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NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season

By Tristan Freeman

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 5: Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs dribbles the ball against the Villanova Wildcats in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 5, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 5: Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs dribbles the ball against the Villanova Wildcats in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 5, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /
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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 18: Payton Pritchard #3 (middle) celebrates with Chris Duarte #5 of the Oregon Ducks (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 18: Payton Pritchard #3 (middle) celebrates with Chris Duarte #5 of the Oregon Ducks (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

19. team. 515. . . . Ducks

NCAA Basketball power rankings – Oregon Ducks

It’s next to impossible to replace Pac-12 Player of the Year and All-American Payton Pritchard, who averaged 20.5 ppg and 5.5 apg last season. Fellow starters Shakur Juiston and Anthony Mathis are also gone but head coach Dana Altman has a host of transfers to help replace them all.

UNLC grad transfer Amauri Hardy (14.5 ppg and 3.3 apg) will help Will Richardson with the ball-handling duties, while Duquesne sit-out transfer wing Eric Williams Jr. is a scoring and rebounding asset. Rutgers transfer Eugene Omoruyi will provide some depth in the frontcourt.

Speaking of the frontcourt, that looks to be the strength of the Ducks in 2020-21. After missing the first set of games due to academic reasons and suffering an injury in the last half of last season, N’Faly Dante is primed for a breakout campaign as a sophomore. They’ll need him to do so in order to provide the offensive balance, while Omoruyi, CJ Walker, and Chandler Lawson back him up.

Chris Duarte (12.9 ppg) is the top returning scorer and will be tasked to lead Oregon Basketball to the top of the Pac-12. The former JUCO star is a candidate for Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2021 and is the most reliable perimeter player the team has. If Hardy, Addison Patterson, and incoming freshman guard Jalen Terry can be solid as well, the Ducks will be a mainstay in the top-25 rankings.

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