The Oregon Ducks will likely be the preseason Pac-12 favorite this season.

The Oregon Women’s Basketball program had a season for the ages in 2017-18. After the team had made the Elite Eight in an NCAA Tournament Cinderella run the season before, it was clear that the Ducks had made a jump. The 2018 season may have ended in the Elite Eight yet again, to the eventual national champions in Notre Dame, but the team got there in much more dominant fashion. That success could be the starting block for this year's potential elite season.

The Ducks finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 33-5, a drastic improvement on the 23-14 record from the year before. Oregon also won its first-ever PAC-12 Tournament, which has consistently been one of the toughest conferences in women’s basketball. The tournament consisted of the Ducks dominating opponents, instead of the narrow upsets from the previous season. Through four seasons, head coach Kelly Graves has helped turn a team that was relatively mediocre into a dominant force.

The catalyst behind Oregon’s success was the emergence of sophomore guard Sabrina Ionescu. She quickly established herself as one of the best players in the country when she set the NCAA career record for triple-doubles in only her second year. Ionescu also found herself in several record books when the broke the school record for points in a single season, and the conference record for assists in a single season.

She led the Ducks in basically every major statistical category except for rebounds and blocks. Ionescu was not only the best passer and shooter on the team but also among the best in the country as well. She will obviously be the leader of the Ducks next season, and one of the biggest stars in women’s basketball moving forward.

Ionescu is the headliner of Oregon’s returners, but the team is also bringing back three other regular starters in Ruthy Hebard, Maite Cazorla, and Satou Sabally. Hebard and Cazorla joined Ionescu as All-PAC-12 players last season, so it’s clear that Oregon has plenty of talent for 2019.

Despite the fact Oregon’s has a great number of starters returning, the weakness may come from the bench. The Ducks had four bench players transfer from the program over the offseason, including Mallory McGwire, who had 19 starts of her own in 2018. Despite all of the losses, Oregon hopes it can make up for it with an elite starting lineup, and two talented freshmen in Taylor Chavez and Nyara Sabally. The rotation just may be tighter than originally thought.

Along with what is always a tough PAC-12 schedule, Oregon will have plenty of opportunities to prove itself in its non-conference schedule as well. The schedule consisting of four tournament teams from last season is headlined by a December match-up with Mississippi State, who has also been among the best teams in the country over the last few years.

Overall, there’s no reason to believe that Oregon won’t be one of the best teams in the country again in 2019. The team has arguably the best player in the country in Ionescu, while also returning an elite starting lineup. There’s a weakness in depth, but the team is so talented up top that it should be able to dominate the majority of opponents. This seems like a team who could potentially be competing for an NCAA Final Four appearance, or even a national championship next season.

Oregon Women’s Basketball is set to tip off its season on November 6 against Alaska Fairbanks. The team will have its first home game on November 10 against Syracuse.