A Big Ten newcomer as a contender

Late night college basketball is the best. Get prepared for those late nights by watching our Big West preview show on Oct. 15 from Noon-6 pm ET. It’ll stream live on YouTube and Twitter. Need a teaser? Jeff Goodman and Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly have you covered.

Let’s get to Tuesday’s news.

1. Duck season may last well into 2025

It’s football season in Oregon. The Ducks have a Top 10 team and should be a Big Ten contender in their debut season with the league.

Even better for Ducks fans?

Basketball season might have as much promise.

After sneaking into the 2024 NCAA Tournament by winning the Pac-12 tourney, they upended 6-seed South Carolina and took Creighton to double overtime in the Round of 32. Sure, they need to replace big man N’Faly Dante and scorer Jermaine Couisnard, but they’ve got the pieces to do so, as Rob Dauster and Mike LaTulip note in our Offseason Grades series.

Both guys gave B+ grades and LaTulip said "I think Oregon had one of the more underrated offseasons as far as the Big Ten goes."

Coach Dana Altman boasts two of the premier breakout candidates.

Jackson Shelstad (12.8 ppg) is a dynamite scorer who’ll assume the top guard role with Couisnard gone. He’s probably the Ducks' best homegrown guard since Payton Pritchard, who coincidentally also went to West Linn HS. Fun coincidence, huh?

Beyond Shelstad, fellow sophomore KJ Evans is a versatile forward, who can stretch a defense, but he’ll need to be more consistent this season. The Ducks will be a little leaner on the block with Evans and 7-footer Nate Bittle (assuming Bittle stays healthy). The Ducks couldn’t land an impact big man, and eventually landed on Georgetown transfer Supreme Cook (10 ppg, 8 rpg). He isn't a huge offensive threat but should be a solid piece next to Evans and Bittle.

Three other transfers should all play key roles.

Toledo guard Ra'Heim Moss (15.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg,) should offset the scoring load on Shelstad, TJ Bamba (10.8 ppg at Villanova) can do a little of everything, and the most exciting piece is Brandon Angel (13 ppg). The Stanford transfer had a lot of suitors in his time in the portal before deciding on Oregon. Where Angel could make his best impact is as a stretch four next to Bittle or Cook, serving in a role like Eugene Omoruyi and Paul White played in Altman's system.

It may take Altman a while to determine the best lineup combination. With multi-faceted big men and great guard play, it’ll be interesting to see how the Big Ten adjusts to that kind of approach. No big, plodding bigs here.

2. Xavier’s latest 4-star + more commitment news

Sean Miller’s added plenty of notable transfers during his second stint at Xavier. You know the names: Souley Boum. Dayvion McKnight. Ryan Conwell. Marcus Foster.

But he hasn’t ignored the high school prospects.

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