Johnathan Loyd Emerges as Unsung Hero For Oregon Ducks to Win Pac-12 Title

By Dan Parzych
(Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports)

Heading into Saturday, everybody expected UCLA to have the advantage against Oregon as they appeared to be one of the hottest teams over the last couple of weeks. Instead, it was Oregon who came out on top to win the Pac-12 title–leaving everybody wondering what to expect once the 2013 NCAA Tournament gets under way next week.

The Ducks came through with a 78-69 win on Saturday night to win the Pac-12 title and give the team plenty of confidence heading into the big tournament next week. These two teams only met once during the regular season and even though Oregon came through with the win in that one–many expected UCLA to win on Saturday as they seemed to be the hotter team heading into the contest.

Instead–the Ducks came through when it mattered most and may be one of the most dangerous teams heading into the tournament.

When it comes to unsung heroes, Johnathan Loyd came up big for the Ducks as he contributed 19 points to go along with three assists on Saturday. There will be numerous key factors heading into the tournament, but if Loyd can carry the same momentum from Saturday’s game against the Bruins into the tournament–Oregon may be one of those teams nobody will want to play against.

One of the best parts about the NCAA Tournament is winners are usually determined based off which team is the hottest at the right time in March. The potential is certainly there for the Ducks and after winning the Pac-12 title–anything is possible once next week gets underway.

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