How to Watch Northwestern Wildcats at Oregon Ducks: TV Channel, Preview, Betting Odds

The Oregon Ducks (16-8, 5-8) men's basketball team will host the Northwestern Wildcats (13-11, 4-9) on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. PT at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Preview

Oregon coach Dana Altman and the Ducks have extended their losing streak to five games after an unsuccessful road trip to the state of Michigan. In Saturday's 86-74 loss to coach Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans, Oregon dropped 50 points in the first half but was a completely different team coming out of the halftime locker room. The Spartans dominated the second half of play, 50-24.

"Our activity wasn't nearly as good. Our deflection numbers in the second half weren't nearly as good. They got a lot better looks, and we took some bad shots, got impatient, and too much dribbling, not enough ball movement. I'm so disappointed in that. But to answer your question, I thought we got better in both games. We didn't do enough for long periods, long enough periods of time."
Dana Altman on Michigan State loss

Michigan State's head coach Tom Izzo, left, and Oregon's head coach Dana Altman shake hands before the game on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, at the Breslin Center East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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A Wildcat to keep an eye on is 6-7 junior forward Nick Martinelli. Northwestern coach Chris Collins has handed the keys of the offense over to him. Martinelli is averaging 19.7 points per game (No. 17 in the country) on a 47.5 field goal percentage to go along with his 6.0 rebounds per game. In fact, he has scored in double digits in every game this season except for one (seven points in 71-69 loss vs. Butler Bulldogs).

"This is your team now and you've got to step up and be vocal and hold guys accountable and bring the young guys along."
Collins to Nick Martinelli

Feb 1, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Carter Gilmore (7) defends Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Wildcats turn over the ball just 9.6 times a game, the least amount in the Big Ten Conference. On the other side of the ball, Northwestern continuously gets in the passing lane with 7.6 steals per game which is the third most in the Big Ten.

One game at a time is the mentality for coach Altman's group who have just seven conference games remaining on the regular season schedule. Their shot selection has been questionable over this rough stretch and need to start finding higher percentage looks. A mere 33.3 three-point percentage as a team ranks No. 217 in the nation, which simply won't cut it.

"I think they know the reality; they can look at their situation and see where we're at. I don't think I need to pound it on them. I gotta get better. We gotta get better. And so we're focused on that. I think if we do get better, then the wins will come."
Dana Altman on Oregon

Despite Oregon's downward spiral, they still have seven Quad 1 wins on the season to go along with a No. 35 NET ranking. KenPom ranks the Ducks as the No. 40 program in college basketball with the No. 41 offense and the No. 50 defense. According to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, Oregon is predicted to be the West Region of the NCAA Tournament's No. 8 seed in Wichita, Kansas.

According to FanDuel, the Ducks are favored to win against the Wildcats. The spread is currently -8.5 points in favor of Oregon and the the over/under points total is set at 141.5. Money line for Oregon is -450 and +340 for Northwestern.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.