the 3. In the Virginia loss, the Tar Heels couldn’t push tempo, had season lows of 61 points and 76 possessions, and shot 9 of 30 from behind the arc. The trouble from 3 resur- faced in the ACC Tourna- ment loss to Duke, with UNC making 1 of 12 after halftime while struggling to find consistent pro- duction off the dribble against Duke’s perimeter pressure. GONZAGA: The Zags have KenPom’s most effi- cient offense (125.1 points per 100 possessions) and a solid frontcourt with Rui Hachimura, Brandon Clarke and the return of Killian Tillie. Gonzaga is the only team to beat a fully healthy Duke squad this year. But the Zags struggled on the perimeter in the West Coast Conference Tournament title game against Saint Mary’s. Their guards couldn’t increase the tempo, so Gonzaga had to grind out halfcourt possessions and made just 2 of 17 3-point- ers in the 60-47 loss. The Zags also had trouble on the boards in their three losses. They were outrebounded in two, including by a 42-21 margin at UNC that saw the Tar Heels tak- ing a 27-0 edge in sec- ond-chance points. They also surrendered 16 offen- sive rebounds against Ten- nessee in December. “I can’t wait for the opening series when they announce Ichiro and hear that crowd.” Chances are, most base- ball fans in other places will be asleep when A’s right- hander Mike Fiers throws the first pitch of the year — around 2:30 a.m. Pacific time. The other 28 teams open on March 28 at Yankee Sta- dium, Dodger Stadium and points in between. Plenty to see, too, in a season that will stretch to end of Octo- ber — Bryce Harper now batting in Philly, the Bos- ton Red Sox trying to repeat as World Series champions and more talk about chang- ing how the game is played. In the meantime, Ichiro slipped into Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Friday under the cover of a gray and black cap pulled way down. He’s been highly visible since then; at a rare news confer- ence, showing off in prac- tice with trick catches in right field, and signing auto- graphs to fans lining the foul lines before exhibition games against the Tokyo Giants. Almost the only shirts for sale in the Tokyo Dome are Ichiro models. And they’re not cheap: between $35-45 for a T-shirt, $62 for a sweatshirt, and a baseball with No. 51 goes for $30. “Yes, we are selling well because Ichiro is a man of effort,” said Yu Takamiya, a vendor answering questions through his translator app. Ichiro told reporters on Saturday that — based on spring training — he’s lucky to be here. He hit .080 in Ari- zona, and he hasn’t played a regular-season game in a year. He was 0 for 6 in two exhibition games against the Tokyo Giants. They don’t count officially. But if they did, he’s hitting .065. “This is a great gift for me,” he said a day after arriving. “I will treasure every moment here on the field. One week after this event, I will be reflecting back on these days.” A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty, making his first visit to Japan, called Ichiro “a master.” “He still in control of his destiny here,” Piscotty said. “He’s pretty special and it’s an honor to be on the field with him.” SCOREBOARD LOCAL SLATE TUESDAY, MARCH 19 Hermiston at Kennewick, 8 a.m. Stanfield/Echo at Heppner, 10 a.m. Baseball Touchet (WA) at Umatilla Columbia (White Salmon) at Stanfield/ Echo, 3:30 p.m. Dayton (WA) at Riverside, 4 p.m. Softball Touchet (WA) at Umatilla (DH), 2 p.m. Dayton (WA) at Riverside, 4 p.m. Irrigon at Echo/Stanfield, 4 p.m. La Grande at Pendleton, 4 p.m. Tennis Condon, La Grande at Umatilla, 3 p.m. Helix at Weston-McEwen, 3:30 p.m. Stanfield/Echo at Weston-McEwen, 3:30 p.m. Riverside at Mac-Hi, 4 p.m. Pendleton at Southridge, 4 p.m. Baseball Weston-McEwen at Central Linn (DH), 1 p.m. Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii at Irrigon, 1 p.m. Softball Lost River at Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii (Rocket Invite), 9 a.m. Vernonia at Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii (Rocket Invite), 5 p.m. Hermiston vs. Post Falls (at Columbia Playfield, Richland), 10:30 a.m. Hermiston vs. Central Valley (at Colum- bia Playfield, Richland), 12:30 p.m. Tennis Hermiston at Eisenhower, 11 a.m. SATURDAY, MARCH 23 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20 NHL STANDINGS Softball Weston-McEwen at Touchet (WA), 3 p.m. Mac-Hi/Helix at Walla Walla, 4 p.m. Tennis Grandview at Hermiston, 3 p.m. Pendleton at Baker/Powder Valley, 4 p.m. EASTERN CONFERENCE THURSDAY, MARCH 21 Baseball Irrigon at Stevenson (WA) [DH], 3 p.m. La Grande at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m. Softball Heppner/Ione at Umatilla (DH), 2 p.m. Echo/Stanfield at Sunnyside (DH), 3 p.m. Irrigon at Stevenson (WA) [DH], 3 p.m. Riverside at Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii, 4:30 p.m. Pendleton at Southridge, TBA Tennis Weston-McEwen at Mac-Hi, 3:30 p.m. Kennewick at Hermiston, 3:30 p.m. Track Weston-McEwen, Stanfield/Echo, River- side, Pilot Rock, Ione, Heppner at Herm- iston Invitational, 3 p.m. Pendleton Varsity Meet, 3:30 p.m. Golf Heppner/Ione at Hood River Valley, 2 p.m. FRIDAY, MARCH 22 Baseball Nyssa at Stanfield/Echo (DH), 1 p.m. Sherman/Arlington/Condon at Umatilla (DH), 1 p.m. Riverside at Columbia (White Salmon), 4 p.m. Hermiston at Chiawana (DH), 4 p.m. Softball Enterprise/Wallowa/Joseph at Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii, 