This is not Dana Altman’s last dance, but could it be his last hurrah?
Oregon’s 66-year-old coach said recently that he “absolutely” doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon. He could be back in the NCAA Tournament next year and the year after that and every year for the next five years.
But he might not have another chance like this — a chance to eliminate a longtime rival, topple the tournament favorite, remind the sport why he’s a master of March and put the bow on a Hall of Fame career.
It’s all set up for Altman, whose team started the season strong, stumbled in the middle and finished with more than enough momentum to fuel a tournament run.
It was all so Oregon.
So Altman.
How many times have the Ducks played their best in March, with the system and the talent and the pressure all converging to create a dynamo? It happened in 2013 and 2016 and 2017 and 2019 and 2021.
One run produced an Elite Eight.
Another propelled Oregon into the Final Four.
It hasn’t happened as often recently. The Ducks missed the tournament altogether in 2022 and 2023. And given the rugged nature of the Big Ten and the roster challenges posed by the transfer portal era, there are zero guarantees Oregon will be a regular participant in the NCAAs in the second half of the decade.
Or that Altman will have an opportunity like the one looming next week in the Sweet 16.
First up, of course, is Liberty, the 28-game winner of Conference USA. The Flames favor a slow pace and tight defense — there’s a reason the fifth-seeded Ducks are favored by just 6.5 points. We expect a struggle for 30 or 35 minutes until Oregon’s talent takes charge.
If form holds in the East, the Ducks will face fourth-seeded Arizona in Seattle in the second round. The last time they met, 370 days ago in Las Vegas, Oregon upset the Wildcats in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament.
From here, it looks exactly like a toss-up.
And if the Ducks survive, they likely would face the No. 1 seed, Duke, in the Sweet 16 in Newark.
Altman and his 18 tournament victories against Jon Scheyer and his … four.
The Blue Devils have the presumptive No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, forward Cooper Flagg, plus two other candidates for the lottery portion, big man Khaman Maluach and wing Kon Knueppel, and a late-round prospect in wing Isaiah Evans.
Nobody on Altman’s roster is currently pegged for the first round.
The Blue Devils are 3/1 favorites to win the tournament.
The Ducks are 180/1.
And yet, there is a path to victory for Oregon.
What if Flagg’s injured ankle doesn’t heal in time? What if he returns pain-free but out of sorts? If Flagg’s return actually discombobulates the Blue Devils ever-so-slightly?
What if Oregon big man Nate Bittle continues his stellar stretch-run play and gets the better of Maluach?
What if veteran guards Jackson Shelstad and TJ Bamba, erratic from 3-point range all season, find their form just when it’s least expected?
What if the pieces coalesce and the confidence soars and Altman pulls all the right strings as he has done so often in the past?
It would be a stunner, for sure. And very, very Altman.
This might not be his last tournament appearance, but it could be his final chance to come from nowhere and topple the favorite and remind the sport that a master craftsman is tucked away in the Willamette Valley, quietly plying his trade.
At least for a few more years.
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