Oregon will play Omaha on Sunday night at Eugene, Ore., in the final nonconference matchup of the season for both programs.
Oregon (6-6) enters as a 20.5-point favorite, but Omaha (7-7) is riding a four-game winning streak entering the game.
Oregon has lost six of its last eight games, including a 91-82 loss to No. 7 Gonzaga last week at Portland.
“Coaching is about trust, and players don’t trust what I am saying, and there’s no connection there,” coach Dana Altman said. “Our parts are better than how we’re playing right now. My job is to get my team to do what we need to do to win.”
The Ducks are led by Jackson Shelstad (15.8 points per game) and Nate Bittle (15.1).
Bittle recently returned from an ankle sprain. He averages 6.5 rebounds per game, while Kwame Evans Jr. is the team leader at 7.6.
Oregon entered the weekend ranking 35th nationally in rebounding at 37.9 a game.
The Ducks will travel east next weekend, taking on Maryland and Rutgers in a return to Big Ten play.
Lance Waddles, a 6-foot-4 guard, leads Omaha in scoring (18 points per game) and rebounding (5.6). He started ten games last season for the Mavericks and averaged 8.8 points per outing after a role-playing slot at North Dakota State for two seasons.
Miami transfer and former four-star recruit Paul Djobet scored 22 points in his season debut last week in Omaha’s 85-82 overtime win at Lamar.
He gained eligibility last week after transferring to Omaha during the fall semester.
Omaha coach Chris Crutchfield will return to Eugene after serving as an assistant under Altman in the 2021-22 season.
Crutchfield, who played and coached at Omaha before his stint at Oregon, views playing the Ducks on the road as an opportunity to develop his team for the Summit Conference schedule.
“We’re guiding young people through a very challenging part of their lives where they’re trying to figure out if they can survive at a high level,” said Crutchfield, who also played football at Omaha.
Omaha has improved each season under Crutchfield going 9-23 in 2022-23, 15-18 in 2023-24 and 22-13 in 2024-25.
The Mavericks won the Summit League championship last season and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time as a Division I program. Their previous postseason appearance was in 2009-10 while in Division II.
–Field Level Media
