university of oregon ducks mens basketball

The 2024-25 campaign officially came to an end last weekend for Oregon Men’s Basketball…and many believe it was too soon.

This season will be remembered for its extreme ups and downs, and ultimately, at least to some, will be considered an underachievement.

After saving what had been a lackluster year the season before with a late conference tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth, this year’s squad had essentially locked up their spot in the Big Dance before conference play even started with their stellar start.

Oregon worked itself up to No. 9 in the country by January, winning every one of their nonconference games, including a Players Era Tournament Championship that saw them beat Texas A&M and Alabama.

They started the New Year with a horrendous loss to Illinois at home, but followed that up with a win over current Sweet Sixteen team Maryland and after a couple more hard fought road wins, had themselves positioned for a marquee matchup at home with Purdue.

They lost, although narrowly, and followed that up with a win over Washington that kept them firmly positioned in the Top 15 nationally.

Then, inexplicably, the bottom dropped out.

They lost to an extremely mediocre Minnesota team, were bushwhacked by UCLA, then head-scratchingly lost at home to a very mundane Nebraska squad.

Against Top 25 Michigan on the road, they finally found their competitive spirt but couldn’t quite get the job done. Then at Top 10 Michigan State, they were shockingly in complete control…until they weren’t.

Five losses in a row, out of the Top 25, and suddenly beginning to work their way towards the perimeter of the Tournament Bubble.

Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images

Then, as has occurred so many times before, Altman flipped the proverbial late-season switch.

The Ducks went on a tear, winning their last seven games straight, the most impressive being an improbable comeback victory in Madison against No. 11 Wisconsin.

Firmly back in the Tourney and back in the Top 25, Oregon needed a strong showing at the Big Ten Tournament in order to nab a favorable seed.

They didn’t quite get it.

After a runaway win against Indiana that pushed their win streak to eight and had them running as one of the hottest teams in the country, their momentum was slowed by Michigan State, who again had their number.

While disappointing, their seeding set them up for what appeared to be a very manageable run to the Sweet Sixteen, and after their annihilation of Liberty in Round One, they carried momentum into an 18-4 start against Arizona in Round Two.

Everything looked great.

Then, once again, it suddenly wasn’t.

The Wildcats stormed back, bullying the Ducks on the boards and once again Oregon’s defense was unable to solve the rubix cube of Caleb Love.

Still, Oregon had plenty of chances to pull even or perhaps ahead.

But they missed free throws like they had the aim of Imperial Stormtroopers.

For the second year in a row, the Ducks were out in the round of 32 when it felt, for all intents and purposes, like they should have been in the Sweet Sixteen.

Duke would have provided a great benchmark for where this team was precisely at, but instead, they couldn’t get out of their own way and made little impact in the dance.

So which Oregon team was the true Ducks? It literally looked at points like a Top 10 team nationally, and at other times resembled the lackluster teams of the pre-Altman era.

The losses hurt. TJ Bamba was a rebounding and defensive tone-setter. Supreme Cook was a force inside despite not being a true five. Keeshawn Barthelemy…well, he speaks for himself. There may well not have been a better sixth man around.

Still, Jadrian Tracey has committed to returning next season. Nate Bittle, Jackson Shelstad, and Kwame Evans Jr all have the eligibility to come back as well.

If all four are back, the Ducks could easily be looking at another contending team in 2026.

That is, as long as they don’t randomly get in their own way.

Stay tuned…