NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Seton Hall soars, Auburn drops

Oregon split its road trip to “The Evergreen State” during this past week and dropped a couple of spots as a result. This is largely due to the fact that I am not a believer in either of Washington State or Washington as very good teams. The Ducks dropped their opener of the week to the Cougars by 11 points in disappointing fashion and then needed late-game heroics from Payton Pritchard to beat the Huskies in overtime a couple of days later.

This week did not inject confidence into those believing in the Ducks as national title contenders.

While Pritchard has obviously been fantastic all season long, Oregon cannot count on him to consistently bail it out in crucial moments. He has been the epitome of clutch so far this season yet the Ducks still only sit at 15-4 (4-2 P12) on the season. That’s a great record but it could be a significantly worse if not for some *huge* shots from their senior guard.

Having him on the court gives Oregon the type of go-to guard that every team needs in March but I’m not sure if the team’s defense is going to be there.

Oregon ranks just 74th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency and that is a concern. The Ducks are deserving of a spot in my Top 15 and I am still a believer that they can be a national title contender. Improvement on the defensive end will be crucial in unlocking that potential.