Oregon Ducks Snap Losing Streak: Jackson Shelstad's Career Night Vs. Northwestern

The Oregon Ducks snapped their five-game losing streak with an 81-75 win over the Northwestern Wildcats on Tuesday night. Guard Jackson Shelstad led the Ducks with 26 points. Oregon coach Dana Altman and Shelstad were brutally honest after the game.

Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad looks for room to move as the Oregon Ducks host the Northwestern Wildcats Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks snapped their five-game losing streak in a 81-75 win over the Northwestern Wildcats. It was a much needed win for the Ducks as they were in a complete free fall down the Big Ten conference standings. 

With the win, Oregon improved their record to 17-8 overall and 6-8 in Big Ten conference play. The Ducks are tied for 11th in the Big Ten with the Indiana Hoosiers.

Northwestern fell to 13-12 overall and 4-10 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats dropped to 16th place in the Big Ten. Only the top 15 teams will qualify for the Big Ten conference tournament in March.

Jackson Shelstad Leads Ducks To Win 

Feb 11, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Jackson Shelstad (3) shoots the ball against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Oregon Ducks guard Jackson Shelstad had his best game of the season in Oregon’s 81-75 win over Northwestern on Tuesday night. Shelstad scored a career-high 26 points on a very efficient eight of 11 from the field, four of six from three-point land, and six of six from the free throw line. He also added in four assists, a rebound, and a steal. Shelstad's previous high this season was 24 points in Oregon's win at Ohio State in early January.

"We're just happy to get back in the win column," Shestad said after the victory. "It got a little ugly at the end of the game; we definitely need to still work on playing a full 40 minutes of our best basketball. But we got the win and we've just got to keep the momentum going from here."

Oregon guard Keeshawn Barthelemy added 19 points of his own and center Nate Bittle bounced back from a rough game at Michigan State with 14 points and seven rebounds.

The leading scorer for Northwestern was guard Ty Berry, with 23 points.

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Oregon Ducks Snap Losing Streak

Feb 11, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman watches his team during the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

It was a game of runs between the Ducks and Wildcats in the first nine minutes of Tuesday night's game. Oregon went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 lead heading into the first media timeout. In the blink of an eye Northwestern answered with run of their own to tie and then take the lead at 14-13 with 11:44 to go in the first half.

From that point on, Oregon felt like they were in control. The Ducks closed the first half on a 26-11 run to take a 39-25 into halftime. Oregon shot 50% and turned the ball over only three times in the first half. The Ducks had a near-perfect first half against Michigan State on Saturday and ended up losing by double digits, so Ducks coach Dana Altman knew his team couldn't let off the gas.

"We had to win the game," Altman said postgame. "Our confidence hasn't been the same here the last few weeks and so we needed to find a way to win the game."

Just as it was against Michigan State, Oregon's defense seemed to be out of sorts in the second half. Things got tense late as Northwestern came roaring back and cut the lead down to five points with just under three minutes remaining in the game. Clutch free throw shooting ended up saving the day for the Ducks.

Ducks forward Brandon Angel, Shelstad, and Barthelemy combined to shoot a perfect 10 for 10 at the chairty stripe in the final 2.5 minutes. This sealed the deal and got Oregon back in the win column with the 81-75 win.

Next up for the Ducks is a home game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m PT.