Oregon now has its full road map for the 2026-27 Big Ten season, and the first month alone asks plenty of a Ducks team that looks almost completely rebuilt.
The conference released the league slate Wednesday, giving Oregon a Dec. 1 opener at UCLA before the Ducks come home to Matthew Knight Arena to face USC on Dec. 5. After that, the calendar turns quickly into a stretch that will test how far this new group has come.
Right after Christmas, Oregon heads into a difficult run away from home. The Ducks visit Ohio State on Dec. 30, then move on to Penn State on Jan.
- They finally return to Eugene for games against Indiana on Jan. 6 and Nebraska on Jan.
That early grind lands in the middle of a roster overhaul that Dana Altman has already described as unusually deep. Last week, he pointed out just how much turnover Oregon absorbed this offseason.
"We're used to adding a transfer or two in, but when you get eight, nine portal guys coming in and two freshmen, it is different," Altman said last week.
Altman also called the group "talented, young, inexperienced," and Oregon is hoping its summer exhibition trip to Canada helped speed up the process of getting everyone on the same page.
The middle of the schedule does not get any gentler. Oregon goes to Michigan State on Jan. 16 and Michigan on Jan. 19, then returns home for Northwestern and Rutgers.
February opens with a trip to Wisconsin on Feb. 3, followed by Washington’s annual visit to Eugene on Feb. 7.
From there, the Ducks head through the Midwest with games at Iowa on Feb. 10 and Minnesota on Feb. 13.
One of the cleaner stretches on the schedule comes next, with three straight home games at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon hosts Maryland on Feb.
17, Illinois on Feb. 20 and Purdue on Feb. 24.
The regular season ends with a run of rivalry games. Oregon plays at USC on Feb. 27, hosts UCLA in the home finale on March 3 and closes things out at Washington on March 6.
Altman said Oregon has "drastically improved" its three-point shooting, but the Ducks will also have to adjust to life without the proven interior scoring they had before. That means a different style, and a lot of early learning for a group still coming together.
For Altman, the message is simple.
"We're going to bounce back," Altman said. "I like our personnel, and like I said, Tony [Stubblefield] has done a good job putting the team together. Now we just gotta get them to play."
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