Meet The Opponent: Streaky Oregon On A Good Roll As Indiana Visits

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – So far, Indiana’s men’s basketball team has profited from the addition of the West Coast schools to the Big Ten.

After Indiana’s 78-62 victory at Washington on Saturday, the Hoosiers are 2-1 against the former Pac-12 schools added to the Big Ten. The Hoosiers also defeated Southern California 82-69 on Jan. 8. Indiana’s loss was a narrow one, a 72-68 defeat against UCLA on Feb. 14.

Oregon will arguably be the toughest test of all among the Big Ten newbies. The on-again, off-again Ducks have been streaky like most Big Ten teams, but they’re on their best run since they started 9-0.

Saturday’s 82-61 win over USC was the fifth straight victory for the Ducks. Included was an impressive come-from-behind victory at Wisconsin as the Ducks overcame a 15-point deficit with eight minutes left to earn a 77-73 overtime victory.

Ranked as high as No. 9 in the Associated Press poll, a five-game losing streak knocked the Ducks out of the poll. But this team will be a challenge for the Hoosiers as both teams jockey for Big Ten position in the final week of the regular season.

Here's a further breakdown of the Ducks.

Key players

• G Jackson Shelstad: 13.4 ppg, 3 rpg.
• C Nathan Bittle: 13.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg.
• G TJ Bamba: 10.2 ppg.
• G Keeshawn Barthelemy: 9.9 ppg.
• F Brandon Angel: 9 ppg, 3.9 rpg.
• F Jadrian Tracy: 7.4 ppg.
• F Kwame Evans Jr.: 5.9 ppg.
• F Supreme Cook: 5.5 ppg.
• G Ra’Heim Moss: 1.7 ppg.

2024-25 Schedule (21-8, 10-8)

• W, 91-76, UC Riverside, Nov. 4
• W, 79-48, Montana, Nov. 8.
• W, 80-70, OT, Portland, Nov. 12.
• W, 82-61, Troy, Nov. 17.
• W, 78-75, at Oregon State, Nov. 21.
• W, 80-70, Texas A&M, Nov. 26 – Las Vegas.
• W, 78-68, San Diego State, Nov. 27 – Las Vegas.
• W, 83-81, Alabama, Nov. 30.
• W, 68-60, at USC, Dec. 4.
• L, 73-71, UCLA, Dec. 8.
• W, 79-61, Stephen F. Austin, Dec. 15.
• W, 76-61, Stanford, Dec. 21 – San Jose, Calif.
• W, 89-49, Weber State, Dec. 29.
• L, 109-77, Illinois, Jan. 2.
• W, 83-79, Maryland, Jan. 5.
• W, 73-71, at Ohio State, Jan. 9.
• W, 82-81, at Penn State, Jan. 12.
• L, 65-58, Purdue, Jan. 18.
• W, 82-71, Washington, Jan. 21.
• L, 77-69, at Minnesota, Jan. 25.
• L, 78-52, at UCLA, Jan. 30.
• L, 77-71, Nebraska, Feb. 2.
• L, 80-76, at Michigan, Feb. 5.
• L, 86-74, at Michigan State, Feb. 8.
• W, 81-75, Northwestern, Feb. 11.
• W, 75-57, Rutgers, Feb. 16.
• W, 80-78, at Iowa, Feb. 19.
• W, 77-73, OT, at Wisconsin, Feb. 22.
• W, 82-61, USC, March 1.

Series history

• Indiana leads 3-0. All of the games in the series were played in Portland, Ore. Indiana won in 1966, 1973 and 1978.

Head coach: Dana Altman

Altman is in his 15th season at Oregon. He has a 366-160 record with the Ducks since the 2010-11 season. Previous to Oregon, Altman was head coach at Marshall (1989-90), Kansas State (1990-94) and Creighton (1994-2010). As a Division I coach, Altman is 776-403.

Before he was a head coach, Altman was an assistant at Western Colorado (1980-82) and Kansas State (1986-89). Between those stints, Altman was head coach at Southeast Community College (1982-83) and Moberly Community College (1983-86).

Strengths

Keshawn Barthelemay — Oregon Ducks guard Keeshawn Barthelemy (9) reacts to the crowd after a made three point basket against the USC Trojans during the second half at Matthew Knight Arena. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The Ducks are one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the Big Ten. Oregon converts 35.5% of its 3-point attempts, good for 6th in the Big Ten.

They shoot a lot of them, too. Oregon takes 23.1 3-point shots per game. Keeshawn Barthelemy (43%), Jackson Shelstad (40%), Brandon Angel (36%), Jadrian Tracy (36%) are all capable shooters.

Defensively, Oregon has the best shot blocker in conference games with center Nate Bittle. He’s averaged 2.5 blocks per game in Big Ten play.

Oregon has a lot of size. Four players in the regular rotation are 6-foot-8 or taller. Oregon is one of the few teams nationally with more contributing forwards than guards.

The Ducks are otherwise average in nearly every statistical category offensively and defensively, but Oregon has a very high ceiling when it’s at its best. The Ducks are tied with Michigan State for the most Quad 1 wins as Oregon is 9-6 in Quad 1 games. It’s why Oregon is a lock to make the NCAA Tournament even though the Ducks are just a game ahead of the Hoosiers in the Big Ten race.

Weaknesses

The Ducks aren’t particularly adept at scoring at the rim, rebounding or assists. Oregon ranks 12th in Big Ten games in rebounding and assists and 14th in two-point field goal percentage.

While Oregon’s size can create matchup problems, they don’t have a lot of guard depth. Bamba, Barthelemy and Shelstad are quality guards, but there isn’t much help behind them.

For all of their marquee wins – Oregon has beaten Texas A&M, Alabama, Maryland at home and won at Wisconsin – the Ducks have had some shocking performances inside their home arena. The Ducks lost 109-77 to Illinois at Matthew Knight Arena and also lost at home to Purdue and Nebraska.

Season and game outlook

For Indiana, this is a vital game. A road win at Oregon would be a high-quality Quad 1 win for the Hoosiers. As Indiana tries to cement its NCAA Tournament credentials, a victory over the Ducks could be an important tipping point.

Both teams are fighting to avoid playing on the first day of the Big Ten Tournament. The winner will almost certainly be safe from the fate of having to play five games in five days at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.