The Oregon Ducks men's basketball team is just two games into its season and has already outscored opponents by a combined 46 points. As the Ducks get ready to face the 1-1 Portland Pilots in their third game of the season, many experts are already giving them the nod for the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season.
Most recently, the Ducks routed the Montana Grizzlies in a 79-48 smackdown after Oregon breezed by the UC Riverside Highlanders by 15 points.
In Joe Lunardi's latest NCAA Bracketology, the ESPN analyst gave Oregon a No. 8 seed in March Madness, making the Ducks one of 10 teams from the Big Ten to earn a projected spot in the tournament.
While an eight-seed clearly isn't one of the highest in the nation, the Ducks are still well beyond the Top 25 –– earning just 14 points in the latest AP Poll and landing at No. 37 in the country –– so a seeding that would put the team in the top 32 is saying something.
The Ducks have been led by senior center Nate Bittle and returning point guard Jackson Shelstad through the beginning of the season.
Bittle has scored a stunning 16.5 points per game as well as producing 10 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per appearance. Shelstad leads the Ducks in assists with 3.5 per game and fellow guard Keeshawn Barthelemy has contributed 1.5 steals per game to lead Oregon.
The Ducks are scheduled to play the Portland Pilots at 8 p.m. PT on Nov. 12. It's a home game for Oregon and will be aired on the Big Ten Network.