Liberty Coach Reveals Rooting For Oregon Ducks To Upset Arizona: NCAA Tournament March Madness

The Oregon Ducks crushed Liberty in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Next up is a March Madness show down with familiar foe, Arizona Wildcats. Liberty coach Ritchie McKay revealed he will be rooting for Oregon to beat the Wildcats in the round of 32.

"Congratulations to Oregon. They were really good. That was as worthy of an opponent as we have played in a long time," McKay said after the game. "They did a terrific job taking away some of the things that we do well and they were dominant tonight... "But we've always said that we won't base our identity on the outcome of a game, and we were really privileged to be a part of the NCAA Tournament, to represent our university, our conference."

"We'll root for Oregon for the next game."

Mar 21, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Jadrian Tracey (2),forward Supreme Cook (7), guard Ra'Heim Moss (0), guard TJ Bamba (5) react from the bench against the Liberty Flames during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

McKay's kind comments are a breath of fresh air in a college basketball world that can see head coaches sometimes blaming their players, the referees or something else. In turn, McKay and his team are also easy to root for.

The Ducks cruised to a 81-52 victory over the Flames with an early double-digit lead that they never lost. Oregon sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad led the team with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting while center Nate Bittle had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and guard Keeshawn Barthelemy continued his hot shooting by adding 10 points.

No. 5 seed Oregon and No. 4 seed Arizona will face off on Sunday at 6:40 p.m PT at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. The TV broadcast for the NCAA Tournament second round game is TBS.

Surprisingly, this will be the first time Oregon and Arizona are facing off in the NCAA tournament. The former Pac-12 conference foes have played each other a lot however and Arizona owns a 55-38 lead on Oregon in the all-time series.

The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 in the East Regional in Newark, N.J., where they’ll face either Duke or Baylor on Thursday.

Mar 21, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Carter Bryant (9) dribbles the ball against Akron Zips guard Shammah Scott (1) during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

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ODDS

According to DraftKings, the Wildcats open up as -4.5 favorites over the Ducks for Sunday's second-round game.

Oregon coach Dana Altman again has his team peaking at the right time, as the Ducks have won nine of their last 10 games.

FUN FACTS

With the win, Oregon coach Dana Altman has never lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the Oregon coach (9-0).

The 29-point margin of victory is the second largest in Oregon NCAA Tournament history, trailing only the 39-point victory over Holy Cross in 2016.

Oregon’s No. 5 seed is its highest since earning No. 3 in 2017.

"You've seen our work so far, but this started months ago. Hours in the summer led to days in the fall. Brought us to winds in the winter. All to build what we have now. March is here. Madness awaits," Bittle said in Oregon's hype video.

Madness awaits. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/OE7Ko5SAN1
— Oregon Men's Basketball (@OregonMBB) March 21, 2025

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