How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: UCLA Bruins at #12/10 Oregon Ducks
The Bruins visit the Ducks in their first Big Ten road game.
The UCLA Bruins started the season ranked in the preseason Top 25 ranked #22. The Bruins haven’t been ranked since losing to New Mexico in the second game of the season. That could change tomorrow if UCLA can win this afternoon on the road against the #12/10 Oregon Ducks.
Oregon is the first ranked team the Bruins will play this season, and they will play two more teams in the coming weeks which are currently ranked in the Top 25. So, a win today combined with wins against #20 North Carolina and #7 Gonzaga, or at least wins in two of those three games, should go a long way towards UCLA getting back into the Top 25.
By comparison, the Ducks have already beaten the two Top 25 teams they have faced. They beat #20 Texas A&M, 80-70, and #9 Alabama, 83-81. Both wins came at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. The last five games have been quite the stretch for the Ducks. In addition to the Aggies and the Crimson Tide, they have also beaten former Pac-12 rival Oregon State, San Diego State and Southern Cal. The unranked Beavers proved to be the second toughest test for the Ducks. Oregon won the basketball Civil War by three, 78-75.
Let’s look at head coach Dana Altman’s starting five.
Oregon’s Starting Five
While the Ducks are a familiar foe, this isn’t the same Oregon team UCLA played three times last season. N’Faly Dante is gone. He left after last season, but went undrafted. Dante signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets this summer. Shooting guard Kario Oquendo is also gone. He transferred to SMU. Jermaine Couisnard is also no longer in Eugene. Like Dante, he went undrafted. He played for the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA Summer League and signed with Lavrio of the Greek Basketball League, but the deal was voided.
So, who will start for Altman?
Center Nate Bittle leads the Ducks with 13.6 ppg. He also leads the team in rebounds with 9.0 per game and blocks with 18 total. Senior guard TJ Bamba is second on the team with 12.2 ppg. Bamba is second on the team in both assists with 25 and steals with 14. One name which will be familiar is sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad. He was the most consistent Duck last year when Dante went down with an injury. This year, he’s averaging 11.3 ppg. He leads the team in assists with 32 and he’s second on the team in rebounds with an average of 3.8 per game.
Redshirt senior Jadrian Tracey and senior Brandon Angel with be the starting forwards. Angel is averaging 9.9 ppg and he is Oregon’s best shooter this season. He’s made 63.3% of his shots. Angel is also third on the team in rebounds with an average of 3.4 per game. Tracey is averaging just 8.4 ppg.
The first man off the bench will likely be Keeshawn Barthelemy. The senior guard from Montreal is the best three-point shooter on the Ducks. His 10.8 scoring average is better than both Tracey and Angel. So, expect to see plenty of him. He is also a good defender and he leads Oregon in steals with 18 despite the fact that he hasn’t started a game this season.
Analysis
It doesn’t seem to matter which guys Dana Altman has on his team. He always has them prepared to play, and the Ducks are always tough to beat at Matthew Knight Arena.
For that reason, I expect today’s game to be very close, and it could even go into overtime.
Ultimately, this game will likely go to the team first team to 70 points. Hopefully, it will be the Bruins, but it will be a very close one.
Listen to the Game With TMB
This afternoon’s game will be on BTN with Guy Haberman and Don MacLean calling the game. If you prefer, you can listen to Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray. Just be sure to right-click on it so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below. Listen to today’s game online.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball at Oregon Ducks game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream today’s game:
UCLA Men’s Basketball (7-1, 1-0)
Opponent: #12/10 Oregon Ducks (9-0, 1-0)
Series Record: UCLA leads 94-42
When: 3:00 pm PT, Sunday, December 8, 2024
Where: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, OR
TV: BTN with Guy Haberman, Don MacLean and Andy Katz
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app
Radio/Audio
Local Radio: AM 1150 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
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Great win, Plucked the Ducks in their own home! See ya Bruin friends, it looks like Zona on the 14th. Good night, ya'll be well!
Well huge win at Oregon. Seems like some questionable coaching and lapses at the end. Got 124 and women also won. What a great 3 hours to be a Bruin!