The No. 8 Oregon Ducks (23-8, 12-8 Big Ten) men’s basketball team will take on No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten) on Wednesday, March 12 at 9 a.m. PT. The second round matchup of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Preview
Oregon coach Dana Altman’s program is the hottest team entering the Big Ten Tournament, riding a seven-game winning streak. The Indiana Hoosiers are on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament field which means this game is a must-win for coach Mike Woodson in his final season as the Indiana coach.
In the regular season meeting between these two foes, the Ducks came out on top 73-64 in Eugene on March 4. Oregon sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad lead the charge with 17 points while Oregon sophomore forward Kwame Evans Jr. contributed 10 points off the bench. There was a 21-7 free throw disparity, and Woodson let the refs know it.
“We had our chances, but listen guys, in a physical game like this, it can’t be 21-7. You gotta be kidding me, 21-7 on (expletive) free throws is (expletive). It just can’t be, not in a physical game. They’re (Oregon) a physical team, and it can’t be that lopsided. It’s impossible.”Indiana brought in a talented transfer portal haul of sophomore guard Myles Rice (Washington State Cougars), sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford Cardinal), and senior center Oumar Ballo (Arizona Wildcats). The offseason acquisitions turned out to be quite underwhelming along with the preseason expectations.
Ballo, a 2020 commit to the Gonzaga Bulldogs then turned Wildcat and now Hoosier, is the top player for Woodson but has had some off the court issues arise. The seven-footer from Bali still leads in almost all of Indiana’s statistics: 13.2 points on a 63.5 field goal percentage, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks.
The Hoosiers as a whole stand out as one of the top rebounding groups in the Big Ten, averaging 36.4 per game at No. 5 while the Ducks are right under 35.2 per game for No. 8. Indiana skips the ball around the floor and is one of the best in the Big Ten in assists at 15.7 per game.
Oregon has been playing outstanding defense as of late. Opponents are averaging just 68.7 points per game against the Ducks in their last seven opportunities. This effort on the defensive side of the ball is headlined by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy finalist Nate Bittle. The senior 7’0 center ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten Conference in blocks with 2.2 per game and No. 9 in rebounds at 7.3 per game.
“I thought we made some mistakes there the first time around (against Indiana) that they took advantage of. I think our ball movement needs to get better against their defense.”
– Dana Altman
The Ducks currently have eight Quad 1 wins and stand at No. 29 in the NET rankings. KenPom ranks Oregon as the No. 31 program in college basketball with the No. 35 offense and the No. 37 defense.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Ducks currently as a No. 5 seed playing in Seattle at the Climate Pledge Arena. If Oregon can somehow win four games in four days and be named the Big Ten champions, that number can shoot all the way up to No. 3 or No. 2.
Per FanDuel, the Ducks are favored to win against the Hoosiers. The spread is -1.5 points in favor of Oregon, and the the over/under points total is set at 143.5. Money line for Oregon is -125 and +104 for Indiana.
