Dana Altman is an excellent tournament coach, and his Oregon teams have won at least one game in every postseason tournament they’ve competed in (NCAA, NIT, CBI) since he arrived in Eugene in 2010. The Ducks face a unique foe in Liberty, but have a couple of edges that contribute to the opportunity to win big on Friday night in Seattle. The first and most basic advantage is travel, as Liberty has had to fly cross-country from Lynchburg, Va. to Seattle while Oregon makes the short trip north. There’s also how Liberty fared against bigger and more athletic teams, a point that suggests that Oregon will be able to really overpower the flames with dynamic scoring threats like Nate Bittle and TJ Bamba.

Tried to be impressed by Ducks on multiple occasions the last 3 months and found them tepid. You may notice me fading Big 10 teams as if the conference was overrated yet again, yeah it's not a fluke. Liberty is a top 25 3-point shooting team and top 50 KenPom D team and they protect the ball and won't flinch here. Oregon peaked at Christmas; 7-13 ATS since Jan. 1 and seemed uninspired vs lesser competition. Liberty incredibly stingy vs the three ball should they work a lead and they can be very frustration to play against. Liberty 9-4-1 ATS with 4+ days between games. Have won 11 of their last 12 games. Flames winning a low scoring game would be no shocker.