Written by Marc Tracy at New York Times.com
For all of the storied history they can boast, the Kansas Jayhawks were not in the very first Final Four. The Oregon Ducks were.
As their drought approaches eight decades, the Ducks will make their triumphant return.
“Since 1939,” Ducks Coach Dana Altman said. “We waited a long time.”
In what was for all practical purposes a home game for top-seeded Kansas, Oregon delivered a 74-60 stunner on Saturday night, putting down speed bumps in front of the Jayhawks’ ordinarily turbocharged offense and displaying remarkable marksmanship to pull off an upset that has brought them closer to their second national championship than they have ever been.
The third-seeded Ducks enter their second Final Four assured that they will face another blue-blood opponent. Next Saturday, in the national semifinals in Glendale, Ariz., they will play the winner of Sunday’s game between North Carolina and Kentucky.
Had Oregon (33-5) written a checklist for everything that needed to happen for them to advance, it is difficult to think of a single box they could not check off after the game.
Jordan Bell being a monster down-low? Check.
Bell, a 6-foot-9 junior, showed why he was named the Pacific-12 defensive player of the year. He had assumed the role of top shot-blocker from Chris Boucher, who was lost to injury during the conference tournament, and was a force against the Jayhawks. Bell was a force against the Jayhawks, blocking eight shots and extending possessions, with 7 of his 13 rebounds coming on offense. He even found ways to create his own shots, chipping in 11 points.
Do the math: He was two blocks from a triple-double, still a rarity in the college game.
Altman said he had never seen Bell play so well.
“He was Jordan Bell and Chris Boucher together,” Altman said.
Tremendous shooting? Check.
In the first half, Oregon made 60 percent of its shots — 58.3 percent from behind the arc, with seven 3-pointers. At the first-half buzzer, the sophomore Tyler Dorsey banked in his fourth 3-pointer — from nearly 30 feet away — to give the Ducks a 44-33 lead. By the end of the night, he had sunk six of 10 3-point shots en route to a game-high 27 points.
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