Oregon Ducks, OSU Beavers punch ticket to Men’s NCAA Tournament

OSU makes tournament for just the second time since 1990

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A year after being canceled due to the pandemic, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has returned.

And both the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers have punched their ticket to the Big Dance.

On Selection Sunday this past weekend, the NCAA unveiled its 64-team bracket for the famed tournament, and both teams will be competing in Indianapolis later this week.

For the Ducks, a tournament berth was expected. The Pac-12 regular seasons champs (20-6) made it to the Sweet 16 back in 2019, and all the way to the Final Four in 2017.

As a No. 7 seed, they'll face no. 10 VCU in the first round of the Midwest Regional in Indianapolis on Saturday.

But it took a bit of a miracle run for the Beavers, as they earned an automatic bid by winning the Pac-12 Conference tournament with wins over UCLA, Colorado, and Oregon -= all tournament locks in their own right.

Not only is it OSU's first men's Pac-12 title, but it's also the first time a Pac-12 title-winner had been projected to finish dead last in the conference.

As a No. 12 seed they're set to matchup against No. 5 Tennessee in the first round of the West Region this Friday.

This marks the first time OSU has reached the tournament since 2016, and just the second time since 1990.

Although both teams are not considered favorites to win it all, it is March ... and anything can happen.