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The Ducks won their first regular season conference championship since 2002 and enter the Pac-12 tournament as the No. 1 seed today.

Behind that success is Dana Altman.

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JOSEPH YOUNG’S LEADERSHIP PAYS OFF AFTER HIS DEPARTURE

Oregon has built upon Joseph Young’s foundation from last season.

(Adam Eberhardt)

➡ JUSTIN

WISE, @JUSTINFWISE

Early in the 2014 season, senior Joseph Young installed a chalkboard session for the rather large group of inexperienced rookies on the Oregon men’s basketball team. The sessions were meant to go over aspects of the game players needed to work on without a coach present.

Young said he was trying to create a family, and these meetings grew into something the entire team took part in.

It’s clear they had an impact. The 2014 Ducks, despite returning one starter and being predicted to finish eighth in the Pac-12, surprised many by winning nine of their last 10 regular season games and reaching the Pac-12 Tournament Final and second round of the NCAA Tournament. After the year concluded, Young told reporters that he hoped the group would take the experiences they gained and “learn off of it.” He also could sense the potential the group of returners had.

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ON THE COVER

Oregon head coach Dana Altman watches his team work at Matthew Knight Arena.

Photo by Adam Eberhardt.

NEWSROOM

“I knew they were going to make a big run,” Young said over the phone Tuesday.

It was hard to tell just how good they could be, though. As a senior, Young had carried the load on offense all season and averaged 28 points per game in the team’s final four games.

Yet it proved to be a manageable problem to solve. One year removed from Young’s tenure at Oregon, the No. 8 Ducks enter postseason play as the 2016 Pac-12 regular season champions. From his vantage, he thinks the Ducks, with the firepower they’re displaying, can make a run at the “Final Four and beyond.”

The Ducks, unlike last year, have several players that can take over a game at any moment. It’s been on display all year, and was exemplified when they clinched the Pac-12 regular season title last Saturday in a 76-66 win over USC. Brooks, the team’s leading scorer, scored just three points, yet four other players scored in double figures.

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“[We have] so many people that can do so many different things,” Benjamin said at practice Monday.

“A lot of people stepped up at a lot of different times this year.”

The added experience from last year has certainly helped the team understand the type of toughness they’ll need in March, according to Benjamin.

“We know a little bit of what to expect,” he added.

It is obvious that the type of team Oregon is one that can match Young’s expectations, and it’s why he’s excited about the coming weeks. Young’s even hoping that he can watch the team play in the later rounds of the NCAA Tournament in person.

For now, though, the contingent of players that Young led during the 2014-15 season will fulfill the role as the favorite in the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament — a position they might not have been in if it wasn’t for the experience gained with Young just a year prior.

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PAC- 12 power rankings ➡ R YA N

K O S T E C K A , @ R YA N _ K O S T E C K A

With the Pac-12 conference tournament underway in Las Vegas, the Pac-12 appears to have four virtual locks for the NCAA Tournament, and could send as many as seven.

Oregon’s Chris Boucher (25) and Jordan Bell (1) make a formidable duo for opponents in the paint.

(Samuel Marshall)

Here are the Pac-12 power rankings entering the tournament:

1

2

Oregon (25-6, 14-4 Pac-12): It’s hard to bet against the Pac-12 regular season champs. The Ducks are on a five-game winning streak, including wins over UCLA and USC to clinch the championship during the final weekend. Tyler Dorsey seems to have found his second wind, and combined with Dillon Brooks, Chris Boucher and Elgin Cook, this team is the favorite to win it all.

Utah (24-7, 13-5 Pac-12): The Utes are the hottest team in the conference and are winners of their last seven. To win the tournament, Utah will lean heavily on Jakob Poeltl (Pac-12 Player of the Year) and Jordan Loveridge, two players who have been nearly unstoppable during the winning streak.

5

6

Colorado (21-10, 10-8 Pac-12): Colorado suffered a loss to Utah in the regular season finale. But before that, the Buffaloes swept Arizona and Washington at home. This team has proved it can play with the best — evident in victories over every team above them except Utah — but can they win in an arena other than their own?

➡ WED,

MARCH 9

No. 8 Washington

Oregon State (18-11, 9-9 Pac-12): The Beavers, winners of seven of their last 10 games, have the star power in Gary Payton II. If he can lead them to the conference semifinals, it should guarantee the desperate Beavers a spot in the NCAA tournament.

