Jermaine Couisnard on emotional Pac-12 title win: I've been dreaming all my life about this

On Saturday night, Oregon threw the college basketball world into chaos by upsetting Colorado 75-68, capturing the Pac-12 Tournament title. Most importantly, the Ducks punched their ticket to this year’s NCAA championship tournament.

After the game super senior guard Jermaine Couisnard could barely contain his emotions as he discussed his thoughts after the victory, revealing the driving force behind Oregon’s run to the Pac-12 tournament title.

“Believe,” said Couisnard when questioned on how Oregon ran the table in the conference tourney. “I don’t think nobody believed in us this weekend. I told our team this weekend to just keep believing. I’m going to do whatever it takes for us to win tonight and just lean on the seniors. I got y’all.”

Oregon has dealt with its fair share of injury issues this season. To put it generously, some of their top players, like fellow senior guard Jesse Zarzuela and the star of Saturday night’s championship game, N’Faly Dante, have missed a significant amount of time this year. Dante has only played in 19 games and Zarzuela was lost for the season after suffering an ankle injury back in December. But Oregon did not let that stop them from persevering through the Pac-12 tournament and swiping a bid from one of the teams on the bubble.

Couisnard on what the Pac-12 title win means to him

Couisnard, a six-year senior, attempted to express his feelings about finally making it to the NCAA tournament in his last and final year at Oregon.

“A lot. I’ve been through a lot, and my team. I’m so grateful for them. I’m glad they put the ball in my hands and want me to make plays for our team,” he continued. “It feels amazing. I appreciate them more than anything…. I can’t even explain it. It’s unreal. I’ve been dreaming about this, just been dreaming my whole life about this because this is something that I want. This is something I really wanted.”

Under head coach Dana Altman, Oregon has had some solid teams, with their last time qualifying for the NCAA tournament back in the 2020-2021 season. Since then, Oregon has missed out on ongoing dancing twice and appeared to be heading in that same direction for a third time. Until everything clicked for the Ducks during the Pac-12 tournament as they picked up victories over UCLA, top-seeded Arizona, and Colorado in the championship game to commandeer the conference’s automatic bid.

The hard part is out of the way for Oregon, as they are guaranteed a spot in the field of 68. Now, the Ducks must wait and see who they will face in round one and what region they’ll secure. But after Saturday night’s emotional victory in what will be Altman’s last season as head coach at Oregon, the Duck can bathe in the emotion and exhilaration from keeping their national title hopes and dreams alive.