NCAA Basketball: Buy or sell Florida, Villanova, Texas Tech and Oregon?

Oregon Ducks (6-2) – Buy

A couple of close losses in the Battle 4 Atlantis may have turned some off on the Ducks but if anything, it shows the kind of potential they have once fully intact. They were down by 16+ points against both Seton Hall and Gonzaga but came back each time to either win or force the game into overtime. And had Payton Pritchard hit either of those late shots at the end of those losses, Oregon may have pulled off the impressive feat of three straight ranked wins.

Pritchard himself is exactly why you can never “sell” on the Ducks, leading the team with 18.6 and 5.5 apg and was instrumental in the comeback efforts. The senior leader is even a better facilitator than his assist numbers show, considering that none of the eligible frontcourt pieces are much of an offensive threat individually. That will change in over a week, once five-star freshman center N’Faly Dante is able to get on the court after the NCAA imposed a nine-game absence to start the season. If he can provide anything offensively, that can make the Ducks the favorite for the Pac-12 title.

The supporting perimeter players also look to be improved on last season, including sharpshooting grad transfer Anthony Mathis. JUCO transfer Chris Duarte’s shooting hasn’t been great but is still second on the team with 11.0 ppg and 5.6 rpg. We’ll have to check back once Dante has been on the court for a few games to see their team’s true ceiling but as good as Arizona has looked so far, Oregon may have the advantage.