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Penn State Basketball

Penn State Basketball-Oregon Game Preview: Nittany Lions Look to Protect the BJC

Penn State Basketball, Oregon Basketball, game preview

Sandwiched between two road trips is a pit stop at home for Penn State basketball.

The Nittany Lions will take on the No. 15 Oregon Ducks at the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday, an arena Mike Rhoades’ squad is yet to be beaten at this year (9-0). This is the second matchup between these two programs and the first since Oregon joined the Big Ten. The only prior meeting between these two teams was in 1974 when Oregon beat Penn State in the Steel Bowl Tournament in Pittsburgh.

PENN STATE’S OUTLOOK

Oregon enters Sunday’s game on a two-game winning streak, having beaten Maryland at home and Ohio State on the road. That Ohio State win was the Ducks’ third on the road this year, maintaining their unblemished record in those games (3-0).

Those three road wins — Oregon State (NET 66), USC (NET 94) and Ohio State (NET 30) — are all Quad 2 and above victories. Overall, Oregon is 6-2 in Quad 1 games and 2-0 in Quad 2 play.

For Penn State, Sunday provides a cleansing opportunity to help wash away the Nittany Lions’ last game from the Selection Committee’s mind.

“We have 15 Big Ten games left,” Rhoades said Thursday.

“Lots of great opportunities for us. I believe in these guys. Just ran into a very good Illinois team on the road, and, now we got to recover from it, and be ready to go for Oregon Sunday.”

Bracketology: Where Did Penn State Basketball Go?

OREGON (14-2, 3-2)

HEAD COACH

Dana Altman (359-154)

Altman is one of three active Division I coaches with 27 consecutive winning seasons. He is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 359 wins and became just the 24th head coach to reach 700 career wins. Last season, Oregon won the Pac-12 championship and made it past the first round of the NCAA tournament as an 11-seed.

The Ducks have won 20 or more games in each of Altman’s 14 seasons.

KEY PLAYERS/STATS

Nate Bittle, 7-feet, Center

Bittle — who leads the Ducks with 13.9 points — is one of the best rebounders (8.1) and most efficient scorers (53.2 field goal percentage) in the Big Ten, ranking in the top 10 for both categories. In his most recent game, the senior center had 21 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and four 3s in a win at Ohio State.

Jackson Shelstad, 6-feet, Guard

Shelstad — a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection last year — was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team ahead of this season. He leads the Ducks with 2.7 assists and is second in scoring with 12.3 points. Against Ohio State, he scored a career-high 24 points and made 4-of-6 from deep.

Keeshawn Barthelemy, 6-foot-1, Guard

Barthelemy is the Ducks’ lead reserve, averaging 9.8 points and 2.5 assists. Among players to have zero starts this season while attempting at least 63 total 3s, Barthelemy is fourth in 3-point percentage, netting 44.4 percent of his tries. At Ohio State, he tallied seven points while shooting 1-for-3 from distance.

Team Effort

According to stathead.com, Oregon is one of 18 teams with six players averaging at least 8.6 points per game. This all-around production has helped make the Ducks one of the most efficient offenses in the country, ranking 21st in KenPom’s adjusted offensive rating.

While the team’s overall scoring drops in conference play, Shelstad (18.2), Bittle (15.4) and Barthelemy (11.6) have all upped their averages.

METRICS

Penn State enters Sunday’s game ranked 51st in KenPom while Oregon is 26th. In the NCAA’s NET Rankings, PSU is 51st and Oregon is 21st.

GAME TIME

Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn Stateโ€™s full schedule is available here.

SPREAD

Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Penn State is a two-point underdog against Oregon. The Over-Under Total is 155, and the MoneyLines are Penn State +124 and Oregon -148.

TV

Penn State-Oregon will air on the Big Ten Network.

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