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No. 9 Stanford

➡ THURS,

No. 8 Washington

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No. 5 Colorado

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No. 4 Arizona

No. 7 USC

No. 7 USC 6:10 p.m. - P12N

No. 10 UCLA

No. 6 Oregon State

No. 1 Oregon

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No. 12 Washington State

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No. 5 Colorado

MARCH 10

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No. 11 Arizona State

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No. 2 Utah

No. 6 Oregon State

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No. 3 California

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3 Arizona (24-7, 12-6 Pac-12): Although the Wildcats are the defending tournament champs, they return only one starter from last year’s squad in Kaleb Tarczewski.

Still, the low post play of Ryan Anderson combined with the athletic Allonzo Trier and sharpshooting of Gabe York make Arizona as dangerous as ever.

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California (22-9, 12-6 Pac-12): The Golden Bears have won eight of their last nine — the only defeat coming in a threepoint loss at Arizona — and seem to be clicking at the right time. Arguably the most talented team in the conference — five players average double figures in scoring — Cal is finally living up to its lofty preseason expectations.

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7 Washington (17-13, 9-9 Pac-12): The Huskies boast the conference’s leading scorer in Andrew Andrews and maybe the most versatile athlete in Dejounte Murray.

Like Oregon State, Washington is a bubble team so two wins could mean a lot.

8 USC (20-11, 9-9 Pac-12): If USC can shoot the ball well from 3-point territory, it has the talent to run the table and earn the conference’s automatic bid. On the other hand, if the Trojans struggle on offense, they could be bounced in the first round.

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Players to WATCH

Oregon’s Dillon Brooks has been a star for the Ducks en route to the Pac-12 Tournament.

(Samuel Marshall)

Typically when a team advances to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, it’s not only because of the balanced play of the entire team, but the ability of a star player catching fire.

This was evident last year when Oregon’s Joseph Young carried the Ducks to the championship game by averaging 25 points per game in the tournament.

Here’s a list of players who could perform like Young and lead their respective teams to the championship:

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Dillon Brooks, F, Oregon: Brooks is Oregon’s leading scorer but what he does for the Ducks goes far beyond his 16.7 points per game. It’s through him that the Ducks get into their rhythmic and efficient offense.

On the other side of the ball, he can defend anyone from the opponents point guard to power forward position. If Brooks can find his groove again after his recent slump, the Ducks could be crowned champions Saturday.

Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah: There isn’t anyone playing better in the conference right now than Poeltl. The Pac-12 Player of the Year is dominating offensively with his 17.5 ppg and grabs anything near him on the defensive end, evident in his 9.1 rebounds per game. Poeltl forces Utah’s opponents into a huge mismatch down in the low post and when double-teamed, he does a phenomenal job of finding the open man. Utah will go as far as Poeltl takes them.

Gabe York, G, Arizona: Arizona has no problem scoring in the post, but what the Wildcats need is a sharpshooter. Enter York, who ended his regular season by scoring 32 points and hitting nine 3-pointers. Not only does he lead the conference with 88 3-pointers on the season, he hits them at an efficient rate (42.9

percent). If York can provide Arizona with the spacing it sorely needs, the Wildcats can beat anyone in the conference.

Andrew Andrews, G, Washington: It’s impossible to not have the conference’s leading scorer on this list. Andrews is a complete offensive player. He controls Washington’s offense and is just as willing to play distributor as scorer. The Huskies will always have a chance as long as Andrews has the ball.

Jaylen Brown, F, Cal: Cal has used a late-season surge to become a lock for the NCAA Tournament, and Brown is the main reason why. Brown’s ability to dominate smaller defenders in the paint and use his quickness to create his own shot against bigger opponents makes him nearly unguardable.

Thanks to Brown playing up to his potential, the Golden Bears are starting to thrive at the right time.

Bryce Alford, G, UCLA: Alford is known for hitting the big shots at the end of games — evident in wins over Kentucky, Gonzaga and Arizona. UCLA has a talented starting five, but not much depth beyond. In order to pull off a few unexpected upsets, Alford is going to have to star when the lights shine brightest.

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UNDEFEATED HOME RECORD Much has been made of the recent attendance at men’s basketball in Matthew Knight Arena.

