Oregon to Face Utah State in NIT First Round

The Ducks are one of three Pac-12 teams included in the NIT.

The Oregon Ducks will kick off their postseason journey in the National Invitation Tournament against No. 4 seed Utah State Tuesday night in Logan, Utah.

The Ducks were the last team selected to be a part of the NIT in the latter section of Selection Sunday. Should the Ducks advance to the second round, they will face the winner between No. 1 seed Texas A&M and Alcorn State.

Quincy Guerrier

Head Coach Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks are certainly disappointed with their exclusion from the NCAA Tournament after losing to Colorado 80-69 in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday, but Utah State should not be underestimated.

Coming out of a Mountain West Conference that sent more teams (four) to the NCAA Tournament than the Pac-12 (three) this season, Utah State has a respectable resumé. Finishing the season at 18-15, the Aggies have strong wins against tournament-bound teams like Richmond, New Mexico State and San Diego State.

The Aggies had a six-game win streak early in the season. But, similarly to the Ducks, the Aggies crumbled under the mounting pressure in February. They lost four straight, with three of those losses coming to tournament teams, to finish seventh in the Mountain West.

Still, Utah State showed its resolve was unbroken. The Aggies crushed Air Force 83-56 in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament. They were then knocked out in the following round on a last-second shot from Colorado State – the third loss the Aggies suffered to Colorado State this season.

Brandon Horvath

The Ducks showed significantly less fight as their regular season came to a close. They lost five of their last six regular season games, and lost star point guard Will Richardson to a non-COVID-related illness for the entire Pac-12 Tournament.

Oregon showed it was not useless without the standout senior, dispatching hapless Oregon State 86-72 in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament behind a strong all-around performance from Jacob Young. But the Ducks’ luck ran out quickly, and they were sent home from Las Vegas by Colorado.

Regardless of his play before missing the Pac-12 Tournament, Richardson’s presence will have a huge say on who wins the first-round matchup in the NIT. Richardson leads the Ducks in points (14.1) and assists (3.6) per game but has been prone to underwhelming performances when the Ducks needed more down the stretch.

Will Richardson

While Oregon often uses its strong guard play to win games, Utah State relies on its forwards. The frontcourt duo of Justin Bean and Brandon Horvath are both averaging better than 13 points per game for the Aggies. Bean was named to the All-Mountain West Second Team, and Horvath was named to the Third Team.

Whether it's the Ducks or the Aggies moving on, a huge threat awaits them in No. 1 seed Texas A&M, who just beat Auburn and Arkansas in the SEC Tournament.

The Ducks and Aggies tip off at 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Join the Community

Follow Graham on Twitter: @GrahamMetzker

Subscribe to our free newsletter to get the latest Oregon Ducks news sent to your inbox

Join the discussion on our Forums HERE