11 a.m. Tennis Helix at Riverside, 1 p.m. Stanfield/Echo, Umatilla at Mac-Hi, 4 p.m. Golf Atlantic GP W L OT Pts GF GA x-Tampa Bay 73 56 13 4 116 287 191 Boston 72 43 20 9 95 216 185 Toronto 72 43 24 5 91 259 216 Montreal 72 37 28 7 81 212 212 Florida 72 32 28 12 76 234 242 Buffalo 72 31 32 9 71 200 233 Detroit 72 25 37 10 60 195 247 Ottawa 72 25 41 6 56 213 263 Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA N.Y. Islanders 72 42 23 7 91 206 173 Washington 72 42 23 7 91 248 225 Pittsburgh 73 39 24 10 88 249 220 Carolina 71 39 25 7 85 212 196 Columbus 72 40 28 4 84 220 210 Philadelphia 72 35 29 8 78 222 241 N.Y. Rangers 72 28 31 13 69 202 241 New Jersey 73 27 37 9 63 204 249 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central GP W L OT Pts GF GA Winnipeg 71 42 25 4 88 243 211 Nashville 73 41 27 5 87 219 195 St. Louis 72 37 27 8 82 207 198 Dallas 72 37 29 6 80 181 178 Minnesota 73 34 30 9 77 199 214 Chicago 72 32 30 10 74 243 263 Colorado 72 31 29 12 74 229 223 Pacific GP W L OT Pts GF GA x-Calgary 72 44 21 7 95 256 206 San Jose 72 43 21 8 94 258 222 Vegas 72 40 27 5 85 220 200 Arizona 73 36 31 6 78 196 204 Vancouver 73 31 32 10 72 199 225 Edmonton 72 32 33 7 71 204 237 Anaheim 74 30 35 9 69 173 227 Los Angeles 71 25 38 8 58 168 227 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per confer- ence advance to playoffs. x-clinched playoff spot Sunday’s Games Colorado 3, New Jersey 0 Buffalo 4, St. Louis 3, SO N.Y. Islanders 3, Minnesota 2, OT Vancouver 3, Dallas 2, SO Philadelphia 2, Pittsburgh 1, OT Anaheim 3, Florida 2 Vegas 6, Edmonton 3 Monday’s Games Tampa Bay 4, Arizona 1 Vancouver 3, Chicago 2, OT Vegas 7, San Jose 3 Winnipeg 3, Los Angeles 2 Tuesday’s Games Pittsburgh at Carolina, 4 p.m. Montreal at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Detroit at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Boston vs. N.Y. Islanders at Nassau Veter- ans Memorial Coliseum, 4 p.m. Washington at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Colorado at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Edmonton at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Toronto at Nashville, 5 p.m. Florida at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Columbus at Calgary, 6 p.m. Wednesday’s Games Toronto at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Washington, 4:30 p.m. Ottawa at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Winnipeg at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Thursday’s Games Tampa Bay at Carolina, 4 p.m. Boston at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Arizona at Florida, 4 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Pittsburgh at Nashville, 5 p.m. Colorado at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Columbus at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Ottawa at Calgary, 6 p.m. Winnipeg at Vegas, 7 p.m. San Jose at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. NBA STANDINGS EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic x-Toronto x-Philadelphia Boston Brooklyn New York Southeast Miami Orlando Charlotte Washington Atlanta Central x-Milwaukee Indiana Detroit Chicago Cleveland W 50 45 43 36 14 W 34 33 31 30 24 W 52 44 36 20 18 L 21 25 28 36 57 L 36 38 38 41 47 L 18 26 34 52 53 Pct .704 .643 .606 .500 .197 Pct .486 .465 .449 .423 .338 Pct .743 .629 .514 .278 .254 GB — 4½ 7 14½ 36 GB — 1½ 2½ 4½ 10½ GB — 8 16 33 34½ WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest W L Pct Houston 44 26 .629 San Antonio 42 29 .592 New Orleans 31 42 .425 Memphis 28 42 .400 Dallas 28 42 .400 Northwest W L Pct x-Denver 47 22 .681 Portland 42 27 .609 Oklahoma City 42 29 .592 Utah 41 29 .586 Minnesota 32 38 .457 Pacific W L Pct x-Golden State 47 22 .681 L.A. Clippers 41 30 .577 Sacramento 34 35 .493 L.A. Lakers 31 39 .443 Phoenix 17 55 .236 x-clinched playoff spot ——— Sunday’s Games New York 124, L.A. Lakers 123 Miami 93, Charlotte 75 Philadelphia 130, Milwaukee 125 Detroit 110, Toronto 107 Orlando 101, Atlanta 91 Sacramento 129, Chicago 102 Houston 117, Minnesota 102 L.A. Clippers 119, Brooklyn 116 Monday’s Games Cleveland 126, Detroit 119 Utah 116, Washington 95 Denver 114, Boston 105 Toronto 128, New York 92 Miami 116, Oklahoma City 107 San Antonio 111, Golden State 105 New Orleans 129, Dallas 125, OT Chicago 116, Phoenix 101 Portland 106, Indiana 98 Tuesday’s Games Philadelphia at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Houston at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Golden State at Minnesota, 5 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. Brooklyn at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Indiana at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday’s Games Boston at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at Cleveland, 4 p.m. New Orleans at Orlando, 4 p.m. Utah at New York, 4:30 p.m. Houston at Memphis, 5 p.m. Washington at Chicago, 5 p.m. Miami at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Toronto at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m. Dallas at Portland, 7 p.m. Thursday’s Games Denver at Washington, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Utah at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Detroit at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Indiana at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. GB — 2½ 14½ 16 16 GB — 5 6 6½ 15½ GB — 7 13 16½ 31½