Just last season, the Ducks advanced to the Pac-12 Championship Game and made an NCAA Tournament appearance for the third straight year – a feat no Oregon coach had accomplished before Dana Altman. But success on the court was inconsistent with fan interest: The 2014-15 season marked the team’s lowest attendance numbers in 23 years, according to The Oregonian.

Whether low attendance numbers were a result of a lack of enthusiasm among fans, high ticket prices or the team’s tainted image in the aftermath of a 2014 sexual assault scandal, it was a noticeable issue based on the success on the court in 2015. A clear disconnect between the fans and the team existed.

This season, however, has been different.

Home attendance numbers increased by an average of more than 1,000 fans per game. Attendance in all but one game (on Super Bowl Sunday) surpassed 2015’s attendance numbers.

The Ducks also played rivals Oregon State and Washington before sellout crowds of 12,364.

In part, this attendance spike was a result of Oregon slashing season ticket prices, some by as much as $500. Also, there was reason for excitement with returning players Jordan Bell, Dwayne Benjamin, Casey Benson, Dillon Brooks and Elgin Cook and the arrival of transfers Chris Boucher and Dylan Ennis and freshman Tyler Dorsey, the Ducks appeared like a team with a lot of potential.

Ennis said in October that “people should be excited about Oregon basketball this season.”

Judging by the attendance increase, Ennis’ statement held true at home games throughout the season.

The fan atmosphere impacted Oregon as well. The Ducks pushed their home winning streak to a school record – 25 consecutive games. They also posted a perfect 18-0 home record this season, which was the first undefeated home season since the 2001-02 team that reached the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s hard to go undefeated at home just because you got to keep your focus,” Altman said after the Ducks’ win over Washington on Senior Night. “You see it all across the country, there’s not that many people that have the opportunity to go undefeated at home.”

Winning at home is a necessity in college basketball, but going undefeated remains a rare feat.

Although the Ducks have had few teams as talented as this season’s, Altman and his players have repeatedly acknowledged the extra boost the crowd provided.

“The crowd, the energy – a lot of people say it, but I really mean it,” Benjamin said. “When other teams make a run, [the fans] start to chant, the energy that they bring. You just don’t want to disappoint your home fans who are always there for you. We play so hard for them.”

No matter where they finish, the 2015-16 Ducks will go down as having one of the best regular seasons in program history. But beneath the surface of the team, it should be noted that fans, having appeared uninterested one a year ago, came back to Knight Arena in significant numbers.

BY WILL DENNER, @WILL_DENNER

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đ&#x;“– COVER

THE M THE S A

fter the Oregon men’s basketball team beat Washington at home on Feb. 28, a reporter asked head coach Dana Altman if he enjoyed his work.

Oregon had just finished the season undefeated at home, was two games away from winning the program’s first Pac-12 Championship since 2002 and was on its way to its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. But throughout this success, Altman’s personality hasn’t changed. “My wife always says ‘have fun,’ [but] you don’t go to work to have fun,� said Altman. “I’ve been fortunate enough to do this for 36 years. I’ve enjoyed being around the guys and I enjoy the team. But during the game, it’s competition, it’s a fight and it’s not fun.�

He can be seen barking at his players throughout the course of the game, but at press conferences, his voice stays at a low octave.

At the Feb. 28 press conference, Altman said his goal was to finish strong, and that’s what Oregon did under his leadership this season. The 2015-16 Ducks went 25-6 and won the Pac-12 regular season title.

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They haven’t lost a single game in February over the last three seasons.

In his six years at Oregon, Altman has been named Pac-12 Coach of the Year three times, has led six straight 20-win seasons, obtained two Pac12 titles and achieved a school-best four straight NCAA tournament bids.

There is one stone left unturned: Altman has never advanced past the Sweet Sixteen.

To truly understand Altman, one must first understand what he stands for. Born and raised in Crete, a small town in southeastern Nebraska, Altman doesn’t believe in flashiness. “Midwestern people, in general — I’m stereotyping here — are more about substance than style, more about action than about talk,� said columnist Austin Meek, who covered Big 12 hoops for the Topeka Capital-Journal for years before moving to The Register-Guard. Meek has covered Altman’s career since.

The 57-year-old Midwest native is as well known for his foot stomping on the sideline as he is for his even-temper off the court.

But many criticized his demeanor when he responded to the May 2014 sexual assault allegations that resulted in the dismissal of three players. In a press conference just days after news of the alleged assault surfaced, Altman quietly told the media he was not aware of player Brandon Austin’s accusations of sexual assault at Providence College when Oregon recruited Austin.

