NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeds that emerge from the Pacific Northwest don’t come around often, and they don’t stay late.
Between Oregon State in 1981, Washington in 2005 and Gonzaga in 2014, the longest to play was the Bulldogs, who made it to the Elite Eight before bowing out to Duke.
So though Oregon truly earned its first No. 1 seed Sunday — it spoke volumes that few in college basketball were taken aback by the seed line — it will begin West region play Friday in Spokane against healthy skepticism. It is the lowest-rated No. 1 seed in the KenPom.