BB PREVIEW: Oregon (23-8, 12-8) takes on MSU (26-5, 17-3) in the BTT (Friday NOON BTN)

INDIANA vs. OREGON (Oregon beat Indiana 72-59): A back-and-forth game that closed out with a Ducks 16-5 run to beat Indiana.

Oregon was +1 FG, +4 three-pointers, +7 FTs, minus three turnovers, and minus 16 turnovers.

Oregon shot 49.1% in the first half and 40% in the second half. Outside of some inside play and points in the paint, Indiana only shot 36.2% in the first half and only 25% in the second half.

Oregon's scoring was balanced: Jackson Shelstad scored 18 points, T.J. Bamba scored 17 points, Brandon Angel scored 14 points, Keeshawn Barthelemy scored nine points, and Nate Bittle scored seven points and eight rebounds.

MICHIGAN STATE VS. OREGON (FIRST GAME, MSU 86-74 W)

Oregon raced out to a 50-36 halftime lead. The Spartans lockdown on defense in the second half and outscored the Ducks 50 to 24 for the final margin of 86-74.

OREGON SHOOTING: 48.6% in the first half and 25% in the second half.

MSU SHOOTING: 45.8% in the first half and 53.3% in the second half.

KEY STATS for MSU: +3FGs, minus 2 Three-pointers,+8 FTs, +6 second chance points.

OREGON'S KEY PLAYERS IN THE FIRST GAME: Jackson Shelstad scored 22 points, T.J. Bamba scored 9 points with six assists, and Nate Bittle scored 8 points but only one rebound. Brandon Angel had six points, and Kwame Evans Jr. had 10 points and seven rebounds.

KEY PLAYERS FOR MSU IN THE FIRST GAME: Jase Richardson led all Spartan scorers with 29 points, but the bigs had a great day scoring on the boards and playing defense. Jaxon Kohler had 14 points, 12 rebounds, and four offensive rebounds. Szymon Zapala had six points and six rebounds. Carson Cooper had nine points and six rebounds.

OREGON COACH DANA ALTMAN

Dana Altman is one of only three active coaches in NCAA Division I with 27 consecutive winning seasons. He is part of an exclusive fraternity that includes Hall-of-Famers Tom Izzo and Bill Self. He has been three Pac-12 Coach of the Year three times. Oregon has won 20 or more games in all 14 seasons with Altman as head coach. Before this season, he was 369-160 in Eugene and 755-395 in 35 seasons. He is in the Creighton and Eastern New Mexico Athletic Hall of Fames. 779–403 (.659)

MEET THE DUCKS

Nate Bittle is a 7'0" 240 senior center from Central Point, Oregon, a former five-star recruit, according to ESPN, and a former McDonald's All-American, and is the highest-rated homegrown product to play for the Ducks.

For Oregon this year, he averages 13.9 points (50.6 FG%) and 7.3 rebounds. Bittle shoots 33% from 3-point land and 82.5% from the free-throw line. He has a 63 assist to 47 turnover ratio, 24 steals, and 71 blocks.

STRENGTHS: Solid offensive player and rim protector.

WEAKNESSES: He is not a great rebounder for his size.

Jackson Shelstad is a 6'0", 180-pound sophomore guard from West Linn, Oregon. In high school, he was the 36th-ranked player in the ESPN Top 100, played for Team USA in the Nike Hoop Summit, and was a member of the 2023 Jordan Brand National Team. Shelstad was also a two-time Oregon Gatorade player of the year.

Last year, he made the All-Pac 12 freshman team by averaging 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists and was an All-Pac 12 Tournament honoree.

This year for Oregon, he averages 13.4 points (44.0 FG%), 3.0 rebounds. He shoots 37.7% from the three-point land and 84.8% from the free-throw line. He has an 86 assist to 48 turnovers ratio and 33 steals for the year.

STRENGTHS: Excellent perimeter and FT shooter and can distribute the ball.

WEAKNESSES: Overall, FG% could be better.

T.J. Bamba is a 6'5", 220-pound senior guard. Originally from the Bronx, NY, he moved to Denver, Colo., to complete his high school career. He then played three years at Washington State before spending last season at Villanova, averaging 10.1 points and 3.7 rebounds.

