On Friday night our Cards will be in Indianapolis to face the Oregon Ducks in the Sweet 16. The Cards will be looking to win their 13th straight game in what will be their 25th appearance in the Sweet 16. Coach Pitino is unbeaten in ten Sweet 16 appearances, his average winning margin is 19.8 points. At Louisville that average margin has been 21.3 points. Louisville is just 1-2 all-time versus Oregon. The Cards last beat the Ducks December 20, 1954. Nearly 59 years ago. The last two times these teams have played it hasn’t been pretty for Louisville. The Ducks blew out the Cards 88-65 in Denny Crum’s final season and 90-63 in Pitino’s First Season.

Our last opponent Colorado State was a team laced with senior leadership and veteran players. But this Dana Altman Oregon team is lead by Six freshmen, two JUCO transfers and a redshirt freshman. Many thought this would equal unavoidable headaches for Altman and his staff this season with a reliance on so much youth but it offered satisfaction and surprise as the Ducks somehow bonded together quickly, and have had a very good run. This young Oregon team really spurred their success on the defensive side of the floor. The Ducks use athleticism and quickness to turn their opponents over and block shots at a high rate. They turn opposing teams over 22.3 percent of possessions good for 56th in the nation, and block shots on the interior 6.9 percent of possessions good for 15th in the country. Their ability to generate possessions via steals and blocked shots is a staple of their defense. On offense they like to pound the ball inside to their bigs. They love to dominate the paint area and 57 percent of their points come on 2-point shots. This is a team that shoots well from inside the arc and poorly from behind it. They also score a large percentage of their points from the free throw line. This young group of Ducks do get careless with the ball turning it over an average of 17 times in their last three games and their 21.6 percent turnover figure makes them the 263rd worst team in the nation in coughing up the basketball.

Kenpom:
ADJ Efficiency- Offense 105.2 Rank 99
ADJ Efficiency- Defense 87.5 Rank 9
Kenpom Overall Rank: 31

C Tony Woods SR: He serves as the defensive anchor of the group swatting away 40 shots this season. He isn’t that great on the defensive glass. Considered a legit NBA prospect when he started out at Wake Forest, Woods simply hasn’t progressed enough on offense to justify the hype. He finishes decently but rarely creates his own shot.

F E.J. Singler SR: The versatile senior can play anywhere from shooting guard to power forward, and there’s an intangible sense of leadership and determination in the Oregon native that has rubbed off on the rest of his team. He shot 67% against St Louis and has scored 22 points in the NCAA. He is the Ducks best player.

F Arsalan Kazemi SR The first Iranian-born player in Division I men’s college hoops Since transferring from Rice University last year, Kazemi has become a popular and important member of a surging Ducks basketball team. He is a rebounding machine and has 33 rebounds in his last two NCAA games. He has also scored 19 points.

G Damyean Dotson FR: He was voted Houston’s player of the year last season. He is a hard nosed player and can be a prolific scorer. He has scored 40 points in the two NCAA games.

G Johnathan Loyd JR: The 5-8 guard from Las Vegas has yet to reach expectations but is a solid ball-handler. Loyd is the team’s best playmaker, but does struggle to make shots. While obviously limited by his height on defense, Loyd does generate plenty of steals. He has 14 points and 9 assist in their two NCAA games.

Bench Players:

F Carlos Emory SR: A very athletic wing improved as the season continued and has much more potential. He is a good shooter. He shot 60% from the field in the last game and has scored 26 points. He also goes after the boards with 13 in the last two games.

G Dominic Artis FR: ESPN rated Artis a four-star recruit and the No. 8 point guard in the 2012 class. While Artis is actually listed at 5-11 by some recruiting websites, he has long arms, good quickness and an ability to change gears. He’s also a savvy gym rat who has picked up the Ducks’ offense quickly. He has scored 13 points in the NCAA.

C Waverly Austin JR: The Ducks picked up a late commitment from Austin, a junior college transfer, after he was unable to attain eligibility at South Florida before school started. Rated the No. 5 transfer in the country by Jucorecruiting.com, He gives the Ducks size when Woods is on the bench. He has 6 rebounds in their NCAA games.

This is another one of those games that is going to take a team effort on the boards. This Oregon team really goes after it on the glass but the Cards just out rebounded the best rebounding team in the tournament in Colorado State so this doesn’t concern me. They are going to go right at Gorgui and Chane with their bigs. This will be the first time in the tournament that our front-court will really be challenged. I think our guys are the more athletic group but Chane might have problems with their length. But no fear as that will just require more minutes out of our freshman sensation Montrezl Harrell. If our front-court does a good job guarding their post players straight up it will force them into a jump shooting team and with only two good shooters on their team this will lead to a lot of fast shots by the Ducks and transition offense for the Cards. Our back-court is going to have a field day with this high turnover team. Also where they go 6 deep before falling off we go 9 deep without falling off so the benches will come into play. There are no easy ones at this point in the season but this one is very winnable if the Cards take care of their business.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 78 Oregon 61