Most recently, the Oregon men's basketball team suffered its first road loss when the Ducks visited Minnesota and were bested by the Golden Gophers. After the eight-point loss, Oregon dropped, once again, in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.
Earlier in the season, when Oregon had suffered just one loss and had racked up two top-25 wins (over Alabama and Texas A&M), the Ducks were ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation. Since then, Oregon slid to No. 12 and then No. 15 in the rankings. Now, the Ducks are sitting at No. 16 with a 16-4 overall record.
BIG week leading to some BIG changes in the Week 13 AP Poll 🤩 pic.twitter.com/pc11jpufhi
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 27, 2025
Despite Oregon's incredible wins over then-No. 9 Alabama and then-No. 20 Texas A&M, both the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas A&M Aggies are ranked ahead of the Ducks – the Crimson Tide at No. 4 and the Aggies at No. 13.
However, Oregon is still ranked ahead of the Illinois Fighting Illini who blew out the Ducks in a 109-77 blowout victory in Eugene. Purdue, who beat the Ducks by just three points, is ranked ahead of Oregon at No. 10 in the country.
In the Ducks' loss to Minnesota, Oregon struggled to buy a bucket, shooting just 45.8 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. Senior center Nate Bittle, who has led the team in scoring throughout the season, failed to score throughout the entirety of the game.
Despite transfer Brandon Angel scoring 18 points alongside sophomore guard and transfer TJ Bamba contributing 15 points each, the Ducks couldn't slow down the Golden Gophers' offense that shot nearly 53 percent from the field.
Oregon has struggled to find consistency since starting Big Ten play. The Ducks' only losses have come against conference opponents (UCLA, Illinois, Purdue, and Minnesota) after Oregon went undefeated in non-conference play to start the season.
The Ducks will once again take on UCLA on Thursday, Jan. 30 when they visit the Bruins to continue their Big Ten schedule.