The marathon race that is the college basketball season continues for WSU on Wednesday when the Cougs take on the Oregon Ducks for their second matchup against a former Pac-12 team. WSU lost to Stanford by 29 points in the second game of the season.

Oregon and WSU are coming off of tournament appearances in very different circumstances. Oregon played a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday of last week while WSU played three consecutive games at the end of last week starting on Thanksgiving Day. Oregon has had a full week of rest heading into the home game while WSU has about half the rest and is in the midst of a six-game road trip. The energy levels of both teams will be a reflection of their endurance during a four-month season. 

Oregon did not crack the top five of the Big Ten preseason poll but has managed to keep pace with the conference contenders in what has become one of the most loaded conferences in college basketball. The Big Ten currently has nine teams in the AP top 25 rankings. The Ducks quickly jumped into the rankings in week two and rose as high as No. 21, but dropped out of the rankings in Monday’s poll after back-to-back losses. Oregon still received 15 votes in the latest poll and is No. 51 in the NET rankings.

Before two tough but respectable losses to fringe AP top-25 teams in Georgia Tech and South Dakota State at the Hawai’i North Shore Showcase, the Ducks had gone 6-0 and held wins against two NET top-50 teams in Auburn and Baylor. Oregon upset Baylor, ranked No. 12 at the time, 76-74 to give the team its most impressive win of the season. The Ducks play in a highly competitive conference that will likely cause issues in conference play, but Oregon currently looks like a strong contender to be dancing in March.

The Ducks are featuring a new-look roster this season after losing four players to the transfer portal and seeing three players graduate. Two of those transfers were Oregon’s top two leading scorers Grace VanSlooten and Chance Gray. But Oregon head coach Kelly Graves went to the transfer portal on his own and added seven transfers, highlighted by this season’s leading scorer, guard Deja Kelly. The North Carolina transfer was ranked No. 11 in ESPN’s transfer rankings and is now averaging 12 points and 5.5 rebounds this season. While she has not made an impact yet, the Ducks also recruited point guard Katie Fiso, who was ranked No. 34 in the 2024 ESPN HoopGurlz rankings.

The Oregon roster is constructed in a way that spreads the wealth, with Kelly being the only scorer averaging double-digit points. The team is dangerous from multiple spots on the floor and is led by a group of experienced players that includes four graduate students and a senior. Kelly still leads the way as she was named to both the Lieberman and Naismith Award watch lists for best point guard and best player in women’s college basketball.

The Ducks outdo the Cougs in almost every offensive statistical category, but the Ducks only have a two-rebound advantage on average over the Cougs. The size comparison is similar between the two teams in terms of who gets the most minutes in the frontcourt, with Amina Muhammad and Alex Covill serving as the starting centers at six feet, eight inches and 6 feet, 6 inches respectively. To win this game, the Cougs need to be active on the boards and create second-chance opportunities to wear down a solid Oregon defense.

If the Cougs can continue shooting the three ball at the rate they have all season, but convert at a higher efficiency, they could potentially get some much-needed offensive firepower against the Ducks. The teams are shooting with nearly identical efficiency, but the Cougs attempt five more threes per game (23.25) and have seen an uptick over the last three games with 27 per game.

For WSU, Oregon likely presents a tough hill to climb but also an opportunity to get back at its old conference foe and gain momentum as the team gears up for conference play. For Oregon, a win at home against the Cougs can get the team back into serious top-25 contention and maintain a perfect home record.

The Cougs will face Oregon on Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon.