Ducks Seek Semifinal Bid Friday

INDIANAPOLIS – The Oregon women's basketball team will play its third game in three days with a spot in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament at stake, as the Ducks meet third-seeded Michigan on Friday at approximately 6 p.m. PT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Ducks and Wolverines played a double-overtime thriller at Matthew Knight Arena back on Dec. 29, with Michigan claiming a 92-87 victory. Michigan holds a 2-0 all-time record in the series.

Under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves, the Ducks are 14-9 in conference tournaments after picking up a 73-68 win over sixth-seeded Maryland on Thursday. UO has won multiple games at a conference tournament for the first time since winning the 2020 Pac-12 Tournament title.

GAME #34 – BIG TEN TOURNAMENT (QUARTERFINAL)
(11) Oregon (22-11) vs. (3) No. 8 Michigan (24-5)
Friday, March 5 | Approx. 6 p.m. PT | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.)
TV: Big Ten Network
Play-by-play: Sloane Martin | Analyst: Christy Winters Scott | Sideline: Elise Woodward
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM | ESPN Portland 910 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton
Listen Online | Live Stats

A WIN WOULD…
» Advance the Ducks to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday.
» Mark UO's first semifinal appearance in a conference tournament since the 2022 Pac-12 Tournament.
» Give the Ducks their 23rd win of the season, marking their most in a season since winning 31 in 2019-20.
» Be the Ducks' fourth ranked win of the season, all coming away from home.
» Secure Oregon's third all-time Big Ten Tournament victory.
» Be 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves' 15th conference tournament win in his UO tenure.
» Improve the Ducks' neutral record to 4-1 and 10-6 in all games away from home.
» Mark Oregon's first-ever win over Michigan and Graves' 51st ranked victory in his Oregon tenure.
» Be UO's first win over a top-10 team since defeating No. 9 UConn on Jan. 17, 2022.

LAST TIME OUT
The heart still beats strong for the cardiac kids.

Trailing by five through three quarters, the Oregon women's basketball team completed yet another comeback Thursday, this time for the right to play in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. The Ducks (22-11) beat No. 14 Maryland in the second round, 73-68, and advanced to face Michigan in the quarterfinals Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Limited to two combined points in the first half, sophomore stars Ehis Etute and Katie Fiso combined to finish with 34, with Etute tallying 20 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the tournament. She had 10 points during a 14-3 run by the UO women to open the final period, giving them their second fourth-quarter comeback this season against the Terrapins.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
No. 8 Michigan (24-5, 15-3) earned a double bye at the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 3-seed and opens its postseason having won four of its last four games. The Wolverines have suffered just two losses over their final 11 games, both coming against top-25 teams.

The Wolverines are led by Olivia Olson and Syla Swords, who were each voted first-team all-Big Ten by the league's coaches, with Mila Holloway earning honorable mention accolades. Olson was a unanimous first-team pick after pacing U-M with 19.6 points and 6.2 rebounds a night. Swords averaged 14.6 points and 4.0 rebounds during the regular season.

As a team, Michigan leads the Big Ten with 22.1 forced turnovers per game while ranking second in scoring offense (85.2), scoring margin (plus-21.9) and offensive rebounds per game (15.3). The Wolverines' bench averages 24.8 points a night, good for third in the Big Ten, while their plus-9.4 rebounding margin also ranks third.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's quarterfinal matchup will mark the third all-time meeting, and second this season, between Oregon and Michigan. The Wolverines have claimed both of the previous matchups after holding on for a 92-87 double-overtime victory in Eugene back on Dec. 29. This will mark the first-ever neutral-site and postseason meeting between the teams.

In the season's first matchup, the Ducks erased a 16-point halftime deficit to force the game into double overtime against the then-sixth-ranked Wolverines. Katie Fiso scored 22 of her game-high 24 points after halftime, adding seven rebounds and four assists, to lead four Ducks in double figures. Mia Jacobs added 16 points and five boards, with Ari Long finishing with 14 points and Ehis Etute adding 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. UO recorded 13 steals and forced 26 U-M turnovers, resulting in 26 points.

DUCKS IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Oregon is in the midst of its second-ever Big Ten Tournament, as the Ducks entered a conference tournament as an 11-seed for the first time in program history. With two wins over the first two days of the tournament, the Ducks have won multiple games in a conference tournament for the first time since winning the 2020 Pac-12 Tournament title. UO seeks its first conference tournament semifinal appearance since the 2022 Pac-12 Tournament.