Many onlookers were disappointed. Some, like Oregonian sports columnist John Canzano, hoped to hear Altman was making a change. “Dana Altman can coach, but he lost me a couple of seasons ago at that moment-of-truth news conference, his eyes low, his voice stammering, the whole state wondering if he’d stand tall,� Canzano wrote last summer.

The program had to scrap for players to fill the roster through an open tryout, leaving the team with an uncertain future.

Two years later, Altman’s team is entering the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Oregon is the No. 8 ranked team in the country, went undefeated at home and is

Da na Altman has been named Pac-12 Coach of the Year three times and obtained two Pac-12 titles.

(Adam Eberhardt)

Dana Altman has led the Ducks to a 25-6 record this season.

(Samuel Marshall)

Altman focuses on a simple, but effective system in his coaching.

(Adam Eberhardt)

MAN BEHIND STOMP ➡ H AY D E N

“

...HE’S AS GREAT AN X’S AND O’S COACH AS THERE IS.” ROBERT MULLENS Oregon athletic director

projected as high as a No. 2 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

He found a way to unify his team, no different from his 16 memorable years at Creighton, where 11 times Altman guided the team to 20-win seasons.

“For some reason, it always seems under the radar, but he’s an elite coach nationally,” said Pac12 Analyst Kevin O’Neill, who was one of the few media members to pick Oregon to win the Pac-12 this season.

Altman’s best quality is his rare ability to get players from different walks of life to buy into two cornerstones of basketball: defending and

K I M , @ H AY D AY K I M

rebounding. They’re keys to the game he constantly preaches, and his emphasis on fundamentals have become notoriously known around the program.

The team even has warm up shirts that read: “Bend Your Knees.”

“If you look across the landscape of basketball – I’m including the NBA in this – he’s as great an X’s and O’s coach as there is,” said Oregon Athletic Director Robert Mullens.

Constantly hammering in the basics of the game, Altman has created a culture where improvement eventually morphs into second nature, where the concept of being satisfied is forbidden.

“Just the process of how we go throughout the whole year – it’s always all about getting better for the next game,” said Benjamin. “I guess that’s why we’re never satisfied.”

From a schematic standpoint, Altman has been able to devise a simple but effective system that has made it easy for players of all backgrounds to be plugged in right away and succeed at a high level.

“He’s the reason why I’m here,” said Benjamin,

“

I’VE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO DO THIS FOR 36 YEARS. I’VE ENJOYED BEING AROUND THE GUYS AND I ENJOY THE TEAM. BUT DURING THE GAME, IT’S A COMPETITION, IT’S A FIGHT AND IT’S NOT FUN. ” DANA ALTMAN Oregon head coach

who transferred from a small community college called Mt. San Jacinto last year. “He’s a great coach, he’s a leader, he’s a genius.”

Even with a constantly changing roster, Altman has excelled. This year, Altman mixed two new faces – freshman Tyler Dorsey and transfer Chris Boucher – with three returning starters. The end result was a conference title.

“There’s so much turnover in college basketball these days,” said senior guard and aspiring coach Max Heller, “and to have a guy like coach be able to mold us all into one team is a big deal.”

As Altman prepares for his 12th appearance in the upcoming NCAA tournament, there’s a chance for him to make a little history of his own and get past the Sweet Sixteen.

But Altman won’t be focused on that.

Regardless of how far Oregon ends up going or how much fans want Altman to show more personality, Altman will approach the game with the same foundation, tactics and white-collar dress shirt that have personified him for the past 36 years.

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⚡ GUEST VIEWPOINT THE DAILY WILDCAT:

OREGON DEFEATED ARIZONA,

BUT IS WINNING ENOUGH?

Elgin Cook scored 13 points against the Wildcats as the Ducks broke Arizona’s 49game home win streak.

(Cole Elsasser)

Editor’s Note: As Oregon men’s basketball enters the Pac-12 tournament as the conference regular season champion and No. 1 seed. Ezra Amacher, a sports editor at The Daily Wildcat, writes why Arizona’s reign is certainly not over.

After Oregon defeated Arizona in McKale Center in late January, Ducks head coach Dana Altman needed a moment to reflect on the significance of the win.

His team had just walked into McKale and done what no other program could do over the past two years – knock off the Wildcats on their home court.

