Oregon Basketball: A Sleeper Team Poised for a Deep March Run

The month of March is an elite time for sports fans.

NFL Draft coverage is ramping up. The MLB season is on the cusp of beginning — as it features a full slate of Spring Training games. WrestleMania is right around the corner, fully building narratives ahead of the two-night spectacle.

Perhaps most significant is March Madness — the time when even the non-basketball fan becomes intrigued by conference tournaments and ultimately The Big Dance. Betting understandably has a whole lot to do with that premise. Groups of friends often hold drafts where they pick their favorite college teams and hope to come out on top.

There’s always the desire to select sleepers, as well as teams that one believes can make unexpected deep runs.

One of those teams this year is Oregon.

Dana Altman’s team is currently in the midst of a six-game win streak. Barring an unexpected loss to last-place Washington in the regular season finale, the Ducks will enter the Big Ten Tournament as the hottest team in the league — and also the squad nobody wants to face.

Speaking of Altman, Oregon’s late-season emergence shouldn’t shock anyone. From 2010 to 2025, Oregon has won more games in March than any other program in the country. Yes — that includes the likes of UCLA, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, and UConn.

Altman truly is a witch in the best way possible. His teams are generally athletic, versatile, and play extremely hard. He’s also a master at tailoring defensive gameplans around his personnel. Speaking of which, he operates heavily in the transfer portal. His teams usually take a little bit of time to gel before coming on extremely strong in the latter stages of seasons.

This year is no different, as Altman was acclimating to a new league with a host of new players. The ingredients with this group do lend themselves to the notion that Oregon can make a deep run in March.

The Ducks have a very good big man-guard combination in Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad. Bittle is a true 7-footer with rim-protecting skills. He’s averaging 2.2 blocks a game and is the team’s second-leading scorer (13.4 PPG). What makes him even more unique is his combination of functional quickness and three-point shooting. Bittle spaces the floor well enough that it opens up driving lanes for the guards.

Shelstad is the straw that stirs the drink. He’s had a bit of an inconsistent season by his standards. Even then, he’s a bonafide threat to score at all levels. Hailing from the same high school and college, Shelstad’s game is eerily similar to that of his idol Payton Pritchard. He’s very slippery when moving off screens, and isn’t bashful in attacking the paint. Shelstad leads the team in scoring (13.6 PPG), rarely turns the ball over, and is a major threat from three (39.2%).

Stanford transfer Brandon Angel spaces the floor very credibly as a stretch-four. Villanova transfer TJ Bamba is a rugged, physical guard often tasked with defending the opposing team’s best wing. Keeshawn Barthelemy is the wildcard in this equation. He’s oscillated between being the team’s sixth man and fifth starter. Barthelemy has spells when he’s the most dangerous scorer on this team. He’s shooting nearly 43% from three and can score in bunches.

The bench is quintessentially Altman — featuring three above-average athletes (Kwame Evans Jr., Ra’Heim Moss, Jadrian Tracy) and a tough big man in Georgetown transfer Supreme Cook. Evans Jr. in particular has developed analytics-wise into one of the best big-man defenders in the country. A former 5-star recruit himself, Evans Jr. has a gigantic wingspan and the lateral quickness to defend multiple spots on the floor.

Remember, this is a team that has already beaten the likes of Alabama, Texas A&M, Maryland, San Diego State, and Wisconsin.

Don’t sleep on the Ducks…they could come out and make some serious noise.