Vegas-Bound Ducks Set for Pac-12 Tourney

EUGENE, Ore. — With the regular season in its rear-view mirror, the Oregon women's basketball team is set for the postseason, as the 12^th-seeded Ducks begin the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament against five-seed and 18^th-ranked Colorado on Wednesday at 12 p.m. PT at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

GAME #32 – PAC-12 TOURNAMENT - FIRST ROUND
(12) Oregon (11-20) vs. (5) No. 18 Colorado (21-8)
Wednesday, March 6 | 12 p.m. PT | MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.)
TV: Pac-12 Network
Play-by-play: Ann Schatz| Analyst: Tammy Blackburn
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (Eugene: KUGN 98.1 | Portland: KPAM 860 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon begins its postseason at the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The 12th-seeded Ducks will match up with No. 5 seed Colorado in the tournament's opening game on Wednesday.

The Buffaloes, who are ranked 18th in the latest Associated Press poll, will mark the 13th ranked opponent the Ducks will face this season, and ninth over their last 12 games. The Ducks seek to end their 13-game losing streak and snap a four-game skid to Colorado on Wednesday.

Oregon and CU have met just once in the Pac-12 Tournament, with UO earning an 84-47 second-round win in 2018. The Ducks have made an appearance in the second round of the conference tournament in each of the last seven years.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon celebrated its three-member senior class on Saturday after a 76-56 loss to No. 4 Stanford at Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks recognized guards Ula Chamberlin, Bella Hamel and Kennedi Williams in a postgame ceremony.

The Ducks were led by Chance Gray's 18 points, going 4-for-8 from deep, to go with 10 points from Grace VanSlooten. Kennedy Basham tied her career highs of four blocks and three assists, while Phillipina Kyei also matched her career high with three steals.

The Cardinal held a 50-30 rebounding advantage, leading to a 32-18 edge in points in the paint and 14-9 lead in second-chance points. UO shot 32 percent from the floor to Stanford's 46 percent.

SCOUTING COLORADO
No. 18 Colorado (21-8, 11-7) enters the Pac-12 Tournament having lost five of its last six games following a 72-63 home loss to Washington State on Saturday. The Buffaloes snapped their season-long four-game losing streak Friday with their 68-62 victory over Washington. The Buffaloes earned the fifth seed in the conference tournament and have been ranked every week this season in the Associated Press top-25 poll, climbing as high as No. 3.

CU is led by a trio of players averaging double-figure points in Aaronette Vonleh (14.3), Jaylyn Sherrod (12.8) and Frida Formann (12.6). Quay Miller paces the Buffs with her 7.7 rebounds per game while adding 9.2 points a night.

Formann is second in the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting at 41.5 percent and Vonleh is third in field goal percentage, shooting at a 56.6 percent clip. As a team, Colorado ranks second in the conference in assists per game, steals per game and turnovers forced per game.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oregon holds a 19-12 lead in the all-time series with Colorado, going back to 1981. The Buffaloes have won four straight in the series and swept the two-game regular-season series for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign. The four-game winning streak ties CU's longest in the series history. Overall, UO has claimed six of the last 10 matchups and nine of the last 14. Head coach Kelly Graves is 9-6 against the Buffs in his Oregon tenure and since Colorado joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12, the Ducks are 11-9 in the series.

Colorado earned a 61-48 win over the Ducks in Eugene on Jan. 28 and completed the season sweep two weeks later on Feb. 9 with a 90-57 win in Boulder. The Buffaloes were ranked inside the top five in both matchups this season. Grace VanSlooten paced the Ducks with 16.0 points a game against CU, shooting 41.2 percent while averaging 7.5 rebounds. Phillipina Kyei produced 11.5 points and 12.5 rebounds and Chance Gray added 11.5 points across the two games.

DUCKS IN THE PAC-12 TOURNEY
Oregon enters the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament as the 12-seed for just the second time in program history, and first time since the 2013 conference tournament. As a No. 8 seed or lower, UO is a combined 1-8, with the one win coming last year in the first round against nine-seed Washington. Overall, the Ducks are 16-20 in the Pac-12 Tournament and 7-4 in Las Vegas.

» Oregon has made an appearance in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament in seven straight seasons, while 12 of its 16 tournament wins have come since 2017.
» The Ducks and Buffaloes have met just one time previously in the conference tournament, with top-seeded Oregon defeating ninth-seeded CU 84-47 in the first round of the 2018 tournament.
» Under head coach Kelly Graves, UO is 12-7 in the Pac-12 Tournament and have claimed its only two tournament crowns (2018, 2020). The Ducks have advanced to the championship game three times under Graves and have qualified for the semifinal round five times.
» As the No. 9 seed a season ago, Oregon defeated eighth-seeded Washington 52-50 in the first round before facing top-seed Stanford in the second round, falling 76-65.
» Only three Ducks have Pac-12 Tournament experience in Chance Gray, Phillipina Kyei and Grace VanSlooten. Kyei has played three games, scoring a total of eight points to go with 17 rebounds. Gray has scored 10 points with three assists over two games and VanSlooten has appeared in just one game, scoring seven points while grabbing three rebounds with three assists.