Not only that, Oregon won the game in convincing fashion, sending the Arizona faithful to the exits well before the final buzzer rang.

For Altman, the victory was one he had been pursuing for years.

“Our program, we’ve been chasing Arizona,” Altman told reporters postgame.

Then he added, “And we still are.”

In the weeks since that win, Oregon held control of the Pac-12 standings and clinched the regular season title this past weekend. Altman was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

The Ducks enter Las Vegas as the Pac-12’s best hope at a top seed. National pundits label Oregon a potential Final Four team.

Arizona, meanwhile, lumbered to a 12-6 league record. Most bracketologists put Arizona in the five or six range heading into the conference tournament.

That’s not a bad position, but it certainly doesn’t meet the expectations of head coach Sean Miller, who has led Arizona to back-to-back Elite Eight appearances.

With Oregon coming off a strong regular season in a year that featured a less-than-stellar Arizona team, it may be easy for some to argue that the Ducks have caught up to the Wildcats or are at least right on their tail.

This, however, would ignore the established culture Miller has in place at Arizona, a type of culture that Oregon still lacks.

Let’s take each program’s 2015-16 attendance numbers as an example.

In a year that featured the Ducks’ highest regular-season win total in modern Oregon basketball, the program managed to fill just 60 percent of Matthew Knight Arena’s seating across the course of the season.

The gym, which rivals Arizona’s McKale Center with its state-of-the-art facilities, rarely puts opponents on edge.

McKale, on the other hand, was filled to or near capacity all season long, even the Saturday after Arizona fell to the Ducks.

By the time Oregon State arrived to close out the home stand, Wildcats fans were ready to bear witness to another record-breaking home winning streak.

Attendance and fan support don’t necessarily correlate directly with oncourt success, but they do reflect the attitude of the current and future state of a program.

At Arizona, 30-win seasons have become the norm. Oregon has not won 30 games in a season in 71 years.

And what’s the best way to ensure future success? Recruiting, of course.

On Monday night, Arizona guaranteed itself another top-10 recruiting class when five-star shooting guard Rawle Alkins committed to the Wildcats on ESPNU. Alkins, ironically, took his first unofficial visit to Arizona on the night of the loss to Oregon.

As the Ducks celebrated the win in the opposing locker room as if they’d just won a championship, Alkins witnessed the hardship one single loss places on the Arizona program.

“One thing when I took that visit that really stuck with me is that winning is the only option to them,” Alkins said.

Only at Arizona is winning everything.

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⚡ GAMEDAY SEVEN PAC-12 TEAMS IN

RPI TOP 50

The Ducks are one of seven Pac-12 teams in the RPI Top 50.

(Samuel Marshall)

Much has been made of the Pac-12’s above average Ratings Percentage Index this season. The conference has seven teams inside the RPI Top 50, and its conference champion, No. 8 Oregon, ranks fourth nationally in the statistic.

The metric, which rates teams based on wins and losses compared to its strength of schedule, has become a commonly used denominator to quantify postseason success. And based on the Ducks’ resume, the team has formed a decent case for why it may be one of the better conference champions in the country.

Oregon is 6-2 in games against the RPI Top 50 and the Pac-12 is tied with the ACC for having the most teams in the RPI Top 100 (11). But the Pac-12’s track record with the RPI has attracted skepticism.

“It seems as though the love for the Pac-12 Conference is getting a little ahead of reality,” The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy wrote in January.

As DeCourcy points out, the Pac-12 went a combined 15-15 against teams in the other major conferences this year. The teams also went 12-19 against outside competition ranked inside the RPI Top 50, further emphasizing his point that the conference, despite what the RPI says, may not actually be better than conferences like the ACC. The RPI is just one of the many resources the NCAA Tournament Committee uses to evaluate teams come Selection Sunday, though — or so it proclaims. The Wall Street Journal discovered in 2011 that the rating was extremely indicative of whether a team on the bubble would make the tournament or not.

In addition, Ken Pomery wrote on Slate in 2011 that, while plenty of RPI rankings appear sensible, many of them do not deliver a ranking a team deserves.

“The biggest problem with the metric is how it uses strength of schedule,” stated Pomeroy, whose own analytical system has become commonly cited in reference to college basketball. “Theoretically, the best team in the country could play the weakest possible slate of opponents.

While playing bad opponents shouldn’t imply that you’re a bad team, threequarters of the RPI is determined by a strength-of-schedule component.

