Nothing worse than not living up to expectations. That’s exactly what the Oregon Ducks appear to be going through right now, following a 25-10 season. This included a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks returned plenty of talent for this season.
With that in mind, it appeared the Ducks were favored to finish among the top 10 in the Big Ten once again this season. The schedule seemed favorable, and not to mention having a floor general, along with a reliable big man, was going to be key for Oregon in 2025-26. However, things have gone far less to plan. So what has happened?
Time To Worry About The Oregon Ducks
The veteran leadership this team returned was critical. Between senior Nathan Bittle and a pair of juniors in Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans, the Ducks appeared to have a nice three-man core. Add in transfers TK Simpkins and Sean Stewart, and the Ducks appeared to have a nice five-man line-up.
That hasn’t played out well for the Ducks, unfortunately.
Injuries And Lack of Defense
The issues for this team quickly arose at the start of the season, when Shelstad broke his hand before the season started. He was back quickly; in fact, he was in the lineup for the Ducks’ second game back in early November. It took a couple of games, but Jackson appeared to be back to his sharpshooter ways.
Then, as luck would have it, frontcourt enforcer and all-around player Bittle caught the injury bug. Bittle, whose impact has been deterred injury this season, was really felt when the Ducks traveled to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival during Thanksgiving week.
Bittle suffered an ankle injury that kept him limited for most of that tournament, and when he wasn’t available, the Ducks suffered. In fact, when Nate has been on the floor, Oregon has looked sound at both ends of the floor. When he has been out, they have had ugly issues defensively, and that has cost the team dearly.
Tested Depth
Dec 6, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) boxes out Oregon Ducks center Nate Bittle (32) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Outside of Bittle, the depth for the Ducks in the post has been tested. It all began in Las Vegas. First, they lost 84-73 to Auburn. It quickly erupted into a five-game losing streak. Not only that, but depth issues and breakdowns without a true post-leader have compounded the issues.
Shelstad and Evans have delivered scoring in the absence of Bittle, but it hasn’t been enough. The end of that five-game losing streak saw the Ducks lose their first two Big Ten games. That makes the road ahead tougher for this group.
Some Hope In Defeat
They got the best of both worlds in their most recent game, as Oregon put up a fight against No. 7 Gonzaga. Sure, the Ducks suffered their sixth loss of the season, but the real Nate Bittle showed up.
He had 28 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Head Coach Dana Altman was proud of the effort from Nate in the 91-82 loss.
“He played his tail off,” Altman said via Matt Prehm from 247Sports. ” After a month out to come back and play like that- 28 points, five assists, four blocks- I’ve got no complaints with his effort.”
It’s a small bit of hope for Oregon, but six losses all before the change of the calendar is a deep hole to try to climb out of.
Featured Image: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images