12. Oregon (9-1)
The Ducks started what’s their first season in the Big Ten in fantastic fashion. Oregon took care of business at home, picked up a pair of road games over former league rivals, and did fantastic work at the Players Era Festival, beating Texas A&M, San Diego State, and Alabama for a trio of great results. Dana Altman’s squad seems to be ahead of schedule, but it was never going to be a perfect campaign.
We haven’t seen Oregon playing in recent days, though they suffered their first loss of the season back on Sunday. The Ducks welcomed UCLA to town as part of other early peek at Big Ten play and were beaten 73-71 by the Bruins. Nate Bittle played great ball with 22 points and 10 rebounds and the team played a solid game on offense, though the Bruins hit their long-range shots and got the road upset.
Even with that tough showing at home, Oregon still has been sensational in their first ten games of the season. They’ve completed the difficult part of their nonconference schedule with flying colors, building a real resume that has them in comfortable shape for the postseason again. They’re opponents won’t make more than half of their 3-pointers regularly, though they should take care of business against Stephen F. Austin and Stanford next week.