That means who you play is often more important than whether you win or lose.”

It’s difficult to fully comprehend what all of this means. It is college basketball after all, and each season appears to offer more parity than the previous. By Jan. 22, 19 teams ranked inside the AP Poll’s top five had lost, according to ESPN. The consistent narrative this year is that there is no elite, cut-above-the-rest team, which could lend itself to a particularly crazy NCAA Tournament full of upsets.

“The only thing we can control is winning,” head coach Dana Altman said.

“Three years ago [when we had] our first appearance as a 12-seed, I told our guys were only a 12 if we think we’re a 12. No one goes into that tournament without extreme confidence.”

Altman also pointed to Iowa State’s season last year when asked about building momentum in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cyclones won their conference tournament in 2015 and figured to be a Final Four contender. But their season ended just four days later in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

And it seems to drive home a point that a variety of rankings certainly have value — maybe one more so than the other — but that the NCAA Tournament will always be chaotic in spite of it.

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BY JUSTIN WISE, @JUSTINFWISE

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⚑ GAMEDAY

YEAR OF THE SENIOR:

Dwayne Benjamin (center) warms up. He’s one of three Oregon seniors who have averaged at least 20 minutes per game this season.

(Adam Eberhardt)

UPPERCLASSMEN OVERSHADOW ONEAND-DONE PLAYERS IN 2015-16 SEASON

➡ WILL

DENNER, @WILL_DENNER

The 2015-16 NCAA men’s college basketball season has been unusual in the current era of players leaving for the NBA after their freshman seasons (commonly referred to as “one-and-dones”). This season, an unusually high number of seniors have emerged as top players in the nation.

Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon, Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, North Carolina’s Brice Johnson, Iowa State’s Georges Niang and Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine account for half of the 10 players named as semifinalists for the Naismith Award, given annually to the best player in the NCAA. The same trend is true of most highly-ranked teams.

With the exception of No. 1 Kansas, each team ranked in the top five of the AP Poll has at least two seniors averaging 20 minutes or more per game this season: 1. Kansas - Perry Ellis 2. Michigan State - Matt Costello, Bryn Forbes, Valentine 3. Villanova - Ryan Arcidiacono, Daniel Ochefu 4. Virginia - Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill 5. Xavier - Remy Abell, James Farr The rise of seniors in college basketball this season is rare in an era where many players have no intention of staying in college any longer than they’re required to.

Since 2006, when the NBA no longer allowed players to leap straight from high school to the league, 68 players have left college after their freshman seasons to turn pro, according to the Washington Post. But, results are mixed for

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one-and-done players in the NBA, and this season’s large class of seniors could foreshadow years to come.

Several seniors have played key roles for the Ducks this season. Dwayne Benjamin, Chris Boucher and Elgin Cook are all averaging at least 20 minutes per game. Fellow senior Dylan Ennis, who transferred from Villanova in the offseason, likely would’ve joined them had he not suffered a seasonending left foot injury in January.

However, few seniors appear to be top prospects in the NBA Draft. LSU freshman Ben Simmons remains the likely number one pick and Duke freshman Brandon Ingram could go No. 2.

But recent rule changes could cause a decline in the oneand-done trend. The NCAA Division I committee agreed in January to extend the deadline from early April to late May for players to remove their names from the NBA Draft. In addition, players will be allowed to participate in the NBA Draft Combine and tryout with one NBA team per year without losing NCAA eligibility.

These rule changes, effective for the upcoming NBA Draft, will allow players more flexibility in returning to school. If, for instance, a player has a bad showing during the pre-draft process, he can go back to college for another season and try again the next year.

Moving forward, however, the likelihood of seniors headlining college basketball programs at this season’s rate is unlikely.

But at the very least, the 2015-16 season has been unpredictable with so many experienced players, and should make for an interesting NCAA tournament.

