Oregon basketball opens 2021-22 season ranked No. 13 in AP Top 25

The Associated Press poll was released on Monday and Oregon basketball will open the year at No. 13. The top spot was not a surprise as it went to Gonzaga in a near-unanimous fashion. The UCLA Bruins claimed the No. 2 spot.

Following UCLA, Oregon is the next team from the Pac-12 in the opening AP Poll of the year.

Kansas, Villanova, and Texas round out the top five. Michigan is sixth. Other notables include Duke ninth and Kentucky 10th. Beyond the poll, USC and Arizona are 28th and 29th, respectively. Colorado is 45th. UCLA and Oregon are the lone Pac-12 teams to open the season ranked.

Oregon and UCLA meet on Jan. 12 in Los Angeles and Feb. 24 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. They may also face off in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Oregon basketball coach Dana Altman always finds a way to have a competitive team that plays hard and finds success in time for the post-season year in and year out. A healthy Will Richardson will start the season along with Eric Williams Jr. Both players bring experience at key positions. There is a lot of talent on this team that will have a chance to see the floor.

One of the players to watch is Jacob Young, the younger brother of Joseph Young, a fan favorite who played for Oregon and Altman between 2013 and 2015. Young is a redshirt senior as he comes to Eugene. He averaged 14 points per game shooting 46 percent from the floor last season for Rutgers.

Franck Kepnang also saw some good experience last season playing in 17 games. He was a force on the defensive end of the floor leading the team in blocks nine times. Kepnang reclassified to be part of the 2020-21 recruiting class for Altman and the Ducks.

Oregon basketball opens the 2021 season on Tuesday, Nov. 9, hosting Texas Southern at 4 p.m. PT from Matthew Knight Arena. The game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network.