Dana Altman reveals cause of Oregon State rally

Down five against Oregon State with two minutes left, midnight was about to strike on Oregon’s NCAA Tournament chances. But the Ducks clawed their way back into the game and got a game-winning jumper from Rivaldo Soares to save the season and sweep their in-state rival. Oregon at the horn, 69-67, to move on to 16-13 on the year while avoiding what would have been a resume killing loss to the Beavers.

After the game, Ducks head coach Dana Altman was upset at his team for letting OSU storm back and take the lead. However, he had to credit his guys for making huge shots and free throws at the very end to escape with a win.

“You Know, it was a game that we had pretty good control of, and on the boards. But a couple bad turnovers, let them get back in it. And, you know, we’re down five there, it didn’t look good and (N’Faly) Dante had a couple big free throws Will had a couple big free throws which kept us in the game. And then (Rivaldo Soares) hit a big shot.”

Excellent execution from the Oregon veterans down the stretch of a massively important game. Sure, a matchup against the second to last place team in the conference doesn’t seem all that pivotal, but this late in the season, every game is. Especially so for teams like Oregon who are hanging onto the bubble by a fingernail.

The Big Dance typically omits teams with a baker’s dozen worth of losses like the Ducks. Oregon’s only hope to get in is to take care of lower-tier teams and try to pick off a few more quality wins before they stand in front of the judge, jury and executioner known as the NCAA Selection Committee. The Oregon State victory was requisite. Now, they’ll have two more easy win they ought to pick up — and again, they’ll need to in order to keep the tourney dreams alive.

Those games? Last-place California at home and third-to-last Stanford. That’s right, the Ducks get the three worst teams in the Pac-12 to end their regular season. Dana Altman literally could not ask for a better draw to further fluff up their resume and avoid a loss. Can’t be stressed how crucial it is for Oregon to avoid a loss here to end the year.