Mark J. Terrill/AP

For a fifth consecutive season, March Madness will include the Oregon Ducks.

When the Oregon Ducks open the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament this week, they will be playing in the program's fifth consecutive March Madness, a UO record. And in leading UO to its fifth tournament appearance in his tenure, Dana Altman has tied Ernie Kent for the most tournament appearances as UO coach.

But Oregon history in the tournament was also made well before Altman's tenure, of course. What follows are some of the record-breaking performances that define UO's 14 previous appearances in the NCAA tournament.

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The Oregonian, 1939

Oregon in the NCAA tournament, by the numbers

14 total appearances

5 Sweet 16s (1960, 2002, 2007, 2013, 2016)

6 Elite Eights (1939*, 1945, 1960, 2002, 2007, 2016)

1 Final Four (1939)

1 championship (1939)

19-13 overall record

(Above: John Dick was an Oregon starter on the NCAA title-winning team of 1939.)

*The 1939 tournament was an eight-team field

1: championship (1939)

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Tajuan Porter scores a UO-record 33 against UNLV

Just a 5-foot-6 freshman, shooting guard Tajuan Porter turned in one of the biggest, most unforgettable performances in Oregon's NCAA tournament history in 2007 by dropping 33 points — and eight three-pointers — on UNLV in the Sweet 16 in St. Louis.

Those 33 points remain a UO record in a tournament game, and propelled Oregon into the Elite Eight against eventual national champion Florida. Porter finished the 2007 season with 110 three-pointers, which was third-most all-time among NCAA freshmen. The performance against UNLV didn't necessarily come out of nowhere — he'd scored 38 points in just his third game of his freshman season. But his 8-of-12 shooting from deep, on the big stage of the Sweet 16, qualified as Porter's shining NCAA tournament moment.

"When (Porter) feels the need to take over a game, he has the ability to do that," teammate Aaron Brooks said. "That's what he did today, and we needed him to do that."

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Rob Finch/The Oregonian, 2002

Oregon's top tournament scorers

Porter owns Oregon's tournament scoring record, but he isn't the only Duck to have gone off in the Big Dance. UO's top-10 scoring leaders in an NCAA tournament game are:

1. 33 by Tajuan Porter vs. UNLV in the 2007 Sweet 16

2. 32 by Freddie Jones (pictured) vs. Kansas in the 2002 Elite Eight

3. 30 by Joseph Young vs. Wisconsin in the 2015 round of 32

4. 29 by Luke Jackson vs. Kansas in 2002; and by Joseph Young vs. Wisconsin in the 2014 round of 32

6. 28 by Luke Ridnour vs. Wake Forest in the 2002 round of 32

7. 27 by Aaron Brooks vs. Florida in the 2007 Eight Eight; and by Joseph Young vs. Oklahoma State in the 2015 round of 64

9. 25 by Luke Jackson vs. Texas in the 2002 Sweet 16; and by Dillon Brooks vs. Saint Joseph's in the 2016 round of 32.





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Mark J. Terrill

But those scorers aren't UO's career leader in the NCAA tournament

You won't find Ridnour, Jackson, Young or Porter atop UO's career scoring list in the NCAA tournament.

No, that distinction belongs to Elgin Cook.

Cook wasn't a dangerous scorer night-in, night-out at Oregon, averaging a serviceable 11.7 points per game in his career. But his longevity in the tournament — playing in eight career tournament games — helped him score 117 points to stand atop UO's career scoring ranks in March. Not surprisingly, that sheer amount of tournament experience also has helped Cook lso rank first in field goals made (38), free throws made (39) and free throws attempted (48) in UO history in the tournament, and is second in field goals attempted (70), one behind Luke Jackson.

His record will likely be in jeopardy in 2017, however. Just look who's No. 5 on UO's career tourney scoring list.

1. 117 by Elgin Cook from 2014-16

2. 105 by Joseph Young from 2014-15

3. 96 by Luke Jackson from 2002-03

4. 88 by Luke Ridnour from 2002-03

5. 86 by Dillon Brooks from 2015-present (Brooks and UO open the 2017 tournament this week)

6. 84 by Fred Jones from 2000-02

7. 83 by Tajuan Porter from 2007-08

8. 77 by Malik Hairston from 2007-08

9. 75 by Aaron Brooks in 2007

10. 61 by Damyean Dotson from 2013-14

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Josie Lepe/AP

Arsalan Kazemi's rebounding to open the 2013 tournament

Rice transfer Arsalan Kazemi (14) made an immediate impact for Oregon in his lone season in Eugene by doing the dirty work of defense and rebounding. His 10 boards per game in 2012-13 ranked 15th in Division I, but he saved his best work for Oregon's appearance in the 2013 NCAA tournament. During the Ducks' surprise run to the Sweet 16, Kazemi produced three of the four best rebounding performances in UO's tournament history. He grabbed a program-record 17 boards against Oklahoma State in the round of 64 and 16 two days later in a win against Saint Louis. In a Sweet 16 loss to Louisville, he added 12 more.