⚑ GAMEDAY

CAL IS HOTTEST TEAM ENTERING PAC-12 TOURNAMENT ➡ JUSTIN

O R E G O N ’ S D I L L O N B R O O K S D E F E N D S C A L’ S J AY L E N B R O W N I N T H E D U C KS ’ 6 8 - 6 5 W I N O N J A N UA RY 6 . B ROO KS A N D B R O W N F I G U R E T O B E T W O O F T H E B E T T E R P L AY E R S AT T H I S Y E A R ’ S PA C - 1 2 T O U R N A M E N T. ( C O L E E L S A S S E R )

C A L’ S J AY L E N B R O W N I S M E T AT T H E R I M B Y O R E G O N ’ S J O R D A N B E L L . T H E S E T W O T E A M S A R E F AV O R I T E S T O M E E T F O R T H E T H I R D T I M E T H I S S E A S O N AT T H E P A C - 1 2 T O U R N A M E N T C H A M P I O N S H I P. (COLE ELSASSER)

WISE, @JUSTINFWISE

The superlatives came flying in from every direction before the season began for Cal men’s basketball. Despite not reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 1997, the Golden Bears were picked by four ESPN analysts to make the Final Four, projected to finish second in the Pac-12 and opened the season at No. 14 in the AP poll.

And after just one game, it was easy to see why. Sure, the competition was inferior, but with two potential NBA Draft lottery picks lining up with a contingent of veteran players, Pac-12 Networks analyst and former Cal coach Ben Braun could see how high the ceiling was.

“I said, ‘Boy if they play like this, this year they’re going to be very successful,’ ” Braun said.

But it seemed like all of these considerations had been too optimistic by the time Cal entered the month of February. Contrary to what Braun saw in their opener, the Bears stumbled their way to a 14-8 (4-5 Pac-12) record and looked to be on the verge of not making the NCAA Tournament.

The problems were obvious: The team couldn’t win on the road, played erratic at many junctures of games and hadn’t gelled cohesively.

Ask a team like Oregon if Cal’s figured it out since, though.

Evident in the Bears’ 83-63 shellacking of the conference champion Ducks, Cal connected the pieces to win 8 of its final 9 games of the season and is embodying the traits of a team that could do some serious damage in March.

The freshmen tandem of Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb has only gotten better as the year’s gone on. Brown leads the team in

scoring, averaging over 15 points per game. In addition, his raw athleticism and speed continue to be why he’s such a nightmare for opposing teams. There’s a reason he’s projected by Draft Express to be picked third in the 2016 NBA Draft. As for Rabb, the rookie is averaging almost a double-double.

“They have a presence on the floor, and if your coaching against them, they demand you do some things to stop them,” Braun said.

But Brown and Rabb are merely one part of this sprint to the end of the season for Cal. Tyrone Wallace, who was first-team Pac-12 in 2015, returned from a broken hand in February and the Bears have been clicking ever since. The senior’s numbers have dropped off from last year’s due to the pool of talent surrounding him, but he’s proven to be a huge factor for the Bears’ success, averaging over 15 points per game.

Additionally, as Braun notes, Jabari Bird and Jordan Matthews are two of the most effective players in the Pac-12 and perhaps the nation. Matthews is shooting 42 percent from three-point range and hit at least two in eight of the team’s last nine games.

The Bears finished the regular season ranked first in scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense, which may prove to be their biggest strength in the Pac-12 Tournament and beyond. Add all of it together, and it appears that Cal is finally living up to preseason descriptions such as, “Cal is the closest thing to an NBA team in college basketball.”

It certainly wasn’t what was expected, but Cal’s final drive has head coach Cuonzo Martin and his team posing several different challenges to whichever teams they face for the rest of the March.

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⚑ GAMEDAY Oregon fans have come out in droves for a winning Ducks team at Matthew Knight Arena this season ­.

(Samuel Marshall)

PREDICTIONS AND ANALYSIS AS OREGON GETS SET FOR POSTSEASON PLAY As Elgin Cook said at Oregon’s practice Monday, it’s a new season. The Ducks, winners of the Pac-12 regular season title for the first time since 2002, head into the postseason riding a five-game winning streak. With the Pac-12 Tournament beginning March 9, associate sports editor Hayden Kim and staff reporter Ryan Kostecka break down Oregon’s outlook heading into March.

What’s the ceiling for Oregon heading into the postseason?

RK: Is there any singularly dominant team in college basketball this year or are there multiple very good teams who could take it all? I’m going with the latter and throwing Oregon into that mix as a very good team. In a crazy season of college basketball thus far, there’s no reason why Oregon, with its talent and defense, can’t be the last team standing. Do I think it will happen? No — but I wouldn’t be shocked if it did.

