BIG TEN TEAM PREVIEW #11 OREGON DUCKS

Oregon had a very nice first season as a member of the Big Ten conference. They finished with a 25-10 record overall, with a 12-8 record in conference play, which was 8th in the Big Ten. They were a five-seed in the NCAA tournament, losing in the second round to Arizona. Dana Altman is now entering his 15th season as Oregon's head coach. He's done a nice job in recent years, reaching the tournament in five of the last seven seasons.

Projected Lineup:

G Jackson Shelstad

G T.K. Simpkins (Elon transfer)

F Sean Stewart (Ohio State transfer)

F Kwame Evans Jr.

C Nate Bittle

In this era of college basketball, it's extremely rare to retain both your best players from the previous season. Oregon has that luxury this upcoming season, as 6-foot-2 point guard Jackson Shelstad and 6-foot-11 center Nate Bittle are both back for another season. Shelstad has been the leader of Oregon's backcourt for the last two seasons. Last year, in his first season against Big Ten competition, Shelstad averaged 13.7 points and 2.7 assists on 45.1% shooting. Shelstad also earned third-team all-conference honors last season. Nate Bittle was probably Oregon's best player overall last season. He was easily one of the best big men in the conference, as he led the Ducks in scoring with 14.2 points per game. He also led the team in rebounding with 7.6 blocks per game. Bittle was also among the top rim protectors in the conference, averaging 2.1 blocks per game, which was second in the Big Ten. Like Shelstad, Bittle also earned all-conference honors, being selected to the third team. Another player who's back for another year is 6-foot-10 forward Kwame Evans Jr. He's a former Top-20 recruit that's been at Oregon for two seasons and is now back for a third. Evans has yet to break out at the college level. He averaged 6.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game last season. 6-foot-4 shooting guard Jamari Phillips is another player Oregon is hoping for a breakout season from. Phillips was a Top 70 recruit in Oregon's 2024 recruiting class. He couldn't find much of a role last season, playing in just 5.4 minutes per game.

It's not a very big transfer portal class for Oregon this season, as they only brought in three transfers. They should all make a pretty big impact, though. 6-foot-4 shooting guard TK Simpkins transfers in from Elon. He should be the starter at the two for the Ducks next season. Simpkins had an outstanding season at the mid-major level last year. He averaged 16.4 points per game on 42.3% shooting, which earned him first-team all-conference honors in the CAA. Simpkins will be a nice second scoring option in Oregon's backcourt. 6-foot-9 Ohio State transfer forward Sean Stewart is probably Oregon's most exciting transfer. He was a five-star recruit out of high school committing to Duke. After one season there, he transferred to Ohio State, where he averaged 5.7 points and 5.8 rebounds, starting in all 30 games he played in. Stewart should have another starting role with the Ducks this season. 6-foot-7 Texas transfer Devon Pryor is Oregon's third addition via the transfer portal. Pryor had been at Texas for the last two seasons. He had a bench role their last season, appearing in 23 games and averaging 3.2 points and 2 rebounds on 51.8 percent shooting. He should be the sixth man for Oregon next season.

Having Shelstad and Bittle back is enough to make Oregon easily look like a tournament team on paper. I think Nate Bittle is the more important returner of the two. He could easily be the best true center in the Big Ten conference next season. The biggest concern I have with Oregon is their lack of depth both in the front and backcourt. With that being said, I think their starting five is just as good as any other Big Ten team except maybe Purdue. I also think a lot of their success next season will be based on how much Sean Stewart and Kwame Evans are able to improve from last year. The sheer size of this Oregon team will also be very difficult for opposing teams. They should be able to outrebound almost all of their opponents.

Prediction: 6th in Big Ten