Eugene, OR – The Oregon Ducks took on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a Big Ten contest with only a handful of games remaining in the regular season. The Ducks took control of the game in the second half with hot shooting from downtown and tremendous play from the duo of Jackson Shelstad and Nate BIttle, who combined to score 34 points. Shelstad led with a game-high 19 points while Bittle pitched in 15 points and ten rebounds along with five blocks to lead Oregon to a 75-57 win at Matthew Knight Arena in front of 8,635 fans.
Rutgers was able to capitalize on the Ducks early miscues led by Dylan Harper, a highly talented NBA prospect for the 2025 Draft. The 6’6” freshman is dynamite with the ball in his hands and creates his own shot, whether getting to the basket or stepping back for the 3-pointer. On the season he averages 18.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Harper made some impressive baskets to give Rutgers a 27-22 lead and contributed to team’s 56 percent first half shooting. Harper did have a tough game shooting the ball overall, only going 5-of-14 from the field to score 13 points (2-of-8 3PT) and added three rebounds.
After trailing for most of the first half, TJ Bamba’s aggressive play started a late half run, in which he finished with a solid overall performance. The senior had 11 points (4-of-9 FG), six assists and four rebounds and showed signs of confidence shooting from the outside, making two jumpers. The 16-6 scoring run ended with a Shelstad’s lay-in with a few seconds remaining to give Oregon a 38-33 halftime edge. Keeshawn Barthelemy and the Ducks had one of their best shooting performances of the season. Barthelemy netted both of his two 3-point attempts in the first half and Oregon for the game shot 59 percent on 13-for-22 shooting from deep.
The second half was the Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad show, as they scored 23 of the team’s 37 second half points. The 7-foot Bittle started out the half with a 3-pointer and tip-in second chance basket. Shelstad was on fire shooting the ball including knocking down a couple of tough 3s with a crossover dribble and step back move. Shelstad has been Oregon’s best player this season as he scored 19 points (3-of-6 3PT) on 8-for-13 from the field and dished out three assists. The game was out of reach when Bittle had a rim rocking jam followed by hitting a spot up 3-pointer to give Oregon its biggest lead of the game at 69-50 with only a few minutes remaining.
Rutgers’ other potential Top-5 NBA selection Ace Bailey had an off night shooting by rushing several shot attempts. The 6’10” wing went 3-for-14 to score 8 points, well under his season average of 19.1 points per game. The bright spot for the Scarlet Knights was big man Lathan Somerville who had a team high 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Rutgers rough shooting was in part to the Ducks applying pressure on the defensive end, holding Rutgers to just 10 percent on 3s (1-for-10) in the second half. Another key stat was Oregon only turned the ball over three times in (9 total turnovers) in the final 30 minutes of the game while handing out 16 assists on 28 made field goals to cruise to the 75-57 win.
Oregon (18-8, 7-8) will go on the road to try and improve their spot in the conference standings against Iowa (14-11, 5-9) on Wednesday evening. Rutgers (12-14, 5-10) heads up north to take on Washington (13-12, 4-10).
This article was written by Chad Mart, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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