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TYLER TJOMSLAND

UO's top tournament rebounders in a game...

In a single game:

1. 17 by Arsalan Kazemi vs. Oklahoma State in the 2013 round of 64

2. 16 by Kazemi vs. Saint Louis in the 2013 round of 32

3. 13 by Elgin Cook (pictured) vs. Holy Cross in the 2016 round of 64

4. 12 by Kazemi vs. Louisville in the 2013 Sweet 16; and by Jordan Bell vs. Holy Cross in the 2016 round of 64.

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Sol Neelman/The Oregonian, 2003

... and in a career

In a career:

1. 49 by Elgin Cook from 2014-16

2. 48 by Jordan Bell from 2015-present (Bell will add to his total when UO opens the 2017 tournament this week)

3. 45 by Arsalan Kazemi in 2013

4. 33 by Robert Johnson (pictured) from 2002-03

5. 32 by Malik Hairston from 2007-08; and by Maarty Leunen from 2007-08

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The Oregonian archives

Wilkins's record day amid a loss

Oregon’s appearance in the 1995 NCAA tournament was historic — the program’s first berth in the tournament in 34 years. So, too, was the performance of point guard Kenya Wilkins against Texas, with his nine assists on March 17, 1995, remaining a UO tournament record.

Not much else that day will likely be remembered as fondly.

Head coach Jerry Green called the 90-73 loss to Texas “probably the most unorthodox game that I've ever been associated with in all my years of coaching basketball,” he told The Oregonian’s Paul Buker after the game. “Their defense dictated so much.”

Texas pressured Oregon from the start and never allowed the Ducks to find a rhythm. The Longhorns zeroed in on Wilkins, who found other teammates for baskets but rarely found room himself to score.

“We knew the little point guard was the key to their offense,” Texas guard Roderick Anderson said.

Said Wilkins: “They made me give up the ball early on the double teams. Basically took it out of my hands. They were playing two-on-one. There ought to be an NCAA rule against that.”

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Morry Gash

Most assists by a Duck

In a single NCAA tournament game:

1. 9 by Kenya Wilkins vs. Texas in the 1995 round of 64

2. 8 by Luke Jackson vs. Texas in the 2002 Sweet 16; and by Casey Benson vs. Duke in the 2016 Sweet 16.

3. 7 by Luke Ridnour vs. Kansas in the 2002 Elite Eight

In a UO career:

1. 24 by Johnathan Loyd from 2013-14

2. 22 by Luke Jackson from 2002-03; and by Luke Ridnour from 2002-03

4. 19 by Elgin Cook from 2014-16

5. 18 by Freddie Jones from 2000-02

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Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

Jason Calliste at the stripe

Jason Calliste played just one season at Oregon as a graduate transfer from Detroit, and was a quiet figure on a team that advanced to the round of 32 before losing to Wisconsin in Milwaukee. On that roster, Joseph Young was the bombastic scorer, while Calliste was the silent sharpshooter. Calliste made 50.4 percent of his three-pointers that season and led the country in true-shooting percentage and was remarkable at drawing fouls on three-point attempts. His ability to lure opponents in fouls paid off in the tournament, where he attempted 12 free throws in the round of 64 against BYU (making 11) and 11 against Wisconsin (making 11).

Calliste's pair of games with 11 made free throws are still tied for the UO tournament record with Elgin Cook, who made 11-of-12 from the stripe in 2016 against Oklahoma. Those dozen attempts hold tie Cook and Calliste with UO's tournament record, and the only other Ducks in program history to attempt 11 free throws in an NCAA tournament game are Dale Herron against Cal in 1960, Robert Johnson against Montana in 2002 and Ian Crosswhite against Utah in 2003.

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And of course, Oregon's first and only NCAA title in 1939

The 1939 Oregon Webfoots, dubbed the "Tall Firs" due to their height, and their coach Howard Hobson won the first NCAA national championship in basketball against Ohio State on March 27, 1939. The statistics won't go down as gaudy — John Dick scored a game-high 13 points — butit remains UO's only NCAA hoops title. The Oregonian described the final victory as a "crushing" rout.

Wrote the paper the following day from the game in Evanston, Illinois: "University of Oregon's 'Big Five' crushed Ohio State in no uncertain manner here Monday night, 46-33, and became collegiate basketball champions of the United States.

“For 18 1/2 minutes before the first substitute was sent in by Coach Howard Hobson, Oregon’s five veterans — Laddie Gale, Slim Wintermute, Bobby Anet, Wally Johanson and John Dick — gave 4000 midwest fans and some 400 basketball coaches a whirlwind exhibition of crushing offensive power combined with just as effective defensive tactics.”