Oregon - Winthrop Preview

Winthrop Eagles (11) Vs. Oregon Ducks (3)
Sunday, 3/18 @ 2:50
Betting Line From Bookmaker: Oregon -3

The 11th seed Winthrop Eagles pulled an upset by beating the 6th seed Fighting Irish of Notre Dame 74- 64. With 2:21 left, the Irish were ahead 63- 62. In those last two minutes, Winthrop would go on a 12 to 1 run. It’s the first time in 15 tries that a team from the Big South Conference has won a NCAA Tournament game. The Ducks of Oregon almost ended up flying home early as they had all that they could handle in their first round meeting with the Miami (OH) RedHawks. The RedHawks played Oregon tooth and nail, losing 56- 58.

There’s good news and bad news for the Eagles. The good news is that they held tough and won the game in the final two minutes. The bad news is that they were at one time ahead by 20 points and blew that lead, only to come back in the end. They can’t do that against Oregon.

In every shooting category, Winthrop was better than the Irish. The Eagles made 38% of their threes and 45% of their shots from the court. Normally not a great foul shooting team (62%), they were worse than usual, hitting only 53%. The Eagles were flying high, dominating the boards with 40 rebounds and blocking 6 shots. Senior swingman Craig Bradshaw was a standout with 2 blocks, 24 points, 4 assists and 6 rebounds. Senior guard Torrell Martin was also a major force, posting a double-double with 11 rebounds and 20 points.

Oregon managed to show a lot of poise and tenacity as they held off a Miami (OH) team that matched them point for point. The Duck bench helped out with 8 important points and 33 minutes. Junior forward Tim Pollitz scored 21 points and had 5 rebounds. Sophomore forward Michael Bramos notched 18 points and 3 assists.

Oregon comes in having played and beaten some of the best teams in he nation. They have experience and depth. Winthrop comes to round two having beaten a good major conference team. So who will be mightier today—the eagle or the duck?

Bookmark Maddux for news and articles on the 2007 mens basketball tournament. Including march madness brackets and sports betting odds on all the college basketball matchups.