Hey Rick Majerus! How does THAT taste!

So Winthrop hit four of their first six threes. That was pretty much the extent of their Cinderella run at the Ducks. Remember Craig Bradshaw, the guy who according to all the experts, would have too much size for the Oregon big men? 3-6 from the field. Non-factor. Winthrop was supposed to be this athletic, up-tempo team that would be able to stay with Oregon. I didn't see it. I was thoroughly unimpressed by "This Year's George Mason."

Maybe now some of the college basketball pundits will recognize, especially Rick Majerus. I like Rick. He was a good coach, he's a likeable guy, and he is a great analyst. But he was flat-out wrong about the "Ore-Gone" Ducks. So was Seth Davis and Clark Kellog. So was Digger Phelps. Everyone and their mother was picking Winthrop and I think I know why. Last year, Mason proved that it could be done. Now everyone is looking for that team that will do it this year. Winthrop was a trendy pick, and for the "experts" whose introduction to Oregon basketball was the first-round game against Miami (OH), it was easy for them to pick Winthrop. Forgive them. They didn't know Oregon is the Pac-10 champ. They didn't know Oregon has defeated UCLA, Wazzu (twice), Zona at Zona, Georgetown at Georgetown. They didn't know, they didn't care. They didn't want to know. Now they better take a look because this team is for real. Frankly, I expected to see a closer game. Now, I can't wait to watch ESPN tonight to see Digger and Majerus and all the other Ignorant to Ore-Gones try to justify Winthrop's demise.

And make no mistake, that's what it will be. It won't be what Oregon did right, but what Winthrop did wrong. That's all we heard from Ian Eagle during the telecast. "Winthrop just isn't executing" or "The Eagles just can't get anything going." Ian is another guy I like, but he wanted so badly for Winthrop to keep the Cinderella run going it was absurd. He didn't acknowledge Oregon's D once. Really, none of this lack of notoriety matters. If we keep winning, people will notice. UNLV is DAN-GER-OUS. Granted, Wisconsin was clearly a tired team that peaked midseason and ran out of gas in the Big Ten tourney. But UNLV is for real. They have 30 wins, and that's no joke.

That said, this is a great opportunity for Oregon. Beat UNLV and get a shot at the defending national champs and, in my opinion, the best team in America. Florida would beat Oregon 9 times out of 10, but all it takes is one. But first things first. UNLV is on tap. Let's hope people notice.