You probably know by now the Oregon Ducks are in the Final Four for the first time since 1939.
In the nation's first ever national title tourney Oregon beat Ohio St. to win it all. There were only 8 teams that year and probably only a couple of hundred brackets, if any at all. Oregon was referred to as the "Wandering Webfoots'. That nickname due to the team being the first ever from the West to travel East to play a 10 game road trip. They won 7. One of the 8 teams in the field was the winner of the regular season SWC. For those not from around here, that would be the Southwest Conference. A 7 team league in those days. Texas was 19-6 for the season and 10-2 in the conference. One loss put on them at Arkansas, another at Rice.
Texas was coached by Jack Gray. He was a former star player at UT and went on become a very successful coach. One of his star players was number 27, Denton Cooley. The soon to be doctor must have spent a lot of time in both the library and the gym. Texas was taken out of the single elimination field losing to the eventual champs, Oregon.
The Webfoots would also beat Ohio St. to win it all. The championship game was played at Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois. The host school didn't get a taste of the expanded format until this season, a drought of 78 years. Now the Ducks (formerly Webfoots) can win their 2nd, but not many like their chances of upsetting North Carolina. For the record, the Webfoots didn't wear glow in the dark neon uniforms. They should come out in 1939 replicas and certainly no Nike logo.