money Oregon women expect difficult battle from Belmont in first round of NCAA Tournament
It has been two weeks since the Oregon Ducks last played a basketball game.
Oregon's last meaningful game was a loss in the Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals.
But now the Ducks (20-11) have put that behind them as they're back in the NCAA Tournament. No. 5 seeded Oregon hopes to move past the first round for the fifth straight year when they play No. 12 seed Belmont on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN2) at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
Belmont (22-7) is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament as it upset fifth-seeded Gonzaga 64-59 in last season's NCAA Tournament first round. Oregon coach Kelly Graves knows the Bruins pose a difficult challenge for his team.
"The more that I watch them play, the more I realize how good they are," Graves said. "They really don't have a weakness that I can find right now. They're really solid on both ends of the floor.
"They're really solid, they're well-coached and they know who they are and they play to their roles. They've won in this tournament, they won as a 12 seed last year and they're used to playing tough competition.
"They're not going to be intimidated by the Oregon name or our tradition. So it is going to be a battle."
Oregon is used to hosting first- and second-round NCAA Tournaments games, but that isn't the case this year. The Ducks were in the first two NCAA top 16 reveals, however after going 6-5 in February, they fell out of the final reveal before the Pac-12 Tournament.
Oregon then had an opportunity to reclaim a spot among the 16 overall teams, but a loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals ended its hope of playing at Matthew Knight Arena during the postseason. While the Ducks have had a tradition of not traveling during the tournament's early rounds, Graves says his team is relishing the opportunity to play in Knoxville in a road environment.
"We don't take this for granted, we are happy to be here," Graves said. "We are a five seed, which still puts us in the top 20. That's the high bar that we set for ourselves.
"Sure, we would have much rather play at home. We had a chance to win a couple of games or at least one game late, but we didn't. We didn't earn that right.
"I don't begrudge the fact that we are a five, we have to come on the road and earn it. It is going to be a true road environment and we are OK with that. We are just going to have to make the most of it."
This year marks the return to a more traditional NCAA Tournament feel. Last year because of the COVID pandemic, the entire NCAA Tournament was held in the San Antonio area. Also, the women's Final Four had a maximum seating capacity of 17% because of physical distancing protocols.
A year later, there will not be any distancing restrictions at Thompson-Boling Arena, which has a capacity of more than 21,000. Having people back in the stands for the tournament is exciting for the fans and the Oregon players.
"Last year, it was the NCAA Tournament, but it wasn't any fans in the first few games," Sedona Prince said. "So, it didn't feel quite like how it should have. This year, it is going to feel like our first year, kind of like freshmen again, which will be fun and exciting.
"It will definitely be different. It will definitely be exciting."
Prince video in the past
Last year in San Antonio, Prince shared a viral video that shined a bright light on the differences between the men's and women's basketball tournaments. Among the differences were the men's and women's weight room, the gifts the players received and the food served.
After Prince displayed the dissimilarities between the two tournaments, NCAA said they would review its gender equity problems in women's basketball and they made wholesale changes. Now the March Madness brand and logo are used for the women's tournament along with the men. Also, the gift packages and on-site lounge areas are the same for male and female players.
While Prince has received a lot of praise and attention for her tweet and video, she is ready to leave that in the past and just focus on basketball.
"I think I want to stray away from last year as much as possible because our sport has done a lot to make improvements," Prince said. "Now that we have them, I don't see a point in talking about the inequalities that we had.
"We are just excited to be here. It's about basketball now and that's what I want it to be about. I want the world to watch our team, not associate it with that and associate it with how great we are on the court.
"We are excited that the NCAA made changes and that's all we wanted. Now it is time to ball."
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Belmont
Time: 2:30 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, Tennessee)
TV: ESPN2 Radio: KUGN-AM (590)
Contact Register-Guard sportswriter Antwan Staley at astaley@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @antwanstaley.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon expects tough battle for Belmont in NCAA first round
