Oregon Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Ducks

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 28: The Oregon Ducks take the court against the USC Trojans in their Sweet Sixteen round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 28, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

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Syracuse Orange forward Quincy Guerrier Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports /

Schedule opportunities

Sometimes you can get an idea of how a coach feels about his team by the way he schedules. Judging by the way Dana Altman scheduled his Ducks, he thinks they are going to be very good because the month of November is test after test after test.

They begin the year with a SWAC team notorious for pulling early-season upsets and nearly beat this Oregon team in December 2019, Texas Southern. That is followed by SMU and BYU before embarking on a trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational with a field that includes Butler, Houston, Wisconsin, and Saint Mary’s.

They end November and begin with December at home against Montana and UC-Riverside. To end their non-conference schedule, they have two league games with Arizona State and Stanford preceding a three-game homestand that includes national champ Baylor and Pepperdine.

Right out of the gate Oregon will be tested by their schedule and that won’t let up much once Pac-12 play begins in earnest. The first half of conference play could be tricky on paper with games against Colorado, Utah, and Oregon State followed by a trip to Los Angeles to face UCLA and USC.

The key stretch for the Ducks comes just after Valentine’s Day when they make the trip to Arizona to take on the Wildcats and Sun Devils before the LA schools visit Eugene to finish out February. The season ends with a road trip to Washington to take on the Huskies and Washington State before the Pac-12 tournament.

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