Last season, UO earned the No. 8 seed and faced off with ninth-seeded Indiana in the second round, falling 78-62. Under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves, Oregon is 14-9 in conference tournament games while winning two Pac-12 Tournament titles in a three-year span (2018, 2020).

DUCKS AGAINST THE TOP 25
No. 8 Michigan marks the 10th top-25 opponent the Ducks will face this season, with each coming against Big Ten foes. UO is 3-6 against the Associated Press top 25, after a 73-68 victory over 14th-ranked Maryland in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. All three ranked wins this season have come away from home, the most ranked wins away from home in a season since tallying eight such wins in 2019-20. Each of its last four top-25 victories have come on the road after defeating 16th-ranked Michigan State a season ago. Thursday's win marked head coach Kelly Graves' 50th ranked win during his 12-year tenure in Eugene.

Against ranked teams this season, two players average double-figure points in sophomores Ehis Etute (14.4) and Katie Fiso (12.4), with Mia Jacobs adding 9.9 points. Etute also averages 9.2 rebounds while shooting 51.8 percent from the floor with 1.9 steals a game. Sofia Bell is shooting at a 41.8 clip from the 3-point line goal in those contests and adds 1.8 steals. Fiso is averaging 5.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds while totaling 13 steals against top-25 opponents. Oregon is outscoring ranked teams 180-129 in the fourth quarter while holding a plus-36 point differential in the second half overall.

CARDIAC DUCKS
Oregon has been no stranger to close games this season. The Ducks have played 10 games that have been decided by five points or less after its 73-68 win over Maryland on Thursday. Oregon has played 15 "clutch games" - games that are within five points with five minutes or less to play - this season, including six of its last seven games. Since the start of last season, Oregon has played 29 clutch games, winning 16 of them. After a 80-76 comeback win over Nebraska on Feb. 19, UO has produced three double-digit comeback wins, equaling the most in a season under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves.

At then-No. 21 USC on Jan. 6, Oregon overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to upset the Trojans on their home floor 71-66. Junior guard Ari Long went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc over the game's final 2:43 to erase a six-point hole and finish the game on a 14-0 run. The comeback victory tied for the second-largest halftime deficit overcome under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves, tying a 16-point comeback at USC back on Jan. 13, 2017. Trailing at one point by 17 in the third quarter, it was the largest comeback win since the 2021-22 season against Arizona.

» Six of the Ducks' last seven games have been clutch games, while 13 of the 15 games that have been within five points with five minutes or fewer remaining this season have come against Big Ten opponents.
» Oregon produced its third comeback victory of at least 10 points against Nebraska, as the Ducks trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half and 11 points in the fourth quarter. The three double-digit comeback wins tie the most in a single season under head coach Kelly Graves.
» The Ducks went on a 15-2 run over a 4:30 stretch that flipped a 10-point hole into a three-point lead. Guard Katie Fiso closed the game by scoring 10 of Oregon's final 14 points over the game's final 3:40.
» On Feb. 4 against Illinois, the Ducks saw their 21-point halftime lead disappear in the second half, trailing by as many as eight in the fourth quarter before rallying to win 76-73.
» Down one with eight seconds to go, Fiso hit a driving layup to take a 74-73 lead, and later knocked down two free throws with a second on the clock to salt away the Ducks' smallest margin of victory of the season.
» The win against the Trojans marked the second double-digit comeback win of the season after Oregon trailed by 14 points at Auburn on Nov. 30, outscoring the Tigers 34-20 in the second half.
» The double-OT game against Michigan was the first time the Ducks have gone into double overtime since the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament against Belmont on March 19, 2022. UO has played two double-overtime contests this season (at Wisconsin).
» This marks the first season with multiple double-overtime games played since 2021-22, when UO played two over the season's final five games. Oregon played three games that season that went into an extra period, going 1-2.
» Over the last two seasons, the Ducks have participated in 20 games that have been decided by five points or fewer, going 12-8 in those tilts with five wins coming away from home.
» The 10 games decided by five points or fewer are the most such games in the Big Ten this season. Since joining the Big Ten last season, the Ducks have played a league-leading 20 games decided by five points or less, six more than the next closest.
» UO's 15 games decided by single digits this season are tied for the most in the Big Ten.
» A season ago, UO went 9-5 in clutch games, winning six straight at one point, while going 5-0 in games decided by two points or less and 7-1 in games decided by four points or less.