Tale of the Tape: No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 12 Oregon

Virginia will look to take one step closer to its ultimate goal Thursday night in Louisville, as the top-seeded Cavaliers go up against No. 12 Oregon — one of the hottest teams in the country — in the South Region semifinals (tipoff approximately 10 p.m., TBS).

The Wahoos (31-3) got through the first weekend with wins over No. 16 Gardner-Webb and No. 9 Oklahoma in Columbia, and are now just four wins away from capturing the program’s first national championship.

The Pac-12 champion Ducks (25-12), much like the Sooners, have had an inconsistent season riddled with injuries, but enter Thursday’s game at the KFC Yum Center as winners of their last 10 (Auburn has also won 10 straight, while no other Sweet 16 team has won more than 7 in a row).

The key to Oregon’s recent success can be attributed to head coach Dana Altman’s switch to a taller starting lineup. Over the 10-game stretch, Altman has gone with 6-foot-2 Payton Pritchard at point guard along with four players listed at 6-9: freshmen Louis King and Francis Okoro, sophomore Kenny Wooten and senior Paul White.

King, who missed several games to start the season due to injury, is Oregon’s leading scorer (13.4 ppg) and rebounder (5.6 rpg). Pritchard has been solid during the win streak and was named the MVP of the Pac-12 Tournament. He averages 13 points and nearly 5 assists per contest.

White is also averaging double figures with 10.6 points a game, while Wooten is the team’s rim protector and defensive ace down low.

The Ducks are ranked 28th in the country according to KenPom (15th AdjD, 72nd AdjO) and finished the regular season 51st in the NET rankings. UVA still sits atop the KenPom ratings, with the nation’s 3rd-best Adjusted Defense rating and 2nd-best Adjusted Offense rating.

Thursday’s winner will face either No. 2 Tennessee or No. 3 Purdue in Saturday’s regional championship game with a spot in the Final Four on the line.