Oregon Ducks Basketball Faces Crucial Michigan Road Trip: NCAA Tournament Dreams

The Oregon Ducks are traveling to the state of Michigan to take on Michigan State and Michigan looking to break their three-game losing skid. Oregon will be looking to avoid derailing their season with the last stretch of the regular season coming up.

Dec 29, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Jackson Shelstad (3) drives to the basket during the first half against the Weber State Wildcats at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images / Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks men's basketball team is on the verge of derailing their season. The Ducks are currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak and things don't get any easier for the squad. Oregon will head out to the state of Michigan to take on Michigan and Michigan State on Wednesday and Saturday.

With both teams sitting inside AP Top 25 rankings, the Ducks are facing a very real possibility of extending their losing streak to five games if they can't shake their offensive woes.

Jan 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Keeshawn Barthelemy (9) looks to shoot against UCLA Bruins guard Dylan Andrews (2) during the first half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images / Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images

Heading into their Jan. 25 loss at Minnesota, the Ducks were sitting with a 16-3 record and were 5-3 in Big Ten play. Oregon suffered an upset as they were -4.5 favorites coming into the game, but were put away 77-69 as the Golden Gophers stuffed the Ducks' offense. It was the first of two Quad 2 losses on the season for Oregon.

Five days later on Jan. 30, the Ducks got ran off the court by UCLA and got swept in the season series by the Bruins. UCLA held Oregon to the fewest points total of the season in their 78-52 win over the Ducks.

The team suffered arguably their worst loss of the season in their most recent matchup vs. Nebraska on Feb. 2. The Ducks were -6.5 favorites at the Matthew Knight Arena and extended their two-game losing skid into a three-game losing streak in the 77-71 loss. It was the second Quad 2 loss of the season for Oregon.

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Oregon head coach Dana Altman gets fired up as the Oregon Ducks host the Washington Huskies Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon needs to rally heading into their game vs. the Wolverines on Wednesday night. Michigan is winners of back-to-back, including a nailbiting 66-63 win over Rutgers. With the Wolverines at home and playing with confidence, it will not be an easy task for the Ducks. If Oregon can figure out their offensive kinks, it will make for must watch TV at 3:30 p.m. PT on the Big Ten Network.

After their trip to Ann Arbor, the Ducks head to East Lansing to take on the reeling Spartans. Michigan State came into the past week as the No. 7 team in the country and traveled west to Los Angeles and took two tough losses to USC and UCLA. If Oregon can pick up a win to start their road trip, the Ducks may have a chance to stun the Spartans on the road.

A losing streak at this point of the season isn't good for any team, regardless of how well the beginning of the season played out. With Oregon competing in the Big Ten, which is arguably the toughest conference in the country alongside the SEC, the schedule will give the Ducks no favors. Every game matters from here on out, and Oregon must seize every opportunity they have or the Ducks will find themselves on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.

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