With less than a month remaining until Selection Sunday, the NCAA tournament bubble is beginning to take shape. Bubble Breakdown is the Dagger's daily look at the results that impact who's in and who's out.
At practice Tuesday, Oregon star Joseph Young shared a bold prediction with members of the media.
"We're going to the tournament," Young said. "I just want to get that out right now. We're going to the tournament."
Young's guarantee suddenly looks a lot more realistic after a two-win week that culminated with Oregon's most impressive victory of the season. Freshman forward Dillon Brooks scored 19 points and Young added 14 to help the Ducks hold off a late rally from ninth-ranked Utah and emerge with a crucial 69-58 victory Sunday in Eugene.
While the road loss drops the Utes a game behind Arizona in the Pac-12 title chase, the outcome is still far more significant for third-place Oregon (20-8, 10-5). It gives the Ducks their third RPI top 50 victory this season to go along with previous wins over Illinois and UCLA.
Those three marquee victories and a dearth of bad losses will likely land Oregon one of the final at-large spots in updated mock brackets. To retain that, the Ducks will need to find a way to finish strong away from home the next three weeks. They're 2-4 on the road so far this season, and their final three games before the Pac-12 tournament are at Cal, Stanford and Oregon State.
That Oregon is in contention for an NCAA tournament at all is remarkable considering the patchwork roster Dana Altman is fielding.
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Seven of Oregon's nine leading scorers from last season are no longer with the team, three via graduation, one via transfer and three via dismissal after rape allegations. Returners Young and Elgin Cook have been the stalwarts for the Ducks all season while newcomers Brooks, Dwayne Benjamin, Jordan Bell and Ahmad Rorie have gradually grown into their roles. Onetime bench warmer Jalil Abdul-Bassit has also emerged as a capable outside shooting threat.
The result is an Oregon team that is efficient enough on offense to make up for a suspect defense and win six of its last seven games. If the Ducks can sustain that on the road the next two weeks, they'll improbably find themselves in the NCAA tournament for the third straight season under Altman.
BUBBLE TEAMS WHOSE STOCK ROSE SUNDAY
Iowa (17-10, 8-6): It's performances like this that make it baffling how Iowa is even on the bubble at all. The Hawkeyes routed struggling Nebraska 74-46 in Lincoln, inching themselves closer to securing a spot in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. A sweep of Ohio State and quality wins against Maryland and North Carolina boost Iowa's resume, but the Hawkeyes aren't safe enough to lose focus over their final four regular season games. They host Illinois and visit Indiana and Penn State before returning home to face Northwestern in their regular season finale. Two wins might be enough. Three wins would probably clinch a bid.
BUBBLE TEAMS WHOSE STOCK FELL SUNDAY
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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