Things get tougher for the Ags as the head to Eugene to play a Ducks team licking their wounds after losing five straight games to some tough teams, including #24 USC at Oregon. Hope we can catch them looking past us. Team stats are tricky due to the tough schedule Oregon has played, but they score 74.1 ppg while allowing 75.6.
They lost a major force in Nate Bittle, a 7 foot power forward who was leading them in rebounds and points when he sprained an ankle against San Diego State. His replacement, Sean Stewart is no slouch though. The 6’8” forward put up 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in their loss to Creighton. Bittle was back for their loss to UCLA, albeit rusty as he only contributed 3 points. Lucky us, he’ll probably be back in shape by the 13th. The Webfeet also have a solid point guard in Jackson Shelstad who averages 4.8 apg and is their second leading scorer with 13.5 ppg. He teams with Takai Simpkikns, another double digit scorer. Kwame Evans brings his 6’10” height to the front line. Stewart will likely be a starter against the Ags as Devon Pryor a key 6’6” forward has been battling health issues. Dezdrick Lindsay is a solid 6th man.
The Ags will be playing in only their second game in over three weeks, so they should be well rusted (I mean rested). It might not matter as Knight Court is a very tough place to play and the Ducks desperately need a win as they are currently in 18th place in the Big Ten.