FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
A5
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
MEN’S NCAA
TOURNAMENT
Beavs’ tourney bid
is 2nd in 31 years
If you’re looking for re-
cent history for Oregon
State in the NCAA men’s
basketball tournament,
well, it’s not a long story.
The Beavers’ 2021
appearance is just the
school’s second in 31
years. As a No. 12 seed,
they are a scheduled to
play fifth-seeded Tennes-
see on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
on TNT.
But Oregon State does
have a decent tourna-
ment history. This is their
18th tournament appear-
ance. OSU heads to Indi-
anapolis looking to end
a drought, as the Beavers
have lost seven consec-
utive games. The past six
were in the first-round.
The last time Oregon
State won in the NCAAs
was 1982, when the Bea-
vers advanced to the West
Regional final, losing to
Georgetown 69-45.
During this losing
streak, OSU lost in 1984,
1985, 1988, 1989, 1990
and 2016. The Beavers’
best seed was 1990, when
as No. 5 they lost to Ball
State 54-53.
The last time OSU
played in the NCAA
Tournament, the sev-
enth-seeded Beavers
lost to Virginia Common-
wealth 75-67 in 2016.
Oregon State’s all-time
tournament record is 12-
20, including 3-7 in first-
round games. OSU earned
several first-round byes.
The Beavers best tour-
nament performance
came in 1963, when they
reached the Final Four be-
fore losing to Cincinnati.
OSU’s all-time sin-
gle-game scorer is Gary
Payton, who scored 31
points in the Beavers’
overtime loss to Evansville
in 1988.
—The Oregonian
NCAA CROSS-
COUNTRY
OSU women earn
best ever finish
STILLWATER, Okla.
— The 23rd-ranked Or-
egon State women’s
cross-country team re-
corded the best team
finish in program history,
16th (375 points), at the
2021 NCAA Champion-
ships on Monday morn-
ing at the Oklahoma State
University Cross Country
Course.
Kaylee Mitchell and
Batya Beard both earned
All-American honors for
placing in the top 40.
“We executed a terrific
plan today,” said head
coach Louie Quintana.
“This was a very tough
course and we really rose
to the occasion. Two All
Americans in Kaylee and
Batya is amazing!”
No. 2 BYU (96) claimed
the team title, followed
by fifth-ranked NC State
(161), and fourth-ranked
Stanford (207).
It was another strong
showing for Mitchell,
posting the highest indi-
vidual finish in program
history as she came in
20th with a time of 20
minutes, 38.5 seconds.
Beard tabbed a 37th-
place finish after finish-
ing the 6 kilometers in
20:57.7.
After completing the
race in 21:33.9, Audrey
Lookner finished 111th in
the field of 256.
Meagen Lowe (21:50.0)
recorded a 148th finish,
while just five spots back
was Greta Van Calcar
(21:53.7) in 153rd.
Alyssa Foote notched a
time of 22:08.9, finishing
in 178th. Grace Fether-
stonhaugh (22:40.5) took
220th.
—Bulletin staff report
Women’s NCAA Tournament
WIDE-OPEN
No. 6 seed Oregon will play South Dakota Monday;
No. 8 seed Oregon State will play Florida State on Sunday
Oregon State’s
Aleah Goodman
(1) drives around
Oregon’s Maddie
Scherr (23) in the
second round of the
Pac-12 tournament
on March 4
in Las Vegas.
John Locher/AP
BY DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
Conn is in its normal spot with
a No. 1 seed for the women’s
NCAA Tournament. Famil-
iar territory for Stanford and
South Carolina, too.
It’s a brand new day for North Caro-
lina State. And the Huskies, while used
to their position in the bracket, are fac-
ing some uncertainty after coach Geno
Auriemma tested positive for the coro-
navirus.
N.C. State is a No. 1 seed for the first
time, joining Stanford, South Carolina
and Connecticut on the top lines for the
San Antonio-themed regions for the
U
women’s tourney. The Cardinal earned
the overall No. 1 when the field was re-
vealed Monday night.
Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer
downplayed being the top choice.
“What I really tell our team is seeds do
not matter,” she said. “It’s not like you get
any extra points when you show up at the
gym.”
VanDerveer said being healthy and ex-
cited to play was most important. Teams
basically will be locked down in hotels
except to head to practice or games as
part of the stringent COVID-19 safety
protocols.
Auriemma’s Texas arrival will be de-
layed. He will remain in isolation for
10 days and can rejoin the team on
March 24. The other members of UCo-
nn’s travel party have tested negative for
COVID-19.
Auriemma will miss the Huskies’ open-
ing game against High Point — one of
four first-timers in the NCAAs — and a
potential second-round matchup against
either Syracuse or South Dakota State.
“I’m an innocent bystander right now.
I’m going to sit back and watch them do
their thing,” he said. “(Assistant coach
Chris Dailey) is undefeated in tourna-
ment play. I don’t think you can get a
coach who has a better record in the
tournament than she does.”
See Women’s / A6
SLED-DOG RACING
PAC-12 | COMMENTARY
Seavey wins fifth Iditarod race,
matches most wins by a musher
View from
Las Vegas
has changed
BY MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Ever
since Dallas Seavey became the
youngest musher to win the Idi-
tarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 2012,
he’s been bombarded by questions
on whether he would eventually get
five race titles, the most ever by a
musher.
“I think it was probably 10 min-
utes after I won that first race that
somebody mentioned five,” he told
The Associated Press before this
year’s race. “At that point, I said I
got to worry about No. 2 first. I may
be homeschooled, but I know that
much, two comes after one.”
Now Seavey, a 34-year-old con-
sidered by many to have the po-
tential to become the race’s great
champion, will have to start fending
off questions about No. 6. Seavey on
Monday collected his fifth Iditarod
title, winning the pandemic-short-
ened race by more than three hours
over second-place musher Aaron
Burmeister.
He matched the record of five
wins by Rick Swenson, known as
the King of the Iditarod for picking
up those titles from 1977-91.
“It’s a big deal,” Seavey said at
BY JOHN CANZANO
The Oregonian
L
Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via AP
Dallas Seavey poses with his dogs after winning the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
near Willow, Alaska, early Monday.
the finish line after a race official
checked to make sure his sled was
complete with a sleeping bag, axe,
dog booties and other mandatory
gear. His 5 a.m. finish was televised
statewide.
Seavey said he didn’t allow him-
self to think about a fifth win on
the trail because he didn’t want to
jinx it.
“That’s huge, man,” he said. “I
looked up to the Iditarod champi-
ons my whole life and I’ve dreamed
about this my whole life. And now
to actually go from that, to see it
happen, to realize that, that’s pretty
cool.”
See Iditarod / A7
AS VEGAS — It was just a couple
of years ago that Pac-12 Conference
commissioner Larry Scott checked
himself into the two-bedroom “Sky Villa” at
ARIA Resort and Casino.
The 3,370-square foot suite came with
the 24-hour butler ser-
vice, a private elevator, and
a marble jacuzzi soaking
tub. Upon arrival, Scott
and his wife were served
a bottle of Veuve Clicquot
champagne and choco-
late-dipped strawberries.
Scott
Nightly room rate:
$7,500.
This was 2019 and Scott’s cash-strapped
conference was slogging through a four-
day men’s basketball tournament, trying to
crown a champion. The suite was a “comp,”
Scott soon claimed, pointing out that it
came as part of the conference’s sponsor-
ship package with MGM Resorts to hold the
tournament in Las Vegas.
“That didn’t really matter,” said one cur-
rent Pac-12 AD. “The optics were beyond
bad.”
See Canzano / A7