This year for Oregon, he averages 10.4 points (38.1 FG%) and 3.4 rebounds. He shoots 25.3% from 3-point land and 74.6% from the free-throw line. He has a 92 assists to 46 turnovers ratio and 57 steals for the year.

STRENGTHS: Excellent defender who gets steals and can distribute the ball on offense.

WEAKNESSES: Poor perimeter shooter.

Brandon Angel is a 6'9" 225 round senior forward transfer who played most of his ball at Stanford. Originally from San Diego, he averaged 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists for the Cardinal a year ago and was an impressive shooter for Stanford, averaging 56.7% from the field, 44.7% from three-point land, and 81.7% from the free-throw line. For Oregon this year, Angel averaged 8.6 points (53.6 FG%) and 4.0 rebounds. He shoots 35.9 percent from three-point land and 82.4% from the free-throw line. He has a 35 assists to 46 turnover ratio.

STRENGTHS: Excellent perimeter shooter.

WEAKNESSES: He's not a great rebounder for his size.

Keeshawn Barthelemy is a 6'1, 180-pound senior transfer point guard who played his redshirt sophomore season at Colorado but is in his third year at Oregon. Originally from Montreal, he played Team Canada in the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup. For Oregon this year, he averages 9.7 points (42.9 FG%) and 2.4 rebounds. He shoots 40.0% from 3-point land and 88.4% from the free-throw line. He has an excellent 86 assists to 29 turnover ratio and adds 36 steals.

STRENGTHS: An excellent perimeter shooter who can drive the lane and shoot floaters.

WEAKNESSES: Overall, FG% is not great.

Jadrian Tracey is a 6'5", 210-pound redshirt senior from Florida. Previously played at St. Joseph's. A year ago, he averaged 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds for the Ducks.

This year for Oregon, he averages 7.1 points (49.2 FG%) and 2.8 rebounds with 57 assists to 38 turnover ratio. He shoots 35.2% from 3-point land and 69.0% from the free-throw line. He also has 29 steals.

STRENGTHS: Can hit three-point shots.

WEAKNESSES: Could be a better FT shooter.

Supreme Cook is a 6'9" 230 senior transfer forward who spent three years at Fairfield before playing last season at Georgetown, where he averaged 10.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per Game and led the Big East with 3.8 rebounds.

This season for Oregon, he averages 4.8 points (57.4 FG%) and 2.7 rebounds and shoots 57.4% from the free line.

STRENGTHS: Shoots a good percentage from the field.

WEAKNESSES: Not a great free throw shooter.

Kwame Evans Jr. is a 6'9", 220-pound sophomore forward originally from Baltimore who played at the famed Montverde Academy. He was a five-star recruit, a McDonald's All-American, and was ranked No.14 in ESPN's Top 100 players.

Last year, Evans played in all 36 games as a freshman and averaged 7.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 blocks.

This year, for Oregon, he averages 6.2 points (47.3%) and 4.3 rebounds, 74.1% from the free throw line, and 28% from the three-point land with 22 assists and 33 turnovers ratio and has 13 steals and 19 blocks.

STRENGTHS: Improving player who can rebound.

WEAKNESSES: Poor shooter from the perimeter.

Jamari Phillips is a 6'3, 185-pound freshman guard originally from California and was the No.1 prep player in Arizona and No.60 nationwide.

This year for Oregon, he averages 1.5 points and 0.6 rebounds per game and 71.4 percent from the free throw line.

STRENGTHS: Has a good skill set.

WEAKNESSES: Weak shooter so far.

Ra'Heim Moss is a 6'3 205, pound transfer guard from Toledo, where he played four years, and his last year was a First Team All-MAC and MAC All-Defensive honoree and averaged 15.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.

This year for Oregon, he averages 1.6 points and 1.6 rebounds and shoots 70.0% from the free throw line.

STRENGTHS: He is a decent free-throw shooter and rebounder for his size.

WEAKNESSES: May not be good enough to get minutes with this bunch.

