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3 quick thoughts from Oregon basketball's upset win over Texas A&M

What a win.

By Connor Muldowney

Nov 26, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oregon Ducks guard TJ Bamba (5) dribbles against Texas A&M Aggies forward Henry Coleman III (15) during the first period at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey (Tyge) O'Donnell-Imagn Images
Nov 26, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oregon Ducks guard TJ Bamba (5) dribbles against Texas A&M Aggies forward Henry Coleman III (15) during the first period at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey (Tyge) O'Donnell-Imagn Images / Jeffrey (Tyge) O'Donnell-Imagn Images
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Quite possibly one of the most surprising teams in the Big Ten so far this season just keeps on winning. Oregon basketball picked up win No. 6 in as many tries on Tuesday afternoon as it took down the No. 20 team in the country at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

The Ducks had to respond to a couple of healthy deficits and they ended up scoring 51 second-half points to beat the Texas A&M Aggies 80-70.

This was the biggest win of the season for Dana Altman and Co. as the Ducks improved to 6-0 on the season and they now get a date with a strong San Diego State team on Wednesday.

What did we learn from Oregon's sixth win of the season?

1. Three-point shooting continues to be an issue

Oregon has been solid all around this season, but the one glaring weakness through six games has been the 3-point shooting. As a team, the Ducks are making just over 30 percent of their threes which should be closer to 35-40 percent if they want to make noise this year.

Unfortunately, they had another disappointing performance from long range against the Aggies, making just 7-of-25, hovering right around the season average.

This needs to improve soon.

2. It's nice to see a more aggressive Jackson Shelstad

In the first two games of the year, Jackson Shelstad attempted a combined 16 shots and had 16 total points. He averaged over 12 points per game as a freshman, so that output was disappointing. Fans wanted to see more aggression from the sophomore who was supposed to be one of the team's go-to scorers.

Then he took 19 shots against Portland. While those shots didn't fall at a high clip (he made just five), at least he was showing an effort to score. And then he went 0-for-4 the next game.

Something must have clicked in the last two games because he's attempted double-digit shots in back-to-back games and his percentage is currently down, but he's going to gain confidence the more he shoots and the more the ball goes in the basket. He was 6-for-16 against Texas A&M and 2-for-9 from three. Seeing him be more aggressive is a positive.

3. The defense deserves some props

While Texas A&M still (somehow) reached 70 points, it wasn't an easy accomplishment for the Aggies. They had to earn every buckey -- literally.

The Aggies didn't get many open looks on Tuesday and they finished just 22-for-68 from the field and 11-for-35 from 3-point land. They got a good chunk of their points from the foul line (15-for-20) but they were getting stifled by the Oregon defense for 40 minutes. It's actually a miracle they scored 70 points.

Oregon was all over the place and it finished with 10 steals and seven blocks. This type of defense can carry teams to deep runs in March.

The only ask is that Oregon does a better job keeping teams off the offensive glass. Giving up 21 offensive rebounds is just ridiculous.

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