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