CSNPhilly.com printable bracket.
Brackets: East | Midwest | South | West
No. 8 seed Saint Joseph's (28-7, 13-5 Atlantic 10) vs. No. 1 seed Oregon (29-6, 14-4 Pac 12)
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington, 9:40 p.m., TV: TBS
Last time out
St. Joe's defeated Cincinnati, 78-76, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after the Bearcats' last-second dunk was called off.
Fresh off being the MVP in the A-10 Tournament, senior Isaiah Miles came through in the clutch for St. Joe's on Friday. His three-pointer with 7.3 seconds left propelled the Hawks to victory. It proved to be the difference after Cincinnati's Octavius Ellis' late dunk was nullified. Miles had 19 points with a trio of made threes and seven rebounds.
Junior DeAndre' Bembry led the Hawks with 23 points and three shots from beyond the arc of his own. He added a team-high five assists while corralling six rebounds.
The Hawks made 13 of 17 free throws Friday, good for 76.5 percent. Miles, Bembry and Jason Demery combined to go 12 of 14.
Oregon needed no heroics against No. 16 Holy Cross, handling the Crusaders, 91-52. Junior transfer Jason Boucher led the Ducks with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting in just 17 minutes in the victory over the Crusaders.
Series history
The Hawks have played the Ducks only once and it occurred Dec. 19, 1938. The Ducks' 54-44 victory came more than 15 years before Hawks coach Phil Martelli was born.
NCAA Tournament facts/figures
This is the Hawks' 21st NCAA Tournament appearance. It is their seventh under Martelli.
St. Joe's is 19-24 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, last making it in 2014. The win over Cincinnati was the Hawks' first in the Big Dance since 2004, when Jameer Nelson and Delonte West led St. Joe's to the Elite Eight.
Oregon is 16-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks won the first NCAA title in 1939, but have only made it as far as the Elite Eight since that championship.
Scouting Oregon
Just like St. Joe's, this team is offense first (see story). Four players average more than 12 points per game. Sophomore Dillon Brooks, who had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists vs. Holy Cross, leads the team in scoring (16.6 points per game) and has quietly become one of the best players in the nation.
However, the Hawks must be cautious when going into the paint. Oregon is fourth in the NCAA in blocks, averaging 5.9 per game. Boucher blocked 106 shots this season and sophomore Jordan Bell had 47 rejections of his own.
Oregon is a No. 1 seed for a reason. The Ducks won both the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles. They picked up impressive wins against No. 3 seed Utah (three times), No. 6 seed Arizona (twice) and No. 5 seed Baylor. They went 12-3 against teams in the NCAA Tournament field.
St. Joe's is fourth in the country in offensive turnover percentage. While the Hawks are very efficient in avoiding turnovers, they also don't force many, ranking 289th in the country in defensive turnover percentage. They will have to avoid turnovers against a strong squad like the Ducks.
There is a Big 5 connection with the Ducks, albeit slight. Dylan Ennis, who played two years for Villanova, transferred to the Ducks and played two games this year before missing the season with a foot injury. Ennis was set to be Oregon's point guard this season.
What’s next
The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 to face No. 4 Duke in Anaheim, California.