Good thing Thursday night was only an exhibition for Oregon.
The Ducks dropped their preseason opener 71-65 to visiting Seattle University at Matthew Knight Arena, and the final line told the story as cleanly as the score did: 25 turnovers, 42 percent shooting, and a team still figuring out how all of its new parts fit together. Oregon has 10 new scholarship players, and it looked every bit like a group in the middle of learning a new system.
Interim head coach Tony Stubblefield didn’t sugarcoat it.
" Seattle did a good job of coming in here and clearly competing for 40 minutes," said interim head coach Tony Stubblefield.
"I thought the physicality bothered us. We tried some different combinations out there that obviously didn't work in our favor in the second half.
We got a lot of things that we have to clean up, but that's what these exhibition games are for. Trying different combinations, experimenting with some things."
The Ducks actually put themselves in position to win. Oregon led by 13 points with a little more than 14 minutes left, then the game started slipping away in a hurry. Seattle turned the Ducks’ mistakes into points, and a comfortable lead became a nine-point hole.
A 27-5 Redhawks run over roughly nine minutes swung everything. During that stretch, Oregon coughed it up 10 times, and Seattle converted those miscues into 10 points.
"One thing is for sure, you're not going to give yourself a chance to win many basketball games if you turn the basketball over 25 times and another team gets 16 more attempts at the rim than we do. 10 new guys, it's no excuse. We got to watch this film and we got to get back to work tomorrow."
Oregon’s most productive scorer was newcomer and junior forward Pharaoh Compton, who finished with 15 points on 4-of-4 shooting off the bench. He also had five rebounds and two assists, though he also committed four turnovers in 18 minutes.
Newcomer and senior forward Andrew Meadow scored 12 points, and senior forward Taylor Bol Bowen added 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Wei Lin’s two free throws and a quick burst from Bol Bowen brought Oregon within two points with 1:06 left, but the comeback stalled there.
The Ducks missed their last two tries from beyond the arc, and Seattle closed it out at the line, hitting four free throws in the final 24 seconds.
Seattle’s Mason Williams led all scorers with 19 points, including three made threes on seven attempts. The Redhawks also won the battle on the boards, 41-40, and held a 16-10 advantage on the offensive glass. They took 67 shots to Oregon’s 48, another indicator of how often they were able to extend possessions and punish mistakes.
The Ducks had another problem when senior forward Sean Stewart fouled out after just eight minutes. Starting guard Tyrone Riley IV also fouled out in 23 minutes, leaving Oregon even thinner as the game tightened.
Oregon finished 7-of-21 from three-point range and 18-of-27 at the free-throw line. The Ducks now turn to Wednesday’s exhibition at Stanford, the second of three preseason tune-ups before the games start to count on November 2.
In Other News...
Oregon Must Find An Unexpected Answer At Receiver Before Nebraska
Oregons receiver room took another hit this week, and the timing could hardly be worse with Nebraska up next. Jeremiah McClellans broken foot has already thinned the depth chart, and Aaron Flowers is out for the rest of the season after surgery, leaving the Ducks to sort through another layer of injury fallout as they get ready for a big early test.
Evan Stewart is also doubtful for the upcoming game, which has opened the door for some less familiar names to step forward. Freshmen Jalen Lott and Gatlin Bair, along with UAB transfer Iverson Hooks, are among the options Oregon may lean on if it needs a new starting combination at wide receiver, and the coming days should reveal just how much the Ducks are willing to trust that group in a spotlight game. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon May Be Losing Grip On A Quarterback They Wanted Badly
Oregons 2028 recruiting board still has plenty of work to do, but the Ducks have clearly identified quarterback Josiah Boyd as one of the names they want to land early. Boyd has narrowed his finalists to Oregon, UCLA and Kentucky, and he is set to make his commitment decision on November 23, giving the Ducks a little more time to make their case to one of the top passers on their board.
The latest signs, though, have made this one a little tougher to read for Oregon. Kentucky appears to have picked up momentum in Boyds recruitment, helped in part by new head coach Will Stein, even as Oregon stays involved and plans to bring Boyd to upcoming home games. For a program that has yet to secure a commitment in the class, keeping pace in a battle like this matters, especially with a quarterback target who could shape the early feel of the group. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Has A Chance To Shake Up The Big Ten Race
As the Big Ten picture tightens, Indiana suddenly has a chance to make the race a lot more interesting, with the weekends slate carrying enough uncertainty to ripple well beyond Bloomington. Oregons own path remains tied to its quarterback situation, while Ohio State is still sorting through issues up front, which only adds to the sense that the conference balance could look different by Sunday morning.
The bigger backdrop is a weekend built for debate as much as results, with broadcasters likely to spend as much time on the looming College Football Playoff expansion talk as on the games themselves. For Oregon, that means every twist around the league matters, because a few unpredictable outcomes could reshape both the Big Ten conversation and the Ducks place in it before the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]