Go Vikings! Go Ducks!

Psuvikings

This morning, the NCAA basketball tournament kicked off -- and for the first time, the Portland State Vikings are in the hunt for the national championship.

Of course, they're a #16 seed - and are taking on #1 Kansas. Historically, there's never been a #1 seed defeated by a #16 seed.

There's live scoring from ESPN and CBS.

Tomorrow, the Oregon Ducks (#9) will kick off their championship hunt against Mississippi State (#8).

Use this space to chat about the NCAA Tournament.

Discuss.

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    Vikings, Ducks, enjoy the first round.

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    Good news! The Vikings are only down 23 at the half!

    Hmmmm.... maybe I shouldn't have picked them to go all the way. Dang.

  • Shauna Ballo (unverified)
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    Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Go KU!

    As an alum of both KU and PSU I can say that the Vikings should be honored to be beaten by THE most storied and one of the most successful college basketball programs in history of the game (which our first coach, James Naismith, invented, btw).

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    The most storied? Please! That honor goes to UCLA. Go Bruins!

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    Shauna,

    Ick! "Honored to be beaten." That is just, wow. The Vikings gave it their all and your Jayhawks won. But honored, c'mon, really?

  • mrfearless47 (unverified)
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    PSU played respectably and was beaten by a far better time. The ducks will be gone after Round 1 and then I can start to take my alum Bruins seriously. Go UCLA.

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    There's an article on PSU over at CNNSI.com:

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/ncaa_tourney/2008/?eref=T1

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    Shauna, your Jayhawks will be honored to be beaten by my Wisconsin Badgers when they meet in the fourth round. As tradition must give way to the arisal of talent, I'm sure you'll feel honored, too.

    (And Ben's right: UCLA, the faves this year, definitely lay claim to "most storied.")

  • Paul Johnson (unverified)
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    What the hell, Blue Oregon? The Hustlin' Owls just took the national title and all y'all can talk about is UO and PSU losing. I thought BO was above making the same mistake as mainstream news.

    To Ben: Thanks for visiting Oregon. Please understand that Oregon is full, and remember to leave when you're done visiting.

  • Rastaman (unverified)
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    zzzzzzzzzzz(yaaaawn)zzzzzzzzzzz

    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    yawn.

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    Thanks, Paul. Didn't know about that. Of course, it might be the worst press release ever written.

    OWLS WIN NATIONAL TITLE Point Lookout, Mo. - In a rematch of the 2004 national championship game, Oregon Tech, the 11th seed, defeated top-seeded Bellevue (Neb.) 63-56 to win their second ever national championship. The Hustlin' Owls finish their championship season with a 31-6 overall record. The 17th-annual event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks (Mo.).

    Nice opening graf, but WHAT SPORT? Given the references deep into the release about "three pointers", I'm assuming basketball -- but the word "basketball" doesn't appear anywhere in it.

    Maybe it's lacrosse. Do they have three pointers in lacrosse? Or water polo?

    OK, enough complaining here.

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    And so ends one of the most painful eras to be an Oregon sports fan: a half of decent basketball against MS State, followed by 20% shooting from the field and a total inability to grab a rebound, leading to another first-round exit. CBS even gave us Eagle and Spanarkel to commemorate the misery.

    I'd have rather seen us make a run at the NIT. For God's sake, Arizona State is still alive; how hard could it be?

    I'd say it's time for Mark Few at Oregon, but even he's losing games he should have won.

    Like Ernie, who wouldn't play Schafer or Platt even when we were getting killed in the paint, Few refuses to go to the 7-0 freshman Sacre, or give Heytvelt enough minutes to get a rhythm, even when they're losing.

    Of course, most of this is on the team, at least the ones who Ernie had out there. For the first time ever, I saw Malik Hairston try to win. Leunen ends a career playing out of position, precisely because Ernie won't play a true center beside him. Our backcourt panics at the first sign of a deficit. And I'll probably die wondering what a tall point guard could do at Oregon.

    Grr. Seriously, I have to cheer for Wazoo and UCLA?

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