HK: Top-10 ranking aside, this Oregon team can compete with any team in the country and it has proven that sentiment this season as Pac-12 regular season champs. March is always dependant on matchups, but barring any big mishap in the Pac-12 tournament, Oregon will presumably lock up a second or third seed in the NCAA tournament. With that in mind, the Sweet Sixteen and further really isn’t far-fetched.

Looking back at Oregon’s most successful regular season since 2002, what stands out above all else?

RK: Dana Altman and the stellar things he gets out of transfers. First off, Altman is one of the best coaches, if not the most underrated coach, in the nation. His ability to gameplan for opposing teams combined with the way he gets his players to buy into the team concept is beyond baffling and extremely impressive. Secondly, PA G E 1 4

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Chris Boucher has been nothing short of phenomenal as a shot-blocking, corner-three making, game-changing transfer while Dylan Ennis has barely seen the court due to injury but has been the unquestionable emotional leader of this team.

HK: Look no further than the job that Dana Altman has done in his sixth season as Oregon’s head coach. Despite losing one of the most anticipated graduate transfer additions in Dylan Ennis to a season ending foot injury, Altman has managed to put together his best effort since getting hired back in 2010. Announced on Monday, Altman won the Pac-12 coach of the year award, making it back-to-back years he’s received the award and three of the last four.

With half the conference projected to make the NCAA tournament, how do you think the Pac-12 will fare?

RK: I think the Pac-12 occupies at least three of the Sweet-16 spots but I wouldn’t be surprised if it controls onefourth of the occupants. Oregon, Utah and Arizona are all but locks to make the Sweet-16, which leaves Cal, USC, Washington and Oregon State as the final teams remaining. While all teams are capable of making the Sweet-16, I think Cal will be the final Pac-12 team to make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

HK: I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the Pac-12 ultimately sends at least two teams to the Sweet Sixteen.

All top four teams from the conference — Oregon, Utah, California and Arizona — have proven they contain the talent, veteran leadership and coaches to make a splash at the dance, especially during a season that hasn’t seen too much disparity among the top-tier teams across the country.

B Y R YA N K O S T E C K A , @ R YA N _ K O S T E C K A & H AY D E N K I M ,

@ H AY D AY K I M

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ACROSS 1 Painter Chagall 5 Kevin who was the 2014 N.B.A. M.V.P. 11 Record holders?

14 Vicinity 15 One way to be caught 16 Basketball star ___ Ming 17 Amused the singer of “Raise Your Glass”?

19 Zero 20 Ore-Ida product 21 Bit of campfire entertainment 22 Time to rise, in poetry 23 Ruinous end 25 Enchantment of the singer of “Raspberry Beret”?

31 What an unbelievable YouTube video might be 32 Some military defenses, for short 33 K.G.B. adversary 34 ___ port 35 Favoring the singer of “Sunday Bloody Sunday”?

38 Easter egg container?

39 Red Lobster freebie

40 ___-Aid 41 Cream and eggshell, for two 42 Medical procedure for the singer of “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free”?

47 Source of ivory 48 Tree of Life locale 49 Loo 51 Fast-food convenience 56 It might puff you up 57 Coached the singer of “Kiss From a Rose”?

59 90° turn 60 Emmy-winning series set at the Sterling Cooper ad agency 61 Bit of fish food 62 26th of 26 63 Word next to a coin slot 64 Fraud fighters, for short

DOWN

7 Entranced 8 Four of the 12 imams of Shia 9 Diarist Anaïs 10 Shatner’s “___War” 11 Nickname for a highachieving couple 12 One corner of a Monopoly board 13 Filleted fish 18 ___ Hubbard of Scientology 21 When doubled, a drum 23 “Aw, hell!”

24 Approximately 25 Put forward 26 Way into Wonderland 27 Premium ___ 28 27-Down offering 29 David of “Separate Tables” 30 Travels (about) 31 Central points 35 U.P.S. truck contents: Abbr.

36 Piece next to a knight 37 “Alley ___” 41 Doesn’t say outright 43 Mother superior, for one 44 Carl who directed “Oh, God!” 45 Starting time 46 Ticked (off) 49 “Oh, man!”

50 Check out 51 Many soccer coaches 52 Frost 53 Skipper’s position 54 All the ___ 55 ___ Bator 57 “That’s not something I needed to know” 58 Headed up

1 LeBlanc of “Friends” 2 Diva’s delivery 3 Four-sided fig.

4 Betty Crocker product 5 Coke Zero alternative 6 Ruined

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