Mookie Cook is a 6'6' 210-pound sophomore from Portland, Oregon, who played his prep ball in Arizona. In 2023, he was a McDonald's All-American, a consensus four-star recruit, and the 21st-ranked prospect in the ESPN Top 100. He was named to the 2023 Jordan Brand National Team.

Last season for Oregon, he was hampered by injury.

This season, he averages 1.0 points (53.3 FG%) and 0.5 rebounds.

STRENGTHS: Has potential

WEAKNESSES: To be determined.

Oregon's Team Stats (23-8, 12-8)

Let's Look at how Oregon's stats have changed since the first time they played MSU:

SCORING

Oregon's Scoring Margin: From 76.4 to 76.7

Opponents Scoring Margin: From 71.3 to 71.2

Oregon improvement: From +5.1 to +5.5

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FIELD GOAL %

Oregon FG Percentage: From .459 to .455

Opponents FG Percentage: From .428 to .433

Oregon FG Made Per Game: From 26.7 to 26.9

Opponents FG Made Per Game: From 25.8 to 26.0

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THREE-POINT SHOOTING

Oregon 3PT%: From .331 to .342

Opponents 3PT%: From .314 to .315

Oregon made 3PT per Game: From 7.5 to 7.8

Opponents made 3PT per Game: From 7.3 to 7.2

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FREE THROWS

Oregon FT%: From .756 to .763

Opponents FT%: From .726 to .733

Oregon FTs made per Game: From 15.5 to 15.2

Opponent FTs made per Game: From 12.4 to 12.1

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REBOUNDING

Oregon RPG: From 35.7 to 35.8

Opponents RPG: From 33.8 to 33.5

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ASSISTS

Oregon APG: From 14.7 and still 14.7

Opponent APG: From 13.0 to 12.7

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TURNOVERS

Per Game 11.6 to 11.1

opp 12.6 to 12.3

Oregon Points Off Turnovers: From 15.6 to 15.8

Opponents Points Off Turnovers: From 12.3 to 12.3

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STEALS

Oregon Steals Per Game: From 7.1 to 7.2

Opponents Steals Per Game: From 6.2 to 6.1

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BLOCKS

Oregon Blocks Per Game: From 3.4 to 3.9

Opponents Blocks Per Game: From 3.0 to 3.3

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OREGON IS UP AND DOWN

Oregon has been difficult to figure out. They beat No. 20 Texas A&M 80-70 and No. 9 Alabama 83-81. They beat USC in LA 68-60. They also beat Maryland and Ohio State.

However, they were clobbered by Illinois at home 109-77, soundly beaten by Minnesota 77-69, and blown out by UCLA 78-52. They also lost to Nebraska, Michigan, and Michigan State.

OREGON KEY WINS:

TEXAS A&M: + 3FGs, +8FT's, +5 Blocks, +7 steals.

ALABAMA: +2Fgs, +5FTs, +7 turnovers.

USC: +2FGs, +3 steals, +6 3-pointers.

MARYLAND: +1 FG, +3 3-pointers

OREGON KEY LOSSES:

ILLINOIS: Minus 12 FGs, Minus 11 3-pointers, Minus 12 rebounds.

MINNESOTA: Minus 8 FGs, Minus nine rebounds, minus 10 assists.

UCLA: Minus nine FGs, Minus 7 3-pointers, Minus five turnovers (13 total).

NEBRASKA: Minus 2 FGs, Minus 3 free throws, Minus 3 rebounds.

MICHIGAN: Minus eight free throws.

MSU: MINUS 3 FGs, +2 three-pointers, MINUS eight free throws.

CONCLUSION:

The Big Ten Tournament is here; you never know what you will get from teams. Are they motivated to do well here or looking ahead to the NCAA tournament? This is especially true for Oregon, which, as I said in the previous preview, is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get.

MSU clearly had an advantage in the paint the first time they met. Additionally, Oregon's other weakness, three-point defense, matches MSU's weakness, three-point shooting; however, if MSU can attack in the paint, value the basketball, and not turn it over, (Oregon gets 15.8 points off turnovers per Game) and keep Oregon off the free throw line, the Spartans should prevail.

I have it MSU 77, Oregon 72.

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