The Oregon Ducks are entering 2026-27 with a roster that looks nothing like last season’s group, and that overhaul has them sitting in the middle of Jon Rothstein’s Big Ten preseason pecking order.
CBS Sports’ college basketball insider had already labeled Oregon a sleeper in the conference earlier this week. In his full rankings, he placed the Ducks at No. 12, one spot behind Iowa and one ahead of Maryland.
That slot leaves Oregon in a tricky but interesting spot. Last season, eight Big Ten teams reached the 2026 NCAA Tournament, and the move to a 76-team field is expected to tilt things even more toward power-conference programs. That gives the Ducks a path to the bracket, but not much margin for error.
The challenge starts with the numbers from a year ago. Oregon finished 5-15 in Big Ten play and landed in 16th place, a result this new group is trying to erase.
The old core is gone, too. Jackson Shelstad transferred, Nate Bittle moved on to the NBA, and every role player except starting forward Sean Stewart also left through the portal.
Now Dana Altman is piecing together a new rotation built around several former four-star recruits and veteran additions who are expected to step into major minutes right away. Altman has a long track record of solving problems by March, and Oregon is counting on that again.
Even if the Ducks don’t get all the way to the NCAA Tournament, a finish around 12th in the Big Ten would at least match Rothstein’s view of them as a team capable of being more than an afterthought.
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Laloulus perspective also helps explain why he has embraced the responsibility that comes with anchoring the line. He has described his return as part of a larger sense that his work in Eugene is not finished, and that mindset matches a veteran group focused on championships rather than individual accolades. For Oregon, that kind of conviction matters just as much as the blocking grades